Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s sales rose 30% in the first two months of the year, buoyed by the robust pace of AI infrastructure construction prior to the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
Revenue in January and February together grew to NT$718.9 billion ($22.6 billion), the company said Tuesday. Analysts on average expect a 33% increase in the first quarter. February sales rose 22%, with growth affected by the Lunar New Year holidays, which fell in January in 2025.
The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Broadcom Inc. serves as a barometer for the global AI industry, with attention now on how the US and Israel’s strike on Iran will affect appetite to build data centers and other digital infrastructure.
Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have earmarked more than $650 billion in spending this year, but warnings over overcapacity and uncertainty over how to monetize the technology linger.
The construction of AI data centers can cost tens of billions of dollars and require coordination with power generation and electrical grid operators, as well as suppliers and debt providers.
Oracle Corp. and OpenAI have scrapped plans to expand a flagship artificial intelligence data center in Texas after negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI’s changing needs, Bloomberg News reported last week.