Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Q1 2026 revenue rose 35% year over year to about $35.6 billion, underscoring TSMC’s central role in meeting persistent advanced-chip demand.

Who they are

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the contract chipmaker at the center of coverage about advanced-chip supply, expanding production in Taiwan, the US and Japan while navigating export controls, customer demand and technology protection.

The recent arc

Coverage peaked in 2025Q4, when the story shifted from capacity buildout to the protection of TSMC’s technological edge: TSMC sued former vice president Lo Wen-jen after his move to Intel, and Taiwanese prosecutors searched the Intel executive’s homes following allegations of leaked sensitive information. Earlier in 2025, CEO C.C. Wei said construction of the second and third Arizona plants would be accelerated by several quarters for US customers.

The 2026 stories return to operating momentum and the limits of supply. TSMC reported first-quarter revenue up 35% year over year to roughly $35.6 billion, planned to upgrade the second Kumamoto, Japan plant to 3nm production, and said it still could not meet US-led demand even as American capacity comes online. A reported plan to install tools at Arizona’s second fab in summer 2026 links that demand pressure to the US production push.

The tension

The coverage circles a three-way tension between demand for leading-edge chips, geographic diversification and control of sensitive technology. TSMC is expanding in Arizona and Japan as Washington restricts equipment access for its Nanjing facility and export-control concerns reach shipments tied to Huawei, while the dispute involving Intel highlights how personnel mobility can become a competitive and security issue.

Why it matters

If demand remains ahead of available capacity, TSMC’s manufacturing timetable will continue to shape where advanced chips can be supplied and how quickly US and Japanese production can supplement Taiwan. But the same trajectory leaves execution, export restrictions and the safeguarding of proprietary process knowledge as constraints rather than simple expansion questions.

Related: TSMC · Intel · Arizona · Japan · TSMC CEO C.C. Wei says the company is speeding up construction of its · TSMC reports Q1 revenue up 35% YoY to ~$35.6B, vs. ~$35.2B est., signa