Apple Supplier TSMC's Q1 Profit Jumps 19% Amid Chip Shortage

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd TSM, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, on Wednesday reported a 19.4% rise in the first-quarter profit helped by strong demand for semiconductor chips from personal computers, smartphones and automobile sectors.

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What Happened: The Taiwanese contract supplier that counts Apple Inc AAPL and Nvidia Corp NVDA among its customers reported a quarterly net profit of T$139.7 billion ($4.93 billion) for the three months ended March, compared with the T$116.99 billion ($4.13 billion) reported in the same quarter a year ago.

The company recorded a revenue of T$362.4 billion ($12.8 billion) and guided to a second-quarter revenue in the range of $12.9 billion to $13.2 billion.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that TSMC plans to spend $100 billion over the next three years to expand its chip fabrication capacity.

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Why It Matters: A global semiconductor chip shortage has boosted demand as automakers, smartphone and appliance makers scramble to secure supplies. 

TSMC said in an earnings call, as reported by Bloomberg, its automotive customers can expect chip shortages to start easing next quarter but the shortages will still continue to last throughout 2021 and potentially into next year too.

Price Action: TSMC shares traded 0.5% higher in the pre-market session on Thursday after closing 0.35% lower at $120.84 on Wednesday.

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 Photo by iphonedigital on Flickr