TSMC posted September-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion, up 50% year over year and above both analyst expectations and the top end of its own guidance — yet shares fell 1.5% in early Thursday trading.

The quarterly figure beat the NT$1.46 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate and marked another record for the world's largest contract chipmaker. Growth is accelerating rather than plateauing: the third-quarter expansion outpaced the 41.1% increase recorded for the first nine months of the year, when revenue reached NT$3.90 trillion.

September alone contributed NT$511.86 billion, a 54.6% rise from the same month a year earlier.

Why did the stock fall despite record sales?

The market reaction underscores how much of TSMC's AI-driven momentum was already priced in. Shares of the foundry — listed in New York as TSM and in Taipei as 2330 — slipped on the news despite the beat, with the ADR down 0.62% and the Taipei listing down 1.35% in the session's trading.

Investors now await the company's full third-quarter results, due October 15, when TSMC will release margin data and updated earnings guidance.

What is driving the growth?

Orders tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure continue to underpin demand, according to the report. TSMC manufactures for Nvidia, AMD and Apple, and its leading-edge capacity — including the two-nanometer process — remains a key growth driver.

The revenue breakdown for the quarter:

• Q3 revenue: NT$1.49 trillion, up 50% year over year
• September revenue: NT$511.86 billion, up 54.6% year over year
• Nine-month revenue: NT$3.90 trillion, up 41.1% year over year

What do analysts expect for October 15?

LSEG consensus currently calls for third-quarter net income of NT$740.8 billion, which would represent a 64% increase from a year earlier. That estimate is an analyst projection, not company guidance; TSMC's own margin and outlook figures arrive with the full results next week.

The pattern so far — revenue growth accelerating from 41% over nine months to 50% in the quarter, with monthly sales compounding faster still — suggests demand from AI infrastructure customers continues to tighten leading-edge capacity. Whether that translates into margin expansion and higher guidance will determine if the stock follows the fundamentals.