TSMC: 'Conviction in multi-year AI megatrend remains high'

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said the company's "conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend remains very high" and the company sees 2026 revenue growth topping 40%.

Wei's comments landed as TSMC, the foundry for AI semiconductors, said second quarter revenue surged 36% to $40.2 billion. Net income surged more than 77%. The company said third quarter revenue will be between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion.

TSMC's view of AI is derived from chip makers as well as hyperscalers and for now the boom in AI infrastructure shows no signs of slowing down. However, the AI buildout does spur concerns about debt, overcapacity and the reality that a lot depends on whether OpenAI and Anthropic can live up to their spending promises.

Wei said:

"AI-related demand continues to be extremely robust. The AI megatrend continues to drive the need for more and more computation, which supports the robust demand for leading-edge silicon. Our customers and customers' customers, who are mainly the cloud service providers, continue to provide us with a very strong signal and positive outlook. Thus, our conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend remains very high.

The AI market continues to be very dynamic. The emergence of Agentic AI is leading to a resurgence in the role of CPUs in AI data centers, which drives more silicon demand in addition to AI accelerators. We believe this is positive for TSMC as no matter what CPU approach is taken, whether it's x86, ARM-based, or RISC-V architecture, they are almost all TSMC's customers."

TSMC added that it is stepping up its capital spending to support future demand. TSMC said its planning system includes its customers' multi-year plans and roadmap along with market demand projections. TSMC increased its 2026 capital expenditure spending from $52 million to $56 million to $60 million to $64 million.

Other takeaways:

• Competition. Wei was asked about competition and government support. He noted Samsung and Intel are competitors with government backing. "There is no shortcut. What does that mean? Meaning that in the semiconductor industry, you have to go back to fundamental. Government's help is welcome. Really, we also appreciate that. A lot of money, of course, that's nice to have," said Wei. "But the most important thing as we continue to say is the technology, manufacturing, and customer trust. These three fundamental things never change. And that's always the TSMC's secret recipe to win the business."
• Profits. Wei was asked about whether TSMC could raise prices more. He said: "The higher, the better, of course. But we are a partner meaning our customers have to be successful. I don't want to squeeze them out from the market. We are a very trustable company with our customers. So we don't suddenly increase our price by, which I like to have, 4x or 5x."