Latest news with #SmartEstimate
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
TSMC quarterly profit seen soaring to record but Trump tariffs, forex a concern
Analysts expect a 52% surge in second-quarter profit TSMC benefiting more than other chip foundries from AI boom Earnings call at 0600 GMT on Thursday TAIPEI, - TSMC, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips, is expected to post a 52% jump in second-quarter profit to record levels, though U.S. tariffs and a strong Taiwan dollar could weigh on its outlook. Artificial intelligence-related demand continues to boom and while foundry industry revenue will probably grow 17% to 18% this year, sales for TSMC, by virtue of its market-leading position, will likely expand closer to 30%, said Mario Morales, group vice president at research firm IDC. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, is forecast to report net profit of T$377.4 billion for the three months through June 30, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 21 analysts. SmartEstimates place greater weight on forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. TSMC has already flagged a rise in second-quarter revenue of 38.6%. Any profit result above T$374.68 billion would mark the company's highest-ever quarterly net income and its sixth consecutive quarter of profit growth. It remains unclear just how much U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs will affect TSMC. Taiwan was threatened with a 32% reciprocal tariff rate in April but has yet to be notified of an updated figure that some countries have received. Trump also said this month that tariffs on semiconductors are likely to come soon. The company said in June that U.S. tariffs were having some indirect impact, noting they can lead to slightly higher prices, which may in turn weigh on demand. In March, TSMC announced a $100 billion investment in the U.S. alongside Trump at the White House, on top of $65 billion pledged for three Arizona plants - two of which have been built. Another key issue is the Taiwan dollar's 12% appreciation against the greenback so far this year. "The exchange rate is a bigger concern as so much TSMC revenue is in USD," said Dan Nystedt, vice-president at TriOrient, an Asia-based private investment firm. TSMC has said a 1% appreciation in the Taiwan dollar typically reduces its gross margin by 0.4 percentage points. In June, the company said the Taiwan dollar's appreciation had shaved more than 3 percentage points off its gross margin. The company is due to report on Thursday and will provide third-quarter guidance during an earnings call scheduled for 0600 GMT. Shares in TSMC surged some 80% last year but have climbed just 3.7% for the year to date on worries about tariffs and unfavourable currency rates.
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
TSMC quarterly profit seen soaring to record but Trump tariffs, forex a concern
A logo of taiwanese chip giant TSMC is seen at southern Taiwan science park in Tainan, Taiwan December 29, Wang/File Photo TAIPEI (Reuters) -TSMC, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips, is expected to post a 52% jump in second-quarter profit to record levels, though U.S. tariffs and a strong Taiwan dollar could weigh on its outlook. Artificial intelligence-related demand continues to boom and while foundry industry revenue will probably grow 17% to 18% this year, sales for TSMC, by virtue of its market-leading position, will likely expand closer to 30%, said Mario Morales, group vice president at research firm IDC. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, is forecast to report net profit of T$377.4 billion ($12.9 billion) for the three months through June 30, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 21 analysts. SmartEstimates place greater weight on forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. TSMC has already flagged a rise in second-quarter revenue of 38.6%. Any profit result above T$374.68 billion would mark the company's highest-ever quarterly net income and its sixth consecutive quarter of profit growth. It remains unclear just how much U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs will affect TSMC. Taiwan was threatened with a 32% reciprocal tariff rate in April but has yet to be notified of an updated figure that some countries have received. Trump also said this month that tariffs on semiconductors are likely to come soon. The company said in June that U.S. tariffs were having some indirect impact, noting they can lead to slightly higher prices, which may in turn weigh on demand. In March, TSMC announced a $100 billion investment in the U.S. alongside Trump at the White House, on top of $65 billion pledged for three Arizona plants - twoof which have been built. Another key issue is the Taiwan dollar's 12% appreciation against the greenback so far this year. "The exchange rate is a bigger concern as so much TSMC revenue is in USD," said Dan Nystedt, vice-president at TriOrient, an Asia-based private investment firm. TSMC has said a 1% appreciation in the Taiwan dollar typically reduces its gross margin by 0.4 percentage points. In June, the company said the Taiwan dollar's appreciation had shaved more than 3 percentage points off its gross margin. The company is due to report on Thursday and will provide third-quarter guidance during an earnings call scheduled for 0600 GMT. Shares in TSMC surged some 80% last year but have climbed just 3.7% for the year to date on worries about tariffs and unfavourable currency rates. ($1 = 29.2610 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Edwina Gibbs)
Express Tribune
08-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Samsung faces 56% profit decline in Q2, struggles with AI demand
Samsung Electronics has projected a 56% decline in operating profits for the second quarter, reflecting challenges in capturing the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. The South Korean giant, a leading player in the memory chip and smartphone markets, expects its operating profit for the quarter ending June to be around 4.6 trillion won (approximately $3.5 billion), a significant drop from 10.44 trillion won in the same period last year, as reported by CNBC. This forecast fell short of analyst expectations, with LSEG's SmartEstimate predicting a profit of 6.26 trillion won ($4.57 billion). Samsung's revenue is also expected to reach 74 trillion won, falling below the SmartEstimate of 75.55 trillion won. As a result, shares of Samsung Electronics fell by as much as 1.13% during early trading on July 8. Samsung expects a 56% drop in Q2 operating profit, far short of estimates — Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) July 7, 2025 The decline in profits is attributed to multiple factors, including inventory value adjustments and the impact of US restrictions on the sale of advanced AI chips to China. Samsung has also struggled to keep pace with competitors like SK Hynix and Micron in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip sector, a crucial component in AI chip development. Research director MS Hwang of Counterpoint Research explained that the disappointing earnings were partly due to ongoing losses in Samsung's foundry business and a lack of significant progress in the high-margin HBM segment. SK Hynix, which is a key supplier for Nvidia, has outpaced Samsung in this field. Ray Wang, research director at Futurum Group, noted that Nvidia, which accounts for around 70% of global HBM demand, is pivotal to Samsung's prospects. Samsung Expects Quarterly Operating Profit to Drop 56% — WSJ Tech (@WSJTech) July 7, 2025 'The delay meaningfully caps near-term upside,' Wang said to CNBC, highlighting that while Samsung has secured some HBM supply for AI processors from AMD, these contributions are unlikely to impact second-quarter results. Samsung's chip foundry business also faces weak orders and intense competition from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), further complicating the company's efforts to recover. Despite these setbacks, Samsung's stock has risen over 16% year-to-date, according to LSEG data. The company is scheduled to release its full third-quarter results later this month.
New Straits Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Nvidia supplier SK Hynix sees limited tariff impact on AI chips after bumper Q1
SEOUL: SK Hynix, a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) processors to Nvidia, said quarterly profit more than doubled and demand for AI chips was so robust that it expects only limited impact on those products from potential US tariffs. Washington has launched an investigation into semiconductor imports, arguing that extensive reliance on foreign production is a national security threat. There have also been concerns that increased US export controls on chips to China, which have resulted in a US$5.5 billion hit to Nvidia, could harm SK Hynix. "Regarding our HBM business, what we can clearly state is that there has been no change to our sales plans for this year to key customers, which remain in line with the levels set in previously signed contracts," Kim Ki-tae, the company's head of HBM sales and marketing, told an earnings briefing. Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said while it was a relief that there were no issues with HBM chip shipments to Nvidia, there are still worries that advance purchases and stockpiling across the industry seen in recent months may lead to weaker demand in the second half. SK Hynix logged its second-highest quarterly operating profit ever in the first quarter with a 158 per cent jump to 7.4 trillion won (US$5.2 billion), boosted by strong AI-related demand and stockpiling of smartphone and PC chips ahead of potential increases in US tariffs. That handily beat a 6.6 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward more consistently accurate analysts. Revenue soared 42 per cent to 17.6 trillion won. The company said it expects spending by big tech firms on server chips to continue as they seek to capture early opportunities in the artificial intelligence market. In smartphones, the advancement of AI features in new models is expected to drive replacement demand, boosting sales of high-performance mobile DRAM chips, it added. SK Hynix has been leading a global race to meet explosive demand for HBM chips, a crucial component of chipsets made by the likes of Nvidia that help process vast amounts of data to train AI models. It is the main HBM chip supplier to Nvidia as cross-town rival Samsung Electronics has struggled to keep up.
Reuters
16-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
TSMC Q1 profit set to jump, but Trump's policies cloud its future
Summary Companies Analysts expect first-quarter profit of $10.9 billion Q1 revenue jumps, beats market expectations Trump administration a major uncertainty for TSMC Earnings call at 0600 GMT on Thursday TAIPEI, April 17 (Reuters) - TSMC ( opens new tab, the main global producer of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications, is set to report a 57% leap in first-quarter profit on Thursday, though it is also likely to flag risks from U.S. President Donald Trump 's trade policies. The world's largest contract chipmaker, whose customers include Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, has benefited from a trend towards integrating AI features into online products. But the firm faces headwinds from Trump's import tariffs and his criticism of Taiwan's dominance of the chip industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is expected to report a net profit of T$354.6 billion ($10.92 billion) for the three months ended March 31, according to a LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 18 analysts. SmartEstimates give greater weighting to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. That estimate compares to the 2024 first-quarter net profit of T$225.5 billion. TSMC has been spending billions of dollars on new factories overseas, though it has said most manufacturing will remain in Taiwan. It announced plans for a $100 billion U.S. investment with Trump at the White House last month, on top of $65 billion pledged for three plants in the state of Arizona. Trump has both praised Taiwan's chip industry and threatened it with tariffs. Last week, Trump said he had told TSMC it would have to pay a tax of up to 100% if it did not build factories in the U.S. The Trump administration is also probing the import of chips, along with pharmaceuticals, in a bid to impose tariffs on both on the grounds that extensive reliance on foreign production of semiconductors and medicine is a national security threat. TSMC last week reported a surge in first-quarter revenue in Taiwan dollars, slightly ahead of market expectations. The company gives its revenue outlook in U.S. dollars on its quarterly earnings call, scheduled for 0600 GMT on Thursday. It will also update its outlook for the current quarter as well as for the full year, including planned capital expenditure for production increases. On its last earnings call in January, TSMC said it expected capital spending this year of $38 billion to $42 billion, an increase of as much as 41% from last year. While the AI boom had previously helped to drive up TSMC's stock price, shares have dropped 20% so far this year given uncertainty about U.S. trade and tariff policies. In Taiwan, the company is so important to the export-oriented economy it is often colloquially referred to as the "sacred mountain protecting the country". ($1 = 32.4770 Taiwan dollars)
