TSMC net profit hits record high as fourth-quarter results top expectations on robust AI chip demand
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s fourth-quarter revenue and profit beat expectations, as demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications continued to surge.
Profit jumped 57%
Here are TSMC’s fourth-quarter results versus LSEG consensus estimates:
TSMC profit rose 57% from a year earlier to a record high, while revenue jumped 38.8%. The firm had forecast fourth-quarter revenue between $26.1 billion and $26.9 billion.
The Taiwan-based company first released its December revenue last week, bringing its annual total to NT$ 2.9 trillion — a record-breaking year in sales since the company went public in 1994.
Fueled by AI demand
As the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, TSMC produces advanced processors for clients such as Nvidia and Apple and has benefited from the megatrend in favor of AI.
TSMC’s high-performance computing division, which encompasses artificial intelligence and 5G applications, drove sales in the fourth quarter, contributing 53% of revenue. That HPC revenue was up 19% from the previous quarter.
Nintendo reveals long-awaited Switch 2 console set to launch this year
Nintendo on Thursday announced its long-awaited new Switch 2 hybrid in a video trailer, touting a bigger screen and controllers.
The company is looking to breathe new life into its struggling hardware business.
Nintendo took in net profit of 27.7 billion Japanese yen ($178.2 million) in its September quarter, down around 69% year over year. Company revenue sank 17% year over year to 276.7 billion Japanese yen.
What it looks like
The start of Nintendo’s announcement video features a current version of the console before detaching the two “joy-con” controllers from the tablet. Thereafter, the console expands in size. The video then shows the joy cons growing larger and changing to a matte black color.
The joysticks and controller covers come in light blue and red variations. The joy con covers appear to be able to connect to the controllers magnetically when removed from the Switch 2′s main tablet when propping the console up on its stand or docking it to play on a home TV.
When it’s coming out
Nintendo didn’t give a release date for the Switch 2, but said it would reveal more details during its next “Nintendo Direct” online event on April 2.
The company said that the Switch 2 is backward compatible, meaning users will be able to play old Switch games on the new model.
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These Chinese apps have surged in popularity in the U.S. A TikTok ban could stop them in their tracks
Lemon8, a photo-sharing app by Bytedance, and RedNote, a Shanghai-based content-sharing platform, have surged in popularity in the U.S. as “TikTok refugees” migrate to alternative platforms ahead of a potential ban.
As of Wednesday, RedNote — known as Xiaohongshu in China — was the top free app on the U.S. iOS store, with Lemon8 taking the second spot.
Potential targets of ban, too
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, or PAFACA, that would lead to the TikTok app being banned in the U.S. if its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, doesn’t divest from it by Jan. 19.
While the legislation explicitly names TikTok and ByteDance, experts say its scope is broad and could open the door for Washington to target additional Chinese apps.
Divestiture from Chinese apps
If the TikTok ban is upheld, it will be unlikely that the law will allow potential replacements to originate from China without some form of divestiture, experts told CNBC.
PAFACA automatically applies to Lemon8 as it’s a subsidiary of ByteDance, while RedNote could fall under the law if its monthly average user base in the U.S. continues to grow, Tobin Marcus, head of U.S. policy and politics at New York-based research firm Wolfe Research, told CNBC.
Google faces first major probe under UK’s tough new antitrust rules
Britain’s competition watchdog on Tuesday opened an investigation into Google search services, marking its first major probe under the country’s tough new competition rules.
The Competition and Markets Authority said that it’s looking to assess whether Google has “strategic market status” (SMS) under the new U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC).
The DMCC, which officially came into effect on Jan. 1, aims to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets. If a company is designated as having “SMS,” it would give the regulator the power to impose changes to prevent anti-competitive behavior.
Law preventing anti-competitive behavior
Britain’s regulator on Tuesday highlighted Google’s dominant position in the U.K. search market as a primary point of concern.
Google accounts for more than 90% of all general search queries in the U.K., and more than 200,000 advertisers in the country use the firm’s search advertising tools, according to the CMA.
Google responds
In a blog post published later Tuesday, Google called for a “pro-innovation, evidence-based regime” in the U.K., adding that “overly prescriptive digital competition rules would end up stifling choice and opportunity for consumers and businesses.”
Top tech predictions for 2025
In the final episode of 2024, CNBC's Tom Chitty and Arjun Kharpal are joined by a whole host of special guests to reflect back on the year, and to look ahead to an exciting 2025 for technology.