$Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ Key points from the earnings report:
1. Revenue: In Q1 2023, revenue reached $16.72 billion, at the lower end of the guidance range ($16.7-17.5 billion).Quarterly revenue experienced a sequential decline,with volume-related factors accounting for -12.8% and average selling price factors contributing -3.8%.The drop in prices was mainly due to the downturn of the industry cycle, while the decline in shipment volume was primarily driven by customer order adjustments.
This quarter's revenue decline for Taiwan Semiconductor was primarily attributed to North America, where U.S. customers adjusted their orders under inventory pressure, directly impacting Taiwan Semiconductor's current performance.；
2. Gross profit and gross margin: Taiwan Semiconductor’s gross margin in Q1 2023 stood at 56.3%, surpassing the upper limit of the guidance range (53.5-55.5%), but still saw a near 6 percentage point decline sequentially.Previously, during the semiconductor boom cycle, Taiwan Semiconductor’s gross margin frequently rose and even exceeded 60%, but this is unsustainable.Due to the impact of falling prices and rising costs, the company's gross margin has also declined from its previous high.。
3. High-performance computing (HPC) becomes the first pillar; 3nm process remains difficult to produce at scale.With the continued sluggishness in smartphones, HPC’s share has reached 44%, becoming the new core of the company’s business. As demand for graphics cards and data centers rebounds, the proportion of HPC business is expected to continue increasing. In terms of process nodes, the 3nm process has yet to achieve large-scale production, which has somewhat constrained the company...