TSMC sees 40% y-o-y revenue increase in Q2, unveils “Wafer Foundry 2.0” concept

The firm’s 3nm process revenue accounted for 15% of the total. Credit: TSMC

TSMC on Thursday announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, reporting a 40.1% year-on-year revenue increase. The Taiwan-based chip foundry also stated that it has raised its full-year revenue and capital expenditure targets for 2024. The firm’s earnings call was also remarkable for TSMC CEO C.C. Wei introducing the new concept of “Wafer Foundry 2.0” for the first time during his comments to investors.

Why it matters: TSMC’s introduction of Wafer Foundry 2.0 signifies a strategic expansion beyond traditional wafer manufacturing. The move aims to capitalize on emerging market opportunities and meet the growing complexity of semiconductor production.

Details: TSMC said the idea of Wafer Foundry 2.0 is intended to better leverage its advanced packaging capabilities for market expansion by encompassing a wider range of activities compared to the traditional wafer manufacturing industry.

As chip manufacturing becomes increasingly complex, wafer foundries have evolved beyond simple wafer manufacturing services. Wafer Foundry 2.0 was unveiled during TSMC’s second quarter earnings call, during which Wei redefined the foundry industry to include packaging, testing, mask-making, and IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturer) operations.

Wei also noted that demand for TSMC’s 3nm and 5nm process technologies remains strong. As the company enters the third quarter, the demand for advanced processes driven by smartphones and AI opportunities has slightly raised its full-year revenue forecast for 2024, increasing the expected growth range from 21%-26% to 24%-26% year-on-year, he said.

TSMC has also raised its 2024 capital expenditure budget from $28 billion-$32 billion to $30 billion-$32 billion. Of this, 70% to 80% will be allocated to advanced process technologies, 10% to 20% to special process technologies, and 10% to advanced packaging, testing, and mask-making, the company said.

In the second quarter, TSMC reported revenue of NT$673.51 billion ($20.56 billion), a 40.1% increase year-on-year and a 13.6% rise quarter-on-quarter. Net profit was NT$247.85 billion ($7.57 billion), up 36.3% from the previous year and 9.9% from the previous quarter.

In terms of revenue distribution by process technology, TSMC’s revenue from advanced processes of 7nm and below reached 67% in the second quarter. The firm’s 3nm process revenue accounted for 15% of this total, largely due to the launch of Apple’s A17 Pro series processors last year, as well as its M4 series processors and the upcoming A18 series processors this year.

By end-use application, the revenue breakdown is as follows: high-performance computing accounted for 52%, smartphones for 33%, IoT for 6%, automotive electronics for 5%, consumer electronics for 2%, and others for 2%.

Context: Apple has secured the first batch of TSMC’s 2nm production capacity, expected to start trial production soon. The new chips, debuting in the iPhone 17 series, may boost performance by up to 15% and cut power consumption by 30% compared with the 3nm process.

Jessie Wu is a tech reporter based in Shanghai. She covers consumer electronics, semiconductor, and the gaming industry for TechNode. Connect with her via e-mail: [email protected].
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