ISTANBUL

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) posted another record high for profits in the fourth quarter of last year, as its earnings surged 35% year-on-year due to high demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The Taiwanese giant's profits were up to 505.74 billion new Taiwan dollars ($16.2 billion) in the October-December period, according to TSMC's financial results released on Thursday.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker has now posted year-over-year profit growth for eight consecutive quarters.

TSMC's revenues in the fourth quarter were also up 20.5% year-on-year, amounting to $33.13 billion.

The firm's profits and revenues for the last quarter of 2025 exceeded the market expectations.

TSMC executives guided sales for the current quarter to reach between $34.6 billion and $35.8 billion on an earnings call, up 4% sequentially or 38% year-on-year at the halfway point.

In the October–December quarter, 55% of sales came from the company's high-performance computing segment, which includes 5G and AI applications. 32% of sales came from smartphone demand.

According to TSMC, 77% of all wafer revenue during the quarter came from advanced chips that were 7-nanometer or smaller. These chips accounted for 74% of total sales in 2025, up to 69% in 2024.