Margins, spending plans and 2027 outlook take focus as quarterly sales exceed guidance
Abu Dhabi, UAE – October 2026: TSMC’s upcoming earnings report will offer investors a key indication of momentum across the global AI industry, with attention turning to margins and future investment after quarterly revenue exceeded the company’s guidance, according to Josh Gilbert, Lead Analyst APAC and Middle East at etoro.
September sales figures put quarterly revenue at around NT$1.49 trillion, or approximately US$47 billion, up 51% year on year and above the US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion range management forecast in July.
With TSMC shares up more than 60% this year, Gilbert said strong headline figures may no longer be enough to meet investors’ expectations.
“The market debate around the AI trade has moved on from whether demand is real to how long it can keep running at this pace,” Gilbert said. “When a beat is already expected and share prices have risen this sharply, investors look straight to the guidance and fine print for any warning signs.”
With revenue already disclosed, margins will be a central focus. The production ramp-up of TSMC’s newest 2-nanometre chips is expected to weigh on gross margins, making its performance against the guided range of 65% to 67% particularly significant.
“Holding near the middle of that range would show just how much pricing power TSMC has,” Gilbert said.
Investors will also watch for updates to capital expenditure, currently guided at US$60 billion to US$64 billion this year. Any indication of higher spending next year could signal continued customer demand into 2027, with implications for the wider technology sector as Microsoft, Meta and Amazon prepare to report earnings in the coming weeks.
The results also carry relevance for the UAE’s AI ambitions. TSMC manufactures chips for Nvidia, Apple, AMD and Broadcom, connecting its production capacity to major AI infrastructure projects, including the Stargate UAE campus in Abu Dhabi, which is being built around Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell systems.
“TSMC sits at the centre of the AI ecosystem,” Gilbert said. “For investors, this week’s results are about as close as it gets to a health check on the entire AI build-out.”
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