TSMC Q3 profit falls 24.9%, beats market forecasts

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC posted a 24.9 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit on Thursday as global economic woes hit demand for chips used in applications from cars to cellphones and servers and coming off a high base last year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd , the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc. supplier, saw its September net profit fall to T$211 billion from T$280.9 billion a year earlier.

The profit beat a T$195.5 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

TSMC, Asia's most valuable listed company, said third-quarter revenue dropped 14.6 per cent to $17.3 billion, in line with the company's previous forecast of $16.7 billion to $17.5 billion.

Capital expenditure in the third quarter was $7.1 billion, TSMC said, compared with $8.17 billion in the previous quarter.

As the biggest maker of advanced chips, TSMC must navigate an uncertain industry outlook and a U.S.-China chip spat that could make it vulnerable.

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares fell 27.1 per cent in 2022, but are up around 22 per cent so far this year, giving the chipmaker a market value of $432.3 billion. The stock rose 1.1 per cent on Thursday versus a flat benchmark index.