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TSMC Q2 revenue T$673.51 billion, beating market forecasts

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AI boom fuels surge in demand for TSMC-made chips

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TSMC's stock at historic high

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TSMC reports Q2 earnings on July 18

(Adds details on outlook, stock price, paragraphs 9-14)

By Ben Blanchard and Faith Hung

TAIPEI, July 10 (Reuters) - TSMC, the world's

largest contract chipmaker, reported strong growth in

second-quarter revenue on Wednesday that handily beat market

forecasts, on the back of booming demand for artificial

intelligence (AI) applications.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM ), whose customers

include Apple ( AAPL ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ), has benefited from

the surge towards AI that has helped it weather the tapering off

of pandemic-led demand and pushed TSMC's share price to a record

high.

Revenue in the April-June period of this year came in at

T$673.51 billion ($20.67 billion), according to Reuters

calculations, compared with an LSEG SmartEstimate, drawn from 21

analysts, of T$654.27 billion.

That represents growth of 32% on-year, compared with $15.68

billion in the year-ago period.

It is not a direct comparison as TSMC provides monthly

revenue data only in Taiwan dollars, but gives quarterly revenue

figures and its outlook on its quarterly earnings calls both in

U.S. dollars.

On its most recent earnings call in April, Taiwan

Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM ) forecast second quarter revenue

in a range of between $19.6 billion to $20.4 billion.

For June alone, TSMC reported that revenue rose 33%

year-on-year to T$207.87 billion.

The company did not provide details in its brief revenue

statement.

TSMC, Asia's most valuable publicly listed company with a

market capitalisation of $830 billion, did not provide any

details or forward guidance in its brief revenue statement.

It is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on

July 18, when it will also update its outlook and plans for the

current quarter and the rest of the year.

TSMC is expected to report a 30% on-year rise in

second-quarter net profit, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate.

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares, trading at historic highs,

closed up 0.5% on Wednesday ahead of the release of the sales

data, in line with the broader market.

The shares have risen 76% so far this year, compared

with a 34% gain for the broader market.

TSMC's ADRs jumped 4.8% to a record of $192.79

on Monday, briefly boosting the firm's market value to $1

trillion.

($1 = 32.5790 Taiwan dollars)