The news
On September 10, 2026, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC; TSM) reported August revenue of about NT$514.81 billion, up 53.3% from a year earlier. Focus Taiwan called the TSMC August revenue total a record high, with analysts citing AI chip demand and new smartphone orders.
The August figure was 10.1% higher than July's NT$467.58 billion, according to TSMC's monthly revenue report and its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). August 2025 revenue had been NT$335.77 billion. Revenue for January through August 2026 totaled NT$3,386.87 billion, up 39.3% from NT$2,431.98 billion a year earlier.
Focus Taiwan, the English service of Taiwan's Central News Agency, put the August total at US$16.32 billion. The monthly report gives headline revenue only, with no breakdown by technology or customer; TSMC publishes that detail with its quarterly results.
Sales have climbed through the summer. TSMC's July report showed revenue up 5.6% from June's NT$442.68 billion and up 44.7% from a year earlier, so the company's own reports show revenue rising from June to July to August. Quartz reported that August marked the fourth consecutive month of revenue growth.
The numbers also frame the third quarter. On July 16, TSMC guided for third-quarter revenue of US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion, assuming NT$32 to the U.S. dollar. At that rate the range equals about NT$1,427 billion to NT$1,466 billion, by Tech CEO Daily's arithmetic, so September revenue of roughly NT$445 billion to NT$483 billion would put the quarter inside it. Actual dollar results will depend on the exchange rate.
The numbers
- August 2026 revenue
- About NT$514.81 billion
- Change vs. August 2025
- +53.3%
- Change vs. July 2026
- +10.1%
- January-August 2026 revenue
- NT$3,386.87 billion (+39.3%)
- Third-quarter 2026 revenue guidance
- US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion
- July plus August revenue (Tech CEO Daily sum)
- About NT$982.39 billion
Why CEOs should care
For companies buying AI servers, accelerators or custom silicon, this is a read on supply as much as demand. Research firm TrendForce, as cited by CNBC and relayed by Quartz, said robust AI server chip orders kept TSMC's 5-, 4- and 3-nanometer nodes running at full capacity throughout the second quarter. The August revenue report does not address capacity, but when the main supplier of leading-edge chips posts 53.3% year-over-year growth on the heels of a full second quarter, buyers should plan for tight allocation, place orders further ahead and ask hardware vendors to commit to delivery windows in writing.
For CFOs, TSMC's monthly figures arrive weeks before most chip customers report, which makes them an early signal for AI infrastructure budgets. Sustained growth at this pace argues against planning on near-term price relief for leading-edge hardware. Finance teams should also watch currency: TSMC reports monthly sales in New Taiwan dollars but guides in U.S. dollars, so exchange-rate moves can change the dollar picture.
For boards and risk officers, the numbers underline concentration. TrendForce data, cited by CNBC and relayed by Quartz, put TSMC's share of the global foundry market at 72.5% in the second quarter. Directors should ask how exposed their product roadmaps are to a single supplier and what contingency plans exist if its output is disrupted.
The bigger picture
The monthly run fits the picture TSMC gave in July. Its second-quarter revenue of NT$1,270.38 billion rose 36.0% year over year, and net income rose 77.4%. Chips made on 7-nanometer and more advanced processes accounted for 77% of wafer revenue, with 3-nanometer at 30% and the new 2-nanometer process at 3%, according to TSMC's earnings release.
TrendForce reported that TSMC raised its full-year 2026 growth outlook to more than 40% in U.S. dollar terms and lifted planned 2026 capital spending to US$60 billion to US$64 billion. Profitability may not keep pace: TSMC guided third-quarter gross margin to 65% to 67%, below the second quarter's 67.7%, and TrendForce reported the company pointed to its 2-nanometer ramp and overseas fab costs. The analysts cited by Focus Taiwan also credited orders tied to new smartphone launches, so the August jump reflects more than AI alone.
What happened next
As of September 29, 2026, TSMC had not yet published September revenue; it released July figures on August 10 and August figures on September 10. TSMC holds its third-quarter earnings conference on October 15, 2026, which will show whether revenue landed within the US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion guidance and whether gross margin held in the 65% to 67% range. Also watch for any change to the full-year growth outlook of more than 40% and the US$60 billion to US$64 billion capital budget.
What “Fact-checked” means
Fact-checking means testing a story’s facts against the evidence before it is published. This story went through at least two separate checks before this version was published.
- What we checked
- Its names, figures, dates, job titles, quotes and who said what were checked against the story’s sources, including its main source where it could be opened. The headline was checked for accuracy and overstatement.
- How
- A first check reviewed the whole story. If it passed, a second, skeptical check went back to the sources to look for mistakes in the most important facts. If a check flagged the story, it was edited to fix the problems found, and a separate re-check then reviewed the whole story again.
- Who
- The checks are made with our newsroom’s technology tools, as steps kept separate from the writing, under rules set by our editor, Hussein Mukhtar. A story the checks still flag is not published automatically; it is held for the editor, who decides whether it is fixed, published or dropped.
- Archive story
- It was written after the event. Its dates were checked against the date of the event, including the dates of any later developments it reports.
- If something is wrong
- “Fact-checked” does not mean error-free. If a material error is found after publication, we correct the story and add a note saying what changed. Report an error
Companies in this story
