Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM): revenue, margins and EPS from its SEC filings, and Graham's reads as they come out.
Dow ·
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei stated that the company is prepared to support chip customers facing advanced packaging supply constraints or delivery delays from competitors, directly challenging Intel's packaging business.
What actually happened During TSMC's Q3 2026 earnings call on October 15, 2026, CEO C.C. Wei indicated that TSMC is willing to step in and provide backup advanced packaging capacity for customers experiencing bottlenecks or delays with rival offerings. This positioning directly targets Intel's Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB-T) packaging technology, which competes with TSMC's Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS). TSMC is aggressively scaling its advanced packaging, already producing packages at five times the standard reticle size with plans to scale to 9x and 14x solutions while actively driving down packaging costs.
Who reported it The strategic positioning and its impact on Intel's market standing were reported by TIKR on October 17, 2026, following TSMC's official Q3 2026 earnings call and SEC Form 6-K filing on October 15, 2026.
Whether it counts for fundamentals This counts for TSMC's fundamentals. Advanced packaging has become a critical bottleneck in AI and high-performance computing chip supply chains. By offering its massive CoWoS and SoIC capacity as a reliable backup, TSMC can capture additional high-margin packaging revenue, secure deeper customer lock-in, and further marginalize Intel's Foundry services, which are already struggling with profitability and operating losses.
What to watch next Watch for any customer migrations or backup orders shifting from Intel’s EMIB-T to TSMC's CoWoS packaging lines. Additionally, monitor TSMC's capital expenditure allocations toward advanced packaging expansion in upcoming quarters to see how quickly it scales this "backup" capacity.
What happened
- TIKR, 2026-10-17: Intel Stock Fell Nearly 6% as TSMC Took Aim at Its Packaging Business. Here’s What It Means for Intel’s Margins
Dow ·
TSMC reported a beat-and-raise for Q3 2026 with strong revenue growth and high margins, and provided strong Q4 guidance.
What actually happened TSMC announced its Q3 2026 results on October 15, 2026. Consolidated revenue reached NT$1,494.24 billion ($46.72 billion), up 50.9% year-over-year (41.2% in USD terms). Net income rose 68.7% year-over-year to NT$763.06 billion, with diluted EPS at NT$29.43 ($4.60 per ADR). Gross margin reached 66.4% and operating margin was 58.7%. Advanced technologies (7nm and below) accounted for 79% of total wafer revenue, with 3nm at 33% and 2nm already contributing 8%. For Q4 2026, TSMC expects revenue between $52.3 billion and $54.3 billion, with a gross margin of 65% to 67%.
Who reported it TSMC filed this official report on Form 6-K with the SEC on October 15, 2026, and Investor's Business Daily reported the beat-and-raise.
Whether it counts for fundamentals This absolutely counts for the company's fundamentals. It demonstrates accelerating demand for leading-edge nodes (especially 3nm and the early ramp of 2nm), exceptional pricing power (66.4% gross margin), and robust forward momentum for AI chip production.
What to watch next Watch the ramp-up speed and yield of the 2-nanometer node in Q4 2026 and early 2027, and whether gross margins can sustain the 65%–67% range under rising depreciation costs from advanced node expansion.
What happened
- SEC EDGAR, 2026-10-15: 6-K filed
- Investor's Business Daily, 2026-10-15: Chip Leader TSMC Delivers Beat-And-Raise Third-Quarter Report
From its filings
- Fiscal year ending 2024-12-31: revenue 2894.31B TWD (+33.9% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 45.7% · EPS 44.67 · filed 2025-04-17
- Fiscal year ending 2023-12-31: revenue 2161.74B TWD (-4.5% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 42.6% · EPS 32.85 · filed 2025-04-17
- Fiscal year ending 2022-12-31: revenue 2263.89B TWD (+42.6% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 49.5% · EPS 38.29 · filed 2025-04-17
- Fiscal year ending 2021-12-31: revenue 1587.41B TWD (+18.5% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 40.9% · EPS 22.84 · filed 2024-04-18
- Fiscal year ending 2020-12-31: revenue 1339.25B TWD (+25.2% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 42.3% · EPS 19.70 · filed 2023-04-20
- Fiscal year ending 2019-12-31: revenue 1069.99B TWD (+3.7% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 34.8% · EPS 13.65 · filed 2022-04-14
- Fiscal year ending 2018-12-31: revenue 1031.47B TWD (+5.5% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 37.2% · EPS 14.00 · filed 2021-04-16
- Fiscal year ending 2017-12-31: revenue 977.45B TWD (+3.1% vs a year earlier) · operating margin 39.4% · EPS 13.30 · filed 2020-04-15
Source: SEC EDGAR, 20-F, as filed.