TSMC posts record Q3 on AI demand and confirms Terafab talks
Confirmed
The takeaway
On Oct 15, 2026 TSMC reported Q3 revenue of NT$1,494.24B (US$46.72B) and net income of NT$763.06B, a sixth straight quarterly profit record driven by AI chips.
Status
- Claim
Confirmed
- Our reporting
- High confidence
- Importance
- 3 of 5
- Last verified
- 15 October 2026
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Key facts
- Q3 2026: revenue NT$1,494.24B (US$46.72B); net income NT$763.06B; diluted EPS NT$29.43 (US$4.60 per ADR); gross margin 66.4% (TSMC)
- CNBC: revenue +50.9% YoY and net income +68.7% (~US$23.7B), both above estimates; sixth straight quarterly profit record
- Wafer revenue by node: 3nm 33%, 5nm 28%, 7nm 10%, 2nm 8%; 7nm and below 79%
- Q4 guidance: revenue US$52.3–54.3B, gross margin 65–67%, operating margin 56.5–58.5%
- Terafab: talks at ‘the discussion stage’; Wei: ‘any fab should be run by TSMC to control production’; Musk said TSMC could sublease part of Terafab, ‘nothing more than that’ (Focus Taiwan)
- Capacity: 2nm capacity to more than double in 2027; A14 trial production 2027, mass production 2028; nearly 20 fab projects including three new 3nm fabs (Tainan H1 2027 and H1 2028); second Arizona 2nm fab mass production Q3 2027
- Same day: SK Hynix and Samsung fell about 10% in Seoul on AI-funding and rate worries (CNBC)
What happened
TSMC’s Q3 results beat estimates again. Advanced nodes made up 79% of wafer revenue, with 3nm the largest single node. On the earnings call C.C. Wei said the company is discussing a possible role in Musk’s Terafab chip-plant project in Texas, but any fab it joins must be run by TSMC. He also laid out a large expansion: 2nm capacity more than doubling in 2027, A14 in 2028 and new 3nm fabs in Tainan.
Why it matters
TSMC makes nearly all leading AI accelerators, so its numbers are the clearest read on AI hardware demand. They stayed at records even as Asian memory stocks sold off on AI-funding fears the same day.
Note: CNBC’s US$46.36B revenue figure differs from TSMC’s US$46.72B, probably because of exchange-rate conversion; we use TSMC’s.
Sources
4 sources from 3 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
4 sources: 1 primary, 3 press
Primary
- TSMC: Third Quarter 2026 earnings releasepr.tsmc.com, official
Press
- CNBC: TSMC third-quarter profit beats on global AI demandcnbc.com, press
- Focus Taiwan: TSMC on Terafab, US expansion and new fabsfocustaiwan.tw, press
- CNBC: SK Hynix, Samsung lead Asia tech rout on AI funding worriescnbc.com, press
Changes
- Filed