TSMC $TSM net income jumps 77.4%; Q2 EPS reaches NT$27.25

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. $TSM delivered the number investors were waiting for: second-quarter EPS of NT$27.25 and a 77.4% year-over-year increase in both net income and diluted EPS. In its July 16 earnings release, TSMC said second-quarter revenue increased 36.0% from a year earlier, confirming that AI-related chip demand is still translating into foundry earnings rather than remaining only an order-book story.

The earnings surprise clears the Tier-1 threshold because the figures are concrete, company-reported and directly tied to the global AI hardware cycle. TSMC is the foundry supplier behind advanced chips used by Nvidia, Apple, AMD and many custom silicon programs, so its margin and capacity signals flow through semiconductor equipment, memory, substrates and power-infrastructure names. A 77.4% net-income gain also raises the benchmark for peers whose valuations already assume a prolonged AI capex cycle.

The market reaction was more complicated than the headline. CNBC’s market feed on July 16 highlighted the same 77% profit jump and a new $100B Arizona investment plan, while some premarket trading in the ADR reflected profit-taking after a strong run. That split matters: the fundamental result supports AI demand, but the stock reaction shows that expectations for $TSM had already moved higher before the print.

The next watch items are TSMC’s third-quarter revenue range, gross-margin commentary and capital-expenditure plan. If management keeps capex elevated while reporting tight advanced-node utilization, equipment suppliers and AI-server names get confirmation. If margins flatten despite record demand, the market will focus on depreciation, overseas fab costs and customer concentration.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.