Will TSMC Expand Facilities in the U.S. Even at the 'Cost of 5 Years of Gross Profit'? Experts Reveal Two Major Competitors Closing In: Orders Will Be Lost Without Strategic Positioning

Following its earnings call, TSMC CFO Huang Ching-tsung gave exclusive interviews to U.S. media outlets including Bloomberg and CNBC. He stated that TSMC will continue expanding its production capacity both domestically and overseas, and emphasized, 'We don't intend to leave any room for others to take a share.' Although overseas operations may dilute financial performance, Huang believes that facility expansion will ultimately promote the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem.

Senior tech journalist Lin Hong-wen analyzed this during the program 'How Bo-Jie Sees It,' noting that TSMC is determined to secure orders even at the expense of gross margin.

Lin pointed out that TSMC rarely granted interviews to foreign media in the past, but with its stock price declining, the CFO has taken a more proactive stance. Huang's statement, 'We don't intend to leave any room for others to take a share,' comes at a time when rivals Samsung and Intel are aggressively capturing market share.

Lin warned that Intel's financial condition has improved and its stock price has risen, allowing it to restructure its process technology and gradually strengthen the entire company. Meanwhile, Samsung is 'flush with cash,' and its memory business is expected to remain profitable beyond next year, enabling aggressive investment in U.S. foundry operations.

In this context, TSMC plans to invest $100 billion in the U.S., with 3nm and 2nm processes scheduled for mass production in 2027 and 2029, respectively. At the same time, TSMC also plans to build 13 advanced process wafer fabs in Taiwan.

Lin believes that TSMC is willing to sacrifice gross margin to secure orders. 'For a company, is it more important to lose the entire market or to sacrifice a bit of gross margin?' If TSMC captures all the orders, revenue could grow by over 30–40%, so 'what does it matter if the gross margin drops by 2–3%?'

Lin added that current demand exceeds TSMC's capacity, forcing many customers to divert some orders to companies like Intel, giving them opportunities. 'But TSMC wants to lock down these opportunities,' he stressed. For a market leader, maintaining market share is critical. Therefore, TSMC will sacrifice its gross margin for the next five years to solidify its market position.