AFP – Chipmaking giant TSMC reported a surge in net profit for the first quarter and forecast robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, despite the spectre of United States (US) tariffs on the critical sector.
TSMC is the world’s largest contract maker of chips that have become the lifeblood of the global economy, powering everything from smartphones to missiles.
Demand for chips has soared in recent years on demand for AI technology, but there are fears US President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariffs could drive up consumer prices and hurt chipmakers.
TSMC said its net profit for the first three months of 2025 rose 60.3 per cent from a year ago to USD11.1 billion.
Net revenue for the quarter soared nearly 42 per cent, also beating forecasts, figures released by the company last week showed.
The first quarter ended before Trump’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs on April 2.
TSMC chairman and chief executive CC Wei said the company had not detected “any change in customer behaviour” so far.
“We continue to expect our full-year 2025 revenue to increase by close to mid-20s perc ent in US dollar terms,” Wei said, adding that AI-related demand was also expected to be “robust”.
“We might get a better picture in the next few months, and we will continue to closely monitor the potential impact to the end market demand and manage our business prudently,” Wei said.
TSMC, which counts Nvidia and Apple among its clients, has been in the cross-hairs of Trump, who has accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry.
There had been hopes that TSMC’s plan to invest an additional USD100 billion in the US would shield the island from new tariffs.
Trump still imposed a 32-per-cent duty on imports as part of his sweeping tariffs on global trade partners – which he later paused for 90 days – but it excluded semiconductors.
Now, Washington is pushing forward with plans to slap import levies on semiconductors and chip-making equipment, with the launch of “national security” probes into the industry.
Also clouding the outlook for TSMC was a report that it planned to form a joint venture with Intel to operate the American company’s chipmaking facilities.
Wei said that “TSMC is not engaged in any discussion with other companies regarding any joint venture, technology licensing or technology transfer and sharing”.
