According to a UDN Money report dated July 12, 2026, investment analysts expect TSMC's (台積電) upcoming earnings call to maintain the view it gave in mid-April: capital expenditure for this year near $56 billion. The same report cites market expectations that TSMC's capex over the next three years could total more than $150 billion, staying at historically elevated levels.
That capex trajectory sits alongside TSMC's US commitment. Per the same UDN Money report, TSMC announced in March 2025 an additional investment of at least $100 billion (roughly NT$3.195 trillion) in the United States, covering three wafer fabs, two advanced packaging plants, and one R&D center — bringing TSMC's total US investment to $165 billion.
UDN Money reports that TSMC's 2-nanometer process entered mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025, and this year the company is ramping five 2nm fabs simultaneously — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung.
TSMC also disclosed process-scaling figures cited in the same report: first-year 2nm wafer output will be 45% higher than the first-year output of its 2023 3nm node, and 2nm capacity is expected to grow at a 70% compound annual growth rate from 2026 through 2028.
The same UDN Money report notes two rival moves. Samsung Electronics (三星電子) said on its Q1 earnings call that it is in active discussions with major AI and HPC customers on 2nm projects and plans to begin mass production of its second-generation 2nm process, SF2P, in the second half of this year.
Intel, per the report, announced in mid-June that its 18A (1.8nm) process entered trial production, initially applied to its own Core Ultra Series 3 processors.
According to UDN Money, US President Trump said in an early-July interview that Taiwan is doubling the scale of the Arizona fab under construction, and that by the end of his term, 40% to 60% of chip manufacturing could be based in the United States.
The same report details TSMC's own disclosed Arizona build-out: Fab 1 began mass-producing 4nm chips in the fourth quarter of 2024; Fab 2 is expected to start 3nm production in the second half of 2027; Fab 3 is under construction; and TSMC has applied for permits to build a fourth fab and its first advanced packaging facility, with a packaging plant planned to open in Arizona before 2029. This build-out is funded through the $100 billion additional investment announced in March 2025, part of TSMC's $165 billion total US commitment (E9).
According to a Liberty Times Net report dated July 14, 2026, TSMC guided second-quarter revenue to $39.5 billion, an increase of about $3.6 billion from the first quarter — roughly 10% quarter-over-quarter growth.
The same report cites TSMC's guidance for gross margin at a midpoint of 66.5%, slightly higher than the actual first-quarter figure, while operating margin is guided at approximately 57.5%, slightly below the first quarter's 58.1% but still described in the report as close to historic highs.
| Metric | Q1 2026 (actual) | Q2 2026 (guidance) |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | $39.5B (+~10% QoQ, +$3.6B) |
| Gross margin | (base for comparison) | 66.5% (midpoint) |
| Operating margin | 58.1% | ~57.5% |
Liberty Times Net reports that TSMC's (TSMC) share price has risen sharply this year, with a cumulative gain of more than 46% year-to-date as of the July 14, 2026 report.
The same report cites analyst Parkev Tatevosian, who recommends a split-entry approach around the earnings release: "Split your capital into two parts — deploy half before the earnings report and wait to decide on the other half until after the results are announced."
The scale of capital being committed lines up across sources: UDN Money's cited $56 billion 2026 capex figure and >$150 billion three-year total sit alongside a $165 billion total US investment figure from the same report, which funds the Arizona build-out that Trump separately described as doubling in scale. Meanwhile, the 70% compound capacity growth rate TSMC cited for 2026–2028 2nm output comes as the company guides Q2 gross margin (66.5%) higher than Q1 and operating margin (57.5%) only modestly below Q1's 58.1% — per Liberty Times Net, guidance the report frames as close to historic highs even as spending accelerates. On the process-race side, Samsung's planned SF2P ramp and Intel's 18A trial production, both landing in the same window as TSMC's 2nm five-fab expansion, mark competing timelines rather than parallel progress at the same stage. Separately, the 46% year-to-date share gain reported by Liberty Times Net predates the July 16 earnings call itself, which is the event both UDN Money and Liberty Times Net frame as the next test of these capex, process, and US-expansion figures.
According to the Liberty Times and UDN, the White House pushed Apple, NVIDIA and SpaceX toward Intel after Washington took an roughly $8.9 billion, near-10% equity stake in the chipmaker. Deals followed, but Intel's foundry unit lost $10.4 billion over four quarters, and Apple still relies on TSMC for most custom chips.
According to United Daily News (UDN), Nikkei Asia reported that TSMC (台積電) has discussed raising 2027 wafer prices by a base 5%–10%, plus a 10%–15% surcharge on rush high-performance-computing (HPC) orders. Central News Agency (CNA) reports talks ran from June to July, effective early next year. TSMC told Nikkei it does not comment on pricing and calls its approach 'strategic, not opportunistic.'
According to the Central News Agency (CNA), Taiwan's TAIEX jumped 1,783.17 points to a record closing high of 44,232.87 on July 21, with turnover of NT$835.624 billion, even as foreign investors extended their sell-off to a 13th straight session and cut Innolux (群創) by 62,999 lots. Investment trusts' NT$17.232 billion in buying still pushed the three institutional investors to a combined NT$16.407 billion net inflow, CNA reported.