TSMC posts record Q3 profit as AI chip boom drives sixth straight quarterly high

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) held its full third-quarter 2026 earnings conference on Thursday, October 15 at 2 p.m. Taiwan time, confirming its sixth straight record quarter. The world's largest contract chipmaker reported Q3 revenue of about NT$1.49 trillion (US$46.71 billion), up 50% year-on-year and above the top end of its own US$44.6-45.8 billion guidance. The LSEG SmartEstimate from 16 analysts pointed to net profit climbing roughly 65% to NT$746.3 billion (US$23.4 billion). The dominant growth driver remains artificial intelligence: TSMC's high-performance computing segment, which includes AI accelerators and data-centre processors, now accounts for the biggest share of its sales, having overtaken the smartphone-chip business. The company is ramping 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer production for customers including Apple's mobile systems-on-chip and AMD server CPUs. Analysts have a Strong Buy consensus with an average price target of $883, implying about 95% upside for TSM shares. The results reinforce TSMC's position as the central beneficiary of the global AI investment boom.