❯ TSMC posts NT$763.1 billion in Q3 net profit, a sixth straight record, and confirms Terafab talks while insisting it must run the fab

Profit up nearly 70%TSMC reported third-quarter results on October 15. According to CNBC, revenue was NT$1.49 trillion (about $46.36 billion) and net profit NT$763.1 billion, up 68.7% year on year, both above estimates and a sixth straight quarterly profit record. Operating margin was 58.7%, above the top of its guidance.

3nm is a third of revenue3-nanometer chips accounted for 33% of wafer revenue, the largest share, and 7nm and more advanced nodes together made up 79%. By platform, high-performance computing was 68% of revenue. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $52.3 billion to $54.3 billion and capital spending in 2026 to 2028 significantly higher than in the previous three years. A SemiAnalysis analyst told CNBC that TSMC says demand remains well above supply.

New fabs and TerafabAccording to Finimize, CEO C.C. Wei said on the earnings call that a new 3nm plant in Tainan will reach volume production in the first half of 2027, another in the first half of 2028, and the Arizona site in the third quarter of 2027. He confirmed TSMC has sent teams to Texas to evaluate Musk’s Terafab project but repeated that any alliance requires TSMC to operate the fab. Musk has said his companies will build and run the fab, with TSMC subleasing a section at most.

▮ SIGNALThe value of leading-edge manufacturing lies in process know-how, not buildings, and TSMC would rather pass on a new fab’s capacity than hand over operational control.