Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. delivered record September and third-quarter revenue, but its shares fell as a broad semiconductor selloff intensified amid rising oil prices and Treasury yields.
TSMC reported September revenue of NT$511.86 billion, or about $16.1 billion, up 54.6% from NT$331.43 billion a year earlier and down just 0.6% from August. For the third quarter, revenue reached roughly NT$1.49 trillion, or $46.7 billion, up around 50% year over year and above analyst expectations of NT$1.46 trillion. The result also exceeded TSMC's previous guidance of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion.
Despite the strong operating results, TSMC's Taiwan-listed shares fell about 1.35%, while its U.S.-listed ADR dropped 2.1% in the previous session to $472.20. The pullback came as Brent crude futures climbed above $104 a barrel and the 10-year Treasury yield advanced to 5.3%, near its highest level since 2002. Higher oil prices can add to inflation expectations, while rising bond yields increase the discount rate applied to future earnings, pressuring high-growth technology stocks.
The selling was broader than TSMC: Intel shares fell about 6%, AMD declined more than 4%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down over 3.8%. Intel faced additional company-specific pressure after Elon Musk acknowledged that TSMC could potentially participate in his Texas-based Terafab chip project. Musk later said: "No, we will build and run the fab. Let there be ZERO doubt about that. Maybe TSMC subleases part of the Terafab if they want, but nothing more than that." Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also reiterated that Intel's involvement would continue.
AMD CEO Lisa Su told reporters in Taipei that the company has been able to increase supply through 2026 and will substantially increase supply in 2027, as it competes with Nvidia in AI accelerators. Mizuho analysts also argued that agentic AI could significantly increase demand for CPUs, estimating the total server CPU market could reach about $209 billion by 2030. The brokerage raised its AMD price target to $705 from $580 and its Intel target to $114 from $92.
