Mucahithan Avcioglu
16 April 2026•Update: 16 April 2026
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said Thursday it does not expect the Middle East war to disrupt supplies of key chipmaking materials in the near term, citing multi-region sourcing and safety-stock inventories, even as it warned prices for some chemicals and gases are likely to rise.
Speaking on the company’s first-quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wendell Huang said TSMC sources specialty chemicals and gases, including helium and hydrogen, from multiple suppliers in different regions and has safety stock on hand. He added that the company is working with suppliers to strengthen supply-chain resilience and therefore does not expect any near-term impact on operations from material supplies.
Huang also said TSMC works with Taiwan’s state-backed utility and government to ensure a stable energy supply, noting that authorities have secured sufficient LNG through at least May and are pursuing additional sourcing and backup plans. Based on that assessment, the company said it also does not expect any near-term disruption to operations from energy supply.
The comments came as TSMC posted another record quarter, reporting net income of NT$572.48 billion ($18.13 billion) for the January-March period, up 58% from a year earlier, while first-quarter revenue rose to $35 billion.
TSMC’s investor materials show first-quarter revenue reached $35.90 billion, above the company’s earlier guidance range of $34.6 billion to $35.8 billion.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker said continued demand for leading-edge technologies remained strong, with advanced chips of 7 nanometers or below accounting for 74% of total wafer revenue in the quarter, including 25% from 3-nanometer chips. High-performance computing applications, including AI-related demand, remained a key growth driver.
Even so, TSMC signaled the conflict could still affect margins. Huang said prices for certain chemicals and gases are likely to increase due to the recent developments in the Middle East and that there may be an impact on profitability, although it is too early to quantify.
Looking ahead, TSMC guided second-quarter revenue to $39 billion-$40.2 billion and said its 2026 capital budget is now expected to be toward the high end of its previously announced $52 billion-$56 billion range, underscoring confidence that AI-driven demand will remain strong despite broader geopolitical uncertainty.
