Significant news has emerged from the semiconductor sector. On the afternoon of February 10th, data disclosed by the chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing revealed a 36.8% year-over-year increase in its January revenue, marking the fastest growth rate in several months and highlighting the continued strength of global artificial intelligence spending. In pre-market trading on Tuesday, the stock price of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing experienced a sharp, linear increase, rising by over 3%.
Separately, foreign media reported that the U.S. Trump administration plans to grant exemptions to major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft in upcoming chip tariffs, aiming to support their construction of data centers that drive artificial intelligence (AI) development.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported substantial earnings growth. The company released its January revenue report today (February 10th), showing consolidated monthly revenue of approximately NT$401.255 billion, an increase of 19.8% from the previous month and a 36.8% increase compared to the same period last year. Following this disclosure, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's stock price surged significantly in pre-market trading. At the time of reporting, the stock's gain remained above 3%. If this upward trend holds when U.S. markets officially open on Tuesday, the company's share price is set to reach a new all-time high.
The revenue growth rate for January exceeded the company's full-year revenue growth forecast of 30% and represented the fastest year-over-year growth in months, indicating sustained momentum in global AI expenditure, despite ongoing industry concerns about a potential bubble. However, as the Lunar New Year holiday in 2025 fell in January, the year-over-year comparison might be influenced by the holiday period.
On the same day, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced the results of its board of directors meeting, resolving to distribute a cash dividend of NT$6 per share for the fourth quarter of 2025. The board also approved employee bonuses and profit-sharing totaling up to NT$206.146 billion. Furthermore, the board approved a capital appropriation of up to $44.962 billion USD (approximately NT$1.4 trillion) to be invested in establishing and upgrading advanced process capacity, while simultaneously strengthening the layout for advanced packaging, mature, and specialty processes.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's dominant position in advanced AI chip manufacturing has made it one of the primary beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence investment boom.
Last week, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated that the technology industry's growing capital expenditure on AI infrastructure is reasonable, appropriate, and sustainable, as the cash flows of these companies are expected to begin growing. He also expressed the view that AI infrastructure construction is still in its early stages, with demand expected to remain strong for years to come.
Tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, and Alphabet are planning a combined capital expenditure exceeding $600 billion by 2026. Regarding this, Huang emphasized that the "largest infrastructure construction in human history" is underway, driven by "extremely robust" demand for computing power, which AI companies and hyperscale cloud providers are leveraging to generate increased revenue.
In mid-January, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's quarterly results showed that, buoyed by persistently strong demand for AI hardware, its profit growth significantly surpassed market expectations. The financial report indicated that for the fourth quarter of 2025, the company's net profit was NT$505.7 billion, a 35% year-over-year increase, reaching a new record high. Consolidated revenue was NT$1.46 trillion, up 20.5% year-over-year, and the gross margin was 62.3%, an improvement of 3.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, exceeding the market estimate of 60.6%.
Media commentary on the earnings report noted that although the market had anticipated Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's solid performance, the final announced net profit and gross margin still surpassed the upper range of analysts' forecasts. As the global leader in wafer foundry, its better-than-expected profitability growth reflects the continued increase in penetration rates of advanced process nodes in high-margin products.
A Rumor Regarding Chip Tariffs According to a report by the Financial Times, sources familiar with the matter revealed that the U.S. Trump administration plans to exempt American tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from the forthcoming round of foreign chip tariffs. This is primarily because these large tech companies are engaged in massive construction of AI data centers, requiring substantial chip imports. This vigorous process of AI investment and construction is considered crucial for the U.S. economy.
The report stated that these specific tariff exemptions would be provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce following trade investigations. Notably, the plan for providing tariff exemptions to large tech companies is linked to investment commitments from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The new scheme would allow Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to allocate its exemption quotas to U.S. clients, enabling those companies to import chips manufactured by TSMC tariff-free. Previously, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing committed to investing $165 billion in building production capacity in the United States.
This exemption plan also underscores the Trump administration's determination to incentivize domestic chip manufacturing in the U.S., while simultaneously providing some buffer for companies heavily reliant on imported semiconductors that support the rapid expansion of the American AI industry. However, sources emphasized that this large-scale tariff exemption plan is still being adjusted and has not yet been signed into effect by President Trump.
On January 14th local time, the White House issued a statement announcing that the United States would impose an additional 25% ad valorem tariff on certain imported semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and derivatives starting January 15th. The statement said these tariffs were based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, aimed at "addressing national security threats." The United States consumes approximately a quarter of the world's semiconductors, but currently produces only about 10% of its demand domestically.
An annex released simultaneously by the White House indicated that semiconductor products used in data centers, research and development, maintenance, and the public sector are not subject to these additional tariffs. Products already subject to tariffs, such as passenger vehicles, light trucks, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, steel, copper, and aluminum products, as well as products from Canada and Mexico, will not face duplicate tariff hikes.
The statement noted that if relevant exporting parties fail to reach an agreement with the United States through negotiations within 180 days of the statement's release, President Trump may take other measures to adjust imports.