Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ended 2025 on a high note: fourth-quarter consolidated revenue crossed the NT$1 trillion mark for the first time, beating guidance and handing the chipmaker its best year yet.
TSMC said December-quarter sales totaled roughly NT$1.05 trillion (about $33.1 billion by Bloomberg's math), outpacing the midpoint of its prior forecast and market estimates. For the full year, consolidated sales reached a record NT$3.81 trillion, up about 31.6% from 2024 — a dramatic climb driven largely by demand for advanced AI accelerators and a healthier lineup of consumer devices.
TSMC’s December 2025 Revenue Report provides the official numbers and the company’s schedule for an investor briefing on Jan. 15, when management is expected to provide full-quarter results and lay out capital-spending plans for 2026.
The twin engines: AI data-center chips and a strong iPhone cycle
Much of the beat comes down to one blunt fact: hyperscalers and AI-cloud players keep buying the most advanced nodes, and TSMC makes those chips. Nvidia remains the marquee design house in that story, but Microsoft, Meta and other cloud builders are also funneling money into data-center projects and AI hardware. Analysts say that activity has muted TSMC’s usual seasonal lull — the company reported Q4 sales that were actually slightly higher than Q3, a rarity.
Analysts also point to a bump from consumer demand. Strong sales of Apple’s iPhone 17 likely helped mix and volumes in the quarter, bolstering shipments of application processors and related chips tied to smartphone refresh cycles. That consumer angle is a reminder that even in an AI-driven boom, classic end markets still matter — and product cycles can give quarters an extra lift. For context on Apple’s recent product cycle, see coverage of the iPhone 17.
Numbers, FX and the capex conversation
Detail matters here. Focus Taiwan reported December sales of NT$335.0 billion alone (up about 20% year‑on‑year) and Q4 revenue of NT$1.05 trillion, which it said represented the first quarterly tally above NT$1 trillion. Part of the outperformance versus company guidance reflected foreign-exchange movement: TSMC had used an exchange rate assumption of NT$30.6 to the dollar for guidance, while the U.S. dollar traded higher through much of the quarter, lifting Taiwan-dollar revenue converted from dollar-denominated orders.
Looking ahead, Bloomberg Intelligence and other analysts expect TSMC to lift 2026 capital spending above last year’s $40–42 billion plan — some models point to around $48 billion or more — as the firm races to expand capacity for leading-edge nodes. Management’s Jan. 15 investor call should clarify that outlook.
Bubble talk, but with caveats
Investors have voiced concerns for months that the rush to build AI infrastructure could overshoot actual demand — a classic capacity-versus-adoption mismatch. There are two important counters to that worry: first, major cloud providers are integrating AI more broadly across services (and some of those moves intersect with handset and endpoint experiences), and second, chip lifecycles and node complexity give TSMC pricing and utilization advantages that aren’t easily replicated.
Big tech’s broader investments in AI models and infrastructure — from cloud data centers to application-level AI — help explain why chipmakers like TSMC remain in high demand. The industry’s push to embed AI into products and services also shows up in adjacent moves, such as Apple’s work with custom models to power next-generation features, which underscores the wider corporate bet on specialized silicon and bespoke AI integration (see reporting on Apple’s AI plans at Apple to Use a Custom Google Gemini Model to Power Next‑Gen Siri).
TSMC’s latest revenue report doesn’t close the debate about long-term demand durability, but it does show the company capturing current tailwinds effectively: advanced-node capacity remains tightly coupled to the AI boom, and for now, customers are willing to book that capacity.
Expect more clarity after TSMC’s investor meeting next week, where guidance and capex intentions will be the focus. Until then, the headline is simple: record annual sales, a rare seasonality-defying quarter, and a company positioned squarely at the center of the chip-era arms race.