U.S.-traded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. closed just short of a record high Thursday after the third-party silicon-wafer fabricator said it was doubling down, literally, on its capacity to make silicon wafers.
American depositary receipts of TSMC
TSM,
had been on track for a record high close earlier in the session, rallying as much as 10% to an intraday high of $145.00, above the ADR’s Feb. 16, 2021, record close of $140.05, but ended the day up 5.3% at $139.19.
Early Thursday, TSMC said it had budgeted $40 billion to $44 billion to increase its fab capacity amid a global chip shortage that has lasted for more than a year. That’s double what the company pledged this time last year when it unveiled a $22 billion capital expenditure budget.
TSMC reported fourth-quarter revenue of $15.74 billion, a 24% jump from a year ago, as the company fills high demand for the silicon wafers that go into making semiconductors. The company forecast first-quarter revenue of $16.6 billion to $17.2 billion.
“Our fourth-quarter business was supported by strong demand for our industry leading 5-nanometer technology,” said Wendell Huang, TSMC chief financial officer, in a statement.
“Moving into first quarter 2022, we expect our business to be supported by HPC-related demand, continued recovery in the automotive segment, and a milder smartphone seasonality than in recent years,” Huang said.
TSMC supplies chip makers who do not have their own fabs like Nvidia Corp.
NVDA,
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD,
and Apple Inc.
AAPL,
