TAIPEI, Taiwan: TSMC posted a sixth consecutive record quarterly profit on October 15 as booming demand for artificial intelligence chips lifted earnings 69 percent, although the world's largest manufacturer of advanced chips struck a cautious note about 2027.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said AI demand remained "extremely robust" and showed no signs of slowing, but macroeconomic uncertainty and pressure on consumer and price-sensitive markets were prompting it to plan cautiously for next year.

"Looking ahead, we continue to observe consumer and price-sensitive end-market segments are being challenged due to the impact of rising component prices and macroeconomic uncertainties," Chief Executive C.C. Wei said on an earnings call. "As such, we are being prudent in our business planning going into 2027."

TSMC reported net profit of T$763.1 billion (US$23.59 billion) for the July-to-September quarter, up 69 percent from a year earlier and above a T$746.3 billion LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 16 analysts.

The result was the company's highest-ever quarterly net income and its 11th consecutive quarter of profit growth.

TSMC also raised its 2026 outlook, saying it now expects full-year revenue to grow about 44 percent, up from its previous forecast of more than 40 percent. It reiterated that demand far exceeds its supply capacity.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of $52.3 billion to $54.3 billion, up to 61 percent from $33.73 billion a year earlier. It maintained its 2026 capital spending forecast of $60 billion to $64 billion.

The company said the emergence of agentic AI central processing units and continued demand for networking chips would drive future silicon demand.

TSMC, a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, has been a major beneficiary of the AI boom. Analysts say demand remains strong for both its AI chipmaking capacity and its advanced CoWoS chip packaging technology.

The company is investing $265 billion to build chip factories in Arizona, including an additional $100 billion unveiled in July. It said its second Arizona fab has completed construction and is scheduled to begin mass production in the third quarter of 2027, ahead of schedule.

TSMC is also evaluating a potential investment in Texas after major U.S. customers asked it to increase local manufacturing capacity.

"Texas is one," Wei said. "We sent teams to Texas to do all the evaluation."

Wei said TSMC had also discussed Tesla CEO Elon Musk's planned Terafab AI chip complex, but stressed that any fab collaboration would have to be operated by TSMC.