- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) said on Thursday that it would spend between $40 billion and $44 billion on capital expenditures, as demand for semiconductors continues to surge, a problem exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic and supply chain crunch.
- In conjunction with reporting fourth-quarter earnings, the chipmaker said it was adding production capacity, as demand for chips for smartphones, electric vehicles and other high-end computing devices are likely to keep Taiwan Semi's capacity utilized at a high rate, TSM’s Chief Executive C.C. Wei said on Thursday when discussing its quarterly earnings.
- According to data compiled by Gartner and cited by The Wall Street Journal, Taiwan Semiconductor, Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) accounted for roughly three-fifths of the $146 billion semiconductor companies spent in 2021 for new production and developing new technologies.
- Taiwan Semiconductor said it earned $1.15 per share during the fourth-quarter on $15.74 billion in revenue, up 24.1% year-over-year. Estimates called for the company to earn $1.11 a share on $15.77 billion. Gross margin for the quarter was 52.7%, operating margin was 41.7%, and net profit margin was 37.9%.
- For the first-quarter, Taiwan Semiconductor said it expects to generate between $16.6 billion and $17.2 billion in revenue, with gross margins between 53% and 55%, while operating profit margins are expected to be between 42% and 44%.
- Following the results, Taiwan Semiconductor shares surged, gaining nearly 5% to trade at $138.77 prior to the start of trading.