TSMC March sales jump 34% to $6.1 bln

Investing.com-- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) said on Wednesday that its sales in March jumped sharply, likely benefiting from increased demand for chips from the artificial intelligence industry. 

TSMC's (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM) March sales surged 34% year-on-year to T$195.21 billion ($6.1 billion). Sales were also up 7.5% from February. 

The March sales brough TSMC’s first quarter sales to T$592.64 billion- a 16.5% increase from the same period last year. 

Still, part of the big year-on-year increase in sales was also driven by a lower base for comparison from 2023, given that TSMC was still grappling with sluggish chip demand. 

The company began to see improved, AI-fueled demand only from around the second half of 2023.

The company is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and is a key supplier to tech majors such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Nvidia has been a major source of demand for TSMC, especially as the processor maker saw a spike in AI-fueled demand over the past year. Nvidia makes chips geared specifically towards running AI programs. 

TSMC's exposure to AI saw its shares balloon to record valuations in recent months. The company is also set to expand its plans for a major chipmaking facility in Phoenix, Arizona.