00:00Seemingly nothing, not even a trade war, is slowing demand for Taiwan's AI chips,
00:05as chip giant TSMC reports a nearly 40% increase in third-quarter profit,
00:10blowing past analyst expectations. The company's revenue grew by more than 30%
00:15over the same period last year, while profits grew more than 39%.
00:20The US and North America continue to make up the vast majority of its orders, at 76%,
00:25while every other region, including China, remains in single digits.
00:29On Thursday's earnings call, TSMC said demand for AI and smartphones should stay strong through
00:35year-end, despite rising trade tensions between the US and China.
00:39Beijing has tightened exports of rare earth minerals used in chipmaking,
00:43while Washington has expanded chip restrictions,
00:46sanctions Chinese firms, and threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.
00:50But when asked about losing the China market, TSMC executives say they're not worried.
00:55If the China market is not available, but I still think the AI's growth will be very
01:04dramatic and, as I said, very positive. And I have confidence that our customers' performance
01:13and they will continue to grow, and we will support them.
01:18Trade tensions could ease if a planned Trump-Xi meeting goes ahead this
01:22month. Without that, analysts warn China's grip on rare earth refining is a near-term risk.
01:27There are more firms trying to master this rare earth refining technology,
01:32but the reality is that in the short run, it's very hard to really build that capacity
01:36to fulfill the whole global demand. So if there is any further escalation on rare earth,
01:41it's possible that the disruption towards the semiconductor supply chain,
01:46including those with TSMC, can actually be rather severe.
01:50But with the company's stock hitting a record high Thursday,
01:53it seems neither its investors nor its customers are deterred.
01:57Chris Ma and Chris Gorin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
Comments