Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC reported Thursday a better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter on strong demand for AI technology
Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC reported Thursday a better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter on strong demand for AI technology AFP

Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC reported Thursday a better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter on strong demand for AI technology, after tariffs slapped onto major economies by US President Donald Trump caused global uncertainty.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world's largest contract maker of chips that are used in everything from Apple's iPhones to Nvidia's cutting-edge artificial intelligence hardware.

TSMC said revenue in the first three months of 2025 rose nearly 42 percent to NT$839.25 billion ($25.5 billion) on-year, beating a forecast of around NT$830.5 billion by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The company is scheduled to release full first quarter earnings in an online briefing next week.

TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei has said the firm expected "2025 to be another strong growth year" as AI-related demand continues to surge.

And its full year revenue was expected to increase "by close to mid-20s percent in US dollar terms," Wei said at an earnings conference in January.

But in light of Trump's ongoing trade war with China -- the world's second-largest economy -- and his threats to slap tariffs on semiconductor imports, Taiwan's own industry could experience reverberations across the global chip supply chain.

Taiwan had sought to avoid Trump's threatened levies by pledging increased investment in the United States, more purchases of US energy and greater defence spending.

Also last month, TSMC said it would invest $100 billion in the United States in what was hailed by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te as a "historic moment" for Taiwan-US relations.

The planned investment followed Trump's accusations that Taiwan stole the US chip industry and his threats to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent.

In the end, Trump imposed a hefty 32 percent on Taiwanese imports -- excluding semiconductor chips -- though on Thursday the mercurial Republican abruptly paused the implementation for almost all countries except China for 90 days.

TSMC has long faced demands to move more of its production away from Taiwan, with fears that supplies of the critical technology could be disrupted in any conflict with Beijing.

China has upped military pressure on Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty over the self-ruled island, where TSMC has its headquarters and the bulk of its fabrication plants.