TSMC Q4 profit jumps 35% to a record, beating expectations as AI chip demand stays red hot

What happened

* Taiwan Semiconductor ($TSM) reported Q4 2025 net profit up 35% year over year to a record T$505.7 billion, beating consensus estimates (Reuters).

* The key driver: surging demand for chips used in AI, reinforcing TSMC’s role as the critical foundry behind leading AI and premium devices (customers include Nvidia and Apple).

Why it matters for markets

* When the world’s most important advanced-node foundry posts record profit and points to AI-led strength, it tends to lift sentiment across the AI compute stack: chip designers, wafer fab equipment, and high-bandwidth networking.

* It can also pressure “non-AI” semiconductor pockets where growth is slower (PC, handset, industrial analog), because ...