Taiwan chipmaker TSMC reports record quarterly profit

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC reported on Thursday a record net profit for the second quarter, fuelled by massive demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

TSMC, the biggest contract maker of microchips used in everything from Apple phones to Nvidia processors, has been a major beneficiary of the global AI race.

Governments and tech giants are pouring huge sums into building data centres that can train and run AI tools such as chatbots, image generators and agents that can execute tasks.

This has turbocharged business for chipmakers like TSMC, creating shortages and sending prices soaring.

TSMC's net profit for April to June surged 77.4 percent year-on-year to NT$706.6 billion (US$22 billion), smashing analyst estimates of NT$624.4 billion.

The result also beat its previous quarterly record of NT$572.48 billion in the first three months of 2026.