TSMC posts a sixth straight record profit, but its shares fall anyway
Revenue guidance beat forecasts, yet the AI chip selloff overwhelmed the good news.
AI and chips · Thursday, October 15, 2026 · 6:15 AM ET
TSMC reported a sixth straight record quarterly profit on Thursday, beating estimates on demand for AI chips, yet its shares still fell in Taipei and in US premarket trading.
The numbers
Third-quarter net profit rose 68.7% from a year earlier to NT$763.1 billion, or about $23.6 billion, above the NT$746.34 billion analysts expected, per CNBC and Investing.com. Revenue was NT$1.49 trillion, about $46.4 billion, against NT$1.47 trillion expected (CNBC). Operating margin was 58.7%, above the top of the company's guidance range (CNBC).
Guidance and the reaction
TSMC forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $52.3 billion to $54.3 billion (CNBC, Newsquawk), above the $48.8 billion Newsquawk listed as the expectation. On the call, TSMC management said there is "no ceiling for TSMC's profitability" but that a dramatic increase will not happen overnight (Investing.com). The WSJ said the results were not enough to lift investors. Shares fell 2.2% in Taiwan trade (Investing.com) and about 2% in US premarket trading (GMT Eight). It was the same pattern as ASML, covered in our ASML story, and fits our Asia story.