wccftech - TSMC: Chip Shortage Will Continue in 2022, 2nm Mass Production In 2025
“According to statements made by the company's management in a conference, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) expects to earn up to $15.7B in revenue in its ongoing quarter. These figures come as the financial community is divided on the nature of the ongoing semiconductor supply chain shortage, and questions remain as to whether TSMC can sustain an aggressive revenue growth as the year ends.
TSMC's CEO Dr.C.C. Wei clarified that high demand for semiconductor products used in the rollout and operation of fifth-generation (5G) cellular technologies and high performance computing (HPC) products used for performance-intensive computing applications would continue to constrain his company's production capacity. He went on to add that increased demand from other areas, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and the automobile sector, have also impacted TSMC's supply capabilities.
TSMC's primary contract manufacturing rival, Samsung Electronics' chipmaking arm Samsung Foundry, announced recently that it would mass-produce the 2nm processors in 2025, and U.S. chip giant Intel Corporation's detailed product roadmap expects its 20 Angstrom (20A) manufacturing process, thought comparable to the 2nm node, to enter early-stage production by the first half of 2024. Dr. Wei replied that while TSMC does not comment on their technology roadmaps, he remains confident that the fab's 2nm technology will enter mass production in 2025.
Questions about TSMC's profitability started making their way around the financial sector at the end of the second quarter after investment bank Morgan Stanley posited in June that the company might not be able to sustain a 50% gross margin due to rising costs and an expected end to the chip shortage by the end of this year. Last month, fresh fuel was added to this speculation when an unconfirmed report claimed that TSMC's Q4 revenue might drop by 5% due to order cutback from major 5nm and 7nm customers.
The company, however, remains upbeat about its future as it estimates that in Q4, it will earn revenue ranging between $15.5B to $15.7B at an exchange rate of NT$28 to one U.S. dollar. This will enable TSMC to achieve a gross margin ranging between 51% to 53% and an operating margin between 39% and 41%. Furthermore, the revenue range will enable quarterly growth ranging between 4% and 5%.”
My thoughts: Bottom line, demand is still very high. Most of this was aimed at investors by TSMC and with their price increases you would expect to see quarterly growth.