In the global technology industry, TSMC, as the core force in the field of chip manufacturing, has always attracted much attention for its development trends. In the fourth quarter of 2024, TSMC once again became the focus of the industry with its outstanding performance in the field of artificial intelligence chip manufacturing, with record revenue and profit, demonstrating its strong competitiveness and far-reaching influence in the wave of technological change.
In the quarter, TSMC's revenue soared to NT$868.46 billion, an increase of 38.8% compared to the same period last year. Net profit exceeded NT$374.68 billion in one fell swoop, achieving an astonishing growth of 57%, far exceeding market analysts' expectations. Behind this brilliant achievement is the surging wave of demand for artificial intelligence chips. As the world's largest chip foundry, TSMC has carefully built advanced processors for technology giants such as NVIDIA and Apple, which are deeply embedded in the high-performance computing field of artificial intelligence and 5G applications, becoming a key engine for their performance growth. In the fourth quarter, the high-performance computing division led the way, contributing more than half (53%) of revenue, and an increase of 19% quarter-over-quarter, strongly supporting the company's overall performance.
Looking back on the full year of 2024, TSMC's full-year revenue reached a record NT$2.9 trillion, a milestone figure that marks the company's solid footprint in keeping up with technology trends and precise layout in the past year. TSMC Chairman and CEO Zhejia Wei pointed out in the earnings call that customer demand for AI-related products in 2024 is unprecedentedly strong, and AI accelerator products have accounted for nearly 15% of annual revenue. More optimistically, with the continuous expansion and deepening of AI applications, this proportion is expected to double in 2025, further consolidating TSMC's dominant position in the field of AI chip manufacturing.
Figure: TSMC's fourth-quarter profit hit a record high (Source: CNBC)
However, TSMC's journey into the future has not been smooth sailing. In 2025, the changing international political and economic landscape will bring many uncertainties to the company. The U.S. restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductor products to China are like a haze hanging over the company's head, which may hinder its market layout and business expansion. At the same time, incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy is still unclear, and his previous tough attitude towards Taiwan's chip industry, including accusations that Taiwan "stolen" the U.S. chip business and threatened to impose import tariffs, has undoubtedly added variables to TSMC's development. Despite the challenges, market research firm Counterpoint Research remains optimistic about TSMC's future prospects. Analyst Brady Wang predicts that TSMC is expected to continue to achieve significant revenue growth in 2025 with the continued strong demand for artificial intelligence applications and the trend of diversification, maintaining a leading position in the global chip manufacturing field.
In the capital market, TSMC's performance is also outstanding. In 2024, the price of its Taiwan-listed stock has soared, rising by as much as 81%, making it the darling of investors. On the day of the 2025 earnings report, the stock price rose by another 3.75%, further demonstrating the market's confidence in its future development. Affected by TSMC's good performance, the stock prices of European semiconductor companies such as ASML, ASM International and Besi on Euronext Amsterdam have also risen, forming a chain positive reaction in the chip industry and highlighting the core radiation role of TSMC in the global semiconductor industry chain.
TSMC's outstanding performance in the fourth quarter of 2024 is not only a successful testimony of its own technical strength and market strategy, but also reflects the profound changes in the global chip industry pattern driven by artificial intelligence technology. In the face of future opportunities and challenges, TSMC will continue to innovate and optimize its layout in the complex and changeable international environment, and maintain its leading edge in the field of chip manufacturing, which deserves the continuous attention and expectation of the global technology industry.
