Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co posted September revenue of NT$511.86 billion ($16.03 billion), up 54.6% from a year earlier but down 0.6% from August, missing the record high the company itself had to correct the record on. The sequential dip is the line item that matters: even the primary foundry for the AI build-out cannot make every month a new peak.
The quarterly run-rate
Third-quarter revenue landed around NT$1.49 trillion, putting the full quarter roughly 40% above the same period last year. That run-rate keeps TSMC on track for the full-year guidance it reaffirmed in July, though the August-to-September flattening suggests the advanced-node order book is being worked through at a measured pace rather than an accelerating one.
The customer list does the heavy lifting
Nvidia and Apple remain the anchor tenants for 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer capacity. Their demand for AI accelerators and high-end smartphone silicon has absorbed virtually all the leading-edge output TSMC can bring online. The foundry’s pricing power in those nodes is effectively unchallenged, which is why the year-over-year comparison still prints a 54.6% gain despite the month-over-month slip.
The tooling commitment
In September TSMC committed to deploying ASML’s High NA extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, joining Samsung Electronics as the only confirmed customers for the next-generation scanner. The move locks in the roadmap for 2-nanometer and beyond, but it also means capital intensity stays elevated, depreciation on those tools will start hitting the income statement before the revenue they enable fully ramps.
What to watch next
Third-quarter earnings are due next week. The market will parse gross margin for any sign that High NA pre-costs or electricity surcharges in Taiwan are compressing the 53% floor management guided for. The stock closed 1.35% lower ahead of the monthly print, a reminder that the trade has priced in perfection and the bar for next week is simply: no negative surprise.