Oct. 10, 2025 –
In early October 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) grabbed headlines with record financial results and strategic moves. On Oct 9, 2025, TSMC reported that its Q3 2025 revenue jumped about 30% year-on-yearto T$989.92 billion (~$32.5 billion) slightly beating market forecasts on the back of surging demand for AI-related chips. This preliminary sales figure (released ahead of full earnings on Oct 16) underscores how AI applications are driving unprecedented orders, offsetting softness in smartphones and other segments. The blockbuster quarter has set optimistic expectations for TSMC’s official earnings release, where investors anticipate strong guidance and updates on next-gen chip production.
Beyond earnings, geopolitical developments around TSMC have been front and center. Notably, Taiwan’s government flatly rejected a U.S. proposal to shift “50% of chip production” stateside. Taiwan’s lead negotiator stated on Oct 1 that “no commitment” was made to any 50-50 production split with the U.S., and that the island “would not agree to such conditions” in future talks. This came after a U.S. official floated the idea of requiring half of all semiconductor manufacturing to occur in America – a notion Taiwan views as infeasible and unacceptable. TSMC, while expanding abroad, has echoed that most of its capacity will remain in Taiwan. The company is indeed building major facilities overseas (including a massive “GigaFab” cluster in Phoenix, Arizona, with three fabs, advanced packaging plants and an R&D center) as part of a $165 billion+ U.S. investment drive. However, TSMC and Taiwanese officials emphasize that these expansions will supplement – not replace – its core operations at home. The Arizona fabs, along with a new fab planned in Dresden, Germany, aim to diversify TSMC’s footprint and appease allied governments, but roughly 70%+ of TSMC’s capacity (especially leading-edge nodes) is set to stay in Taiwan for the foreseeable future.