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 (2330.TW) 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. $(AAPL)$
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