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Analysts expect second-quarter profit of T$238.8 bln

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Q2 revenue jumps, beats market expectations

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Earnings call at 0600 GMT on Thursday

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TSMC to update on outlook for current quarter, full year

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Stock pressured by Trump comments ahead of earnings

TAIPEI, July 18 (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing Co ( TSM ), the dominant producer of advanced

chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, is

expected to report a 30% jump in second-quarter profit on

Thursday thanks to soaring demand.

The world's largest contract chipmaker, whose customers

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

surge towards AI.

TSMC is set to report a net profit of T$238.8

billion for the quarter ended June 30, according to an LSEG

SmartEstimate drawn from 21 analysts. SmartEstimates give

greater weighting to forecasts from analysts who are more

consistently accurate.

That estimate compares to the 2023 second-quarter net profit

of T$181.8 billion.

While TSMC's stock - and the broader Taiwan market -

has reached record highs, it dropped 2.4% on Wednesday after

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Taiwan "did

take about 100% of our chip business" and should pay the U.S.

for its defence as it does not give the country anything.

TSMC last week reported a jump in Taiwan-dollar denominated

second-quarter revenue, comfortably beating market expectations.

It will give third-quarter revenue guidance in U.S. dollars.

On Wednesday, ASML, the world's biggest chipmaking

equipment supplier, reported better-than-expected second-quarter

earnings.

TSMC, at its quarterly earnings call starting at 0600 GMT on

Thursday, will update its outlook for the current quarter as

well as for the full year, including its capital expenditure, as

it races to expand production.

TSMC is spending billions of dollars building new factories

overseas, including $65 billion on three plants in the U.S.

state of Arizona, though it has said most manufacturing will

remain in Taiwan.

On its last earnings call in April, TSMC maintained its

guidance for capital spending this year at $28 billion to $32

billion, compared with last year's $30.45 billion, and said 70%

to 80% of the total would go towards advanced technologies.

The second half of the year is traditionally the peak season

for Taiwanese tech companies as they race to supply customers

ahead of the year-end holiday season in major Western markets.

The AI boom has helped drive up the price of shares in

Asia's most valuable company, with TSMC's Taipei-listed stock

leaping 74% so far this year to historic highs, compared with a

31% gain for the broader market.

TSMC, colloquially referred to in Taiwan as the "sacred

mountain protecting the country" for its critical role in

Taiwan's export-dependent economy, faces little competition,

though both Intel ( INTC ) and Samsung are trying to

challenge its dominance.