Shares in chipmaker TSMC leap after profit beats estimates

TAIPEI -Shares in Taiwan's TSMC jumped on Friday, a day after the chipmaker announced a forecast-beating third-quarter profit and even though it struck a more cautious note than usual on upcoming demand.

The company, a major Apple Inc supplier and the world's largest contract chipmaker, said net profit for July-September surged 80 per cent from a year earlier, its strongest quarterly growth in two years.

TSMC also trimmed its capital spending budget by at least 10 per cent for this year and said it was being more conservative in planning investments for 2023 although it still expects "a growth year".

Shares in Asia's biggest company by market capitalisation closed up 4 per cent, helping the broader market rise 2.5 per cent.

The stock has lost a third of its value for the year to date, hurt by concerns about weakening global demand for consumer electronics amid decades-high inflation, rising interest rates and COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

Daiwa Capital Markets noted that guidance for the fourth quarter and next year was mostly "intact" and recommended that investors should take advantage of a buying opportunity. TSMC shares have fallen more than 30 per cent so far this year

Morningstar said in a research note that TSMC shares were cheap given the long-term outlook for chips, especially as growth for artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and high-performance computing "may last for decades".

Shares in domestic rival, United Microelectronics Corp, closed up 6.3 per cent on Friday. It reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 26.