SmartphoneWide moat

TSMC (TSM) — moat facet

The line that built TSMC has halved as a share and doubled in money since 2017; phones still pay for new nodes, but no longer set the company's pace.

Smartphones built TSMC and are now its second line. The platform brought in NT$1,110.8 billion in 2025, 29.2% of revenue, up 11% on the year.12 In the June 2026 quarter it was 22% of revenue, down from 26% in March and 27% a year earlier.3 The share has fallen every year since 2019, and yet the line has more than doubled in currency since 2017. Both facts matter, and the second is the one that gets lost.

Smartphone platform revenue (NT$ billion)50420174662018524201964520206952021889202281520231,00520241,1112025TSMC Forms 20-F FY2019, FY2022 and FY2025, net revenue by platform
The share fell every year since 2019, but the money more than doubled; the two down years, 2018 and 2023, were followed by the line's best.

The 20-F divides the line in two. For premium phones TSMC offers its newest logic processes, currently N2P, N3P, N3E and N4P among them; for mainstream phones it offers older FinFET generations down to 28 nanometres and 22-nanometre ultra-low-power.4 Around the processor it sells what the filing calls specialty companion chips: radio frequency, RF front-end, embedded non-volatile memory, power management, sensors and display chips, plus InFO packaging.5 A phone therefore buys wafers from almost every part of the node table.

The history runs through one customer. Before 2019 TSMC grouped its sales by application, and communication, mostly phones, was 62% of revenue in the last quarter of 2015.6 SemiAnalysis, an industry research firm, dates the modern shape of the line to 2013, when TSMC committed about $10 billion to 20-nanometre capacity on Apple's promise to fill it, and to Apple's A8 chip in 2014.7 It estimates Apple went from 9% of TSMC's revenue to 25% at the peak and about 20% in 2025, and that Apple took more than half of each new node's early output from 20 nanometres on.8 TSMC names no customer; the anonymous largest-customer series is on the Major Clients page The Largest Customer Changed. On the restated platform basis, smartphones were NT$504.2 billion in 2017, 51.6% of revenue.910

The line is paid like the rest, by the wafer. What distinguishes it is timing. Phone processors launch each autumn on the newest node, so the line pays early prices for new capacity and helps fund the yield learning that computing customers use later. What phones earn for TSMC is not disclosed, because the company keeps a single segment; the one signal it does give is that N2 went into volume production in the last quarter of 2025 with strong demand from both smartphone and high-performance computing customers, meaning phones still share the newest wafers rather than inheriting old ones.11

Growth has been real but uneven. From 2017 to 2025 the line compounded at 10.4% a year, to 2.2 times its 2017 revenue.121314 It fell twice. In 2018 it dropped NT$37.7 billion, or 7%, and recovered 12% in 2019.15 In 2023 it fell 8.3% to NT$814.9 billion, the year TSMC described as weakening macroeconomic conditions, soft end demand and customers' inventory adjustment.161718 In the March 2023 quarter alone the line's revenue fell 27% on the quarter, the steepest drop of any platform that period.19 The best years were 2020, up 23% to NT$645.3 billion, when TSMC's quarterly reports credited the ramp of 5G phones, then 2022, up 28%, and 2024, up 23%.20212223 Under the old application scheme the slide in share had already begun: communication was 59% of 2017 revenue and 56% of 2018's.24

The season is the other half of the pattern. Revenue from the line fell 22% on the quarter in March 2025, rose 19% in September and 11% in December, then fell 11% in March 2026 and 4% in June.2526272829 Those two latest declines are the first half of the year doing what it usually does, not a break in the line, and they arrived while the rest of the company grew fast enough to push the share down to 22%.

The worry for 2026 was memory. Higher memory prices were expected to hold down phone and PC unit sales, and management's answer in January was that TSMC supplies most high-end smartphones, which are less sensitive to component prices, so customers were still sending healthy forecasts.30 That is a statement about mix, and it is checkable: if it holds, the line's full-year revenue should still rise even with flat or falling unit shipments in the market.

Smartphones, then, remain a durable line that no longer drives the company. Keep an eye on the line's full-year revenue in New Taiwan dollars, NT$1,110.8 billion in 2025; a year in which it falls outside a recession would say the premium-phone argument has stopped working.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Revenue still grew 11% in 2025 and the line still takes the newest nodes early, but its share of revenue has fallen every year since 2019.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Smartphone platform revenue, full year
NT$1,110.8bn in 2025, up 11% (NT$1,005.1bn in 2024)

The claim is that TSMC supplies the premium phones that shrug off memory prices. A year in which this falls outside a recession would say the premium-phone argument has stopped working.

Source: TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 ↗
References
  1. ReportedThe platform brought in NT$1,110.8 billion in 2025, 29.2% of revenue, up 11% on the year.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 - net revenue by platform 2023-2025 (NT$ millions): HPC 934,769 / 1,476,891 / 2,192,931; smartphone 814,914 / 1,005,130 / 1,110,816; IoT 161,917 / 165,516 / 191,047; automotive 133,654 / 139,323 / 186,667; digital consumer electronics 47,000 / 47,961 / 47,997; others 69,482 / 59,487 / 79,596; total 2,161,736 / 2,894,308 / 3,809,054; increases from HPC of NT$716,040 million (48%) and NT$542,122 million (58%) and from smartphone of NT$105,686 million (11%) and NT$190,216 million (23%); platform descriptions; only one operating segment, the foundry segment; gross margin 54.4%, 56.1% and 59.9%; 7-nanometer and below 74% of wafer revenue in 2025, up from 69%; ESMC in Dresden (Fab 24) and up to EUR5 billion of German state aid agreed December 2024 — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcThe platform brought in NT$1,110.8 billion in 2025, 29.2% of revenue, up 11% on the year.
    Moat Explorer calculation from TSMC's Forms 20-F FY2019, FY2022 and FY2025 and quarterly management reports: platform shares of revenue (HPC 2,192,931/3,809,054 = 57.6% in 2025 and 265,394/977,447 = 27.2% in 2017; smartphone 29.2% in 2025 and 51.6% in 2017; IoT 5.0% and 5.3%; automotive 4.9% and 4.5%; consumer electronics 1.3% and 6.5%; the four non-HPC lines 72.8% in 2017 and 34% in 2Q26); 2025 revenue increase NT$914,746 million, of which HPC 78.3%, and 2024 NT$732,572 million, of which 74.0%; 2017-2025 compound annual growth HPC 30.2%, automotive 19.8%, IoT 17.7%, smartphone 10.4%, consumer electronics -3.4%; year-on-year changes HPC +28.8%, -7.6%, +39.3%, +33.6%, +58.6%, +0.3%, +58.0%, +48.5% (2018-2025), smartphone 2023 -8.3% and 2020 +23.2%, IoT 2023 -17.4% and 2024 +2.2%, automotive 2022 +73.5%, 2023 +14.8%, 2024 +4.2%, 2025 +34.0%, company revenue 2023 -4.5%; IoT 2025 of NT$191.0 billion 2.6% below 2022's NT$196.1 billion; consumer electronics 2025 23.9% below 2017 while company revenue grew 3.9 times, and 1/46 of HPC in 2025 against 24% in 2017; consumer electronics and others NT$127.6 billion (3.3%); 2Q26 HPC revenue about 66% x NT$1,270.38 billion against 60% x NT$933.79 billion, about half as much again, on rounded platform shares — 2017 to 2Q26 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIn the June 2026 quarter it was 22% of revenue, down from 26% in March and 27% a year earlier.
    TSMC 2Q26 Quarterly Management Report - net revenue NT$1,270.38 billion against NT$933.79 billion in 2Q25; gross margin 67.7%; HPC 66%, smartphone 22%, IoT 5%, automotive 4%, DCE 1%, others 2% of net revenue (2Q25: HPC 60%, smartphone 27%); sequentially, revenue from HPC, IoT, automotive, DCE and others increased 20%, 4%, 15%, 5% and 5%, while smartphone decreased 4%; North America 78% of net revenue; 7nm and below 77% of wafer revenue — 2Q26 · publ. July 16, 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedFor premium phones TSMC offers its newest logic processes, currently N2P, N3P, N3E and N4P among them; for mainstream phones it offers older FinFET generations down to 28 nanometres and 22-nanometre ultra-low-power.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 - net revenue by platform 2023-2025 (NT$ millions): HPC 934,769 / 1,476,891 / 2,192,931; smartphone 814,914 / 1,005,130 / 1,110,816; IoT 161,917 / 165,516 / 191,047; automotive 133,654 / 139,323 / 186,667; digital consumer electronics 47,000 / 47,961 / 47,997; others 69,482 / 59,487 / 79,596; total 2,161,736 / 2,894,308 / 3,809,054; increases from HPC of NT$716,040 million (48%) and NT$542,122 million (58%) and from smartphone of NT$105,686 million (11%) and NT$190,216 million (23%); platform descriptions; only one operating segment, the foundry segment; gross margin 54.4%, 56.1% and 59.9%; 7-nanometer and below 74% of wafer revenue in 2025, up from 69%; ESMC in Dresden (Fab 24) and up to EUR5 billion of German state aid agreed December 2024 — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAround the processor it sells what the filing calls specialty companion chips: radio frequency, RF front-end, embedded non-volatile memory, power management, sensors and display chips, plus InFO packaging.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 - net revenue by platform 2023-2025 (NT$ millions): HPC 934,769 / 1,476,891 / 2,192,931; smartphone 814,914 / 1,005,130 / 1,110,816; IoT 161,917 / 165,516 / 191,047; automotive 133,654 / 139,323 / 186,667; digital consumer electronics 47,000 / 47,961 / 47,997; others 69,482 / 59,487 / 79,596; total 2,161,736 / 2,894,308 / 3,809,054; increases from HPC of NT$716,040 million (48%) and NT$542,122 million (58%) and from smartphone of NT$105,686 million (11%) and NT$190,216 million (23%); platform descriptions; only one operating segment, the foundry segment; gross margin 54.4%, 56.1% and 59.9%; 7-nanometer and below 74% of wafer revenue in 2025, up from 69%; ESMC in Dresden (Fab 24) and up to EUR5 billion of German state aid agreed December 2024 — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedBefore 2019 TSMC grouped its sales by application, and communication, mostly phones, was 62% of revenue in the last quarter of 2015.
    TSMC 4Q15 Quarterly Management Report - revenue by application in 4Q15: computer 9%, communication 62%, consumer 6%, industrial/standard 23% — 4Q15 · publ. January 14, 2016 · source ↗
  7. Third-party estimateSemiAnalysis, an industry research firm, dates the modern shape of the line to 2013, when TSMC committed about $10 billion to 20-nanometre capacity on Apple's promise to fill it, and to Apple's A8 chip in 2014.
    SemiAnalysis, Apple-TSMC: The Partnership That Built Modern Semiconductors (in 2013 TSMC made a $10 billion bet on 20nm capacity for Apple; Apple's A8 launched in 2014; Apple went from 9% of TSMC revenue to 25% at its peak and about 20% in 2025, and took more than 50% of node launches from 20nm on) — 2013-2025 · publ. January 8, 2026 · source ↗
  8. Third-party estimateIt estimates Apple went from 9% of TSMC's revenue to 25% at the peak and about 20% in 2025, and that Apple took more than half of each new node's early output from 20 nanometres on.
    SemiAnalysis, Apple-TSMC: The Partnership That Built Modern Semiconductors (in 2013 TSMC made a $10 billion bet on 20nm capacity for Apple; Apple's A8 launched in 2014; Apple went from 9% of TSMC revenue to 25% at its peak and about 20% in 2025, and took more than 50% of node launches from 20nm on) — 2013-2025 · publ. January 8, 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedOn the restated platform basis, smartphones were NT$504.2 billion in 2017, 51.6% of revenue.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2019 - net revenue by platform 2017-2019 on the platform basis adopted in 2019 (NT$ millions): smartphone 504,175 / 466,452 / 523,613; HPC 265,394 / 341,910 / 315,822; IoT 51,776 / 65,092 / 86,343; automotive 43,871 / 51,710 / 47,914; digital consumer electronics 63,097 / 58,470 / 53,733; others 49,134 / 47,840 / 42,560; total 977,447 / 1,031,474 / 1,069,985; 2019 increases from smartphone NT$57,161 million (12%) and IoT NT$21,251 million (33%), offset by HPC down NT$26,088 million (8%); 2018 increases from HPC NT$76,516 million (29%) and IoT NT$13,316 million (26%), offset by smartphone down NT$37,723 million (7%) — FY2017-FY2019 · publ. April 2020 · source ↗
  10. Moat Explorer calcOn the restated platform basis, smartphones were NT$504.2 billion in 2017, 51.6% of revenue.
    Moat Explorer calculation from TSMC's Forms 20-F FY2019, FY2022 and FY2025 and quarterly management reports: platform shares of revenue (HPC 2,192,931/3,809,054 = 57.6% in 2025 and 265,394/977,447 = 27.2% in 2017; smartphone 29.2% in 2025 and 51.6% in 2017; IoT 5.0% and 5.3%; automotive 4.9% and 4.5%; consumer electronics 1.3% and 6.5%; the four non-HPC lines 72.8% in 2017 and 34% in 2Q26); 2025 revenue increase NT$914,746 million, of which HPC 78.3%, and 2024 NT$732,572 million, of which 74.0%; 2017-2025 compound annual growth HPC 30.2%, automotive 19.8%, IoT 17.7%, smartphone 10.4%, consumer electronics -3.4%; year-on-year changes HPC +28.8%, -7.6%, +39.3%, +33.6%, +58.6%, +0.3%, +58.0%, +48.5% (2018-2025), smartphone 2023 -8.3% and 2020 +23.2%, IoT 2023 -17.4% and 2024 +2.2%, automotive 2022 +73.5%, 2023 +14.8%, 2024 +4.2%, 2025 +34.0%, company revenue 2023 -4.5%; IoT 2025 of NT$191.0 billion 2.6% below 2022's NT$196.1 billion; consumer electronics 2025 23.9% below 2017 while company revenue grew 3.9 times, and 1/46 of HPC in 2025 against 24% in 2017; consumer electronics and others NT$127.6 billion (3.3%); 2Q26 HPC revenue about 66% x NT$1,270.38 billion against 60% x NT$933.79 billion, about half as much again, on rounded platform shares — 2017 to 2Q26 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  11. ReportedWhat phones earn for TSMC is not disclosed, because the company keeps a single segment; the one signal it does give is that N2 went into volume production in the last quarter of 2025 with strong demand from both smartphone and high-performance computing customers, meaning phones still share the newest wafers rather than inheriting old ones.
    TSMC 4Q25 earnings call transcript - in 4Q25 DCE decreased 22%; for 2025 HPC increased 48% and smartphone, IoT and automotive 11%, 15% and 34%, while DCE remained flat; revenue from AI accelerators accounted for high-teens percent of total revenue in 2025, with AI accelerator revenue growth forecast to approach a mid-to-high-fifties per cent CAGR for 2024-2029; N2 entered high-volume manufacturing in 4Q25 with strong demand from smartphone and HPC/AI; TSMC supplies most high-end smartphones, which are less sensitive to memory prices — 4Q25 call · publ. January 15, 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedFrom 2017 to 2025 the line compounded at 10.4% a year, to 2.2 times its 2017 revenue.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2019 - net revenue by platform 2017-2019 on the platform basis adopted in 2019 (NT$ millions): smartphone 504,175 / 466,452 / 523,613; HPC 265,394 / 341,910 / 315,822; IoT 51,776 / 65,092 / 86,343; automotive 43,871 / 51,710 / 47,914; digital consumer electronics 63,097 / 58,470 / 53,733; others 49,134 / 47,840 / 42,560; total 977,447 / 1,031,474 / 1,069,985; 2019 increases from smartphone NT$57,161 million (12%) and IoT NT$21,251 million (33%), offset by HPC down NT$26,088 million (8%); 2018 increases from HPC NT$76,516 million (29%) and IoT NT$13,316 million (26%), offset by smartphone down NT$37,723 million (7%) — FY2017-FY2019 · publ. April 2020 · source ↗
  13. ReportedFrom 2017 to 2025 the line compounded at 10.4% a year, to 2.2 times its 2017 revenue.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 - net revenue by platform 2023-2025 (NT$ millions): HPC 934,769 / 1,476,891 / 2,192,931; smartphone 814,914 / 1,005,130 / 1,110,816; IoT 161,917 / 165,516 / 191,047; automotive 133,654 / 139,323 / 186,667; digital consumer electronics 47,000 / 47,961 / 47,997; others 69,482 / 59,487 / 79,596; total 2,161,736 / 2,894,308 / 3,809,054; increases from HPC of NT$716,040 million (48%) and NT$542,122 million (58%) and from smartphone of NT$105,686 million (11%) and NT$190,216 million (23%); platform descriptions; only one operating segment, the foundry segment; gross margin 54.4%, 56.1% and 59.9%; 7-nanometer and below 74% of wafer revenue in 2025, up from 69%; ESMC in Dresden (Fab 24) and up to EUR5 billion of German state aid agreed December 2024 — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  14. Moat Explorer calcFrom 2017 to 2025 the line compounded at 10.4% a year, to 2.2 times its 2017 revenue.
    Moat Explorer calculation from TSMC's Forms 20-F FY2019, FY2022 and FY2025 and quarterly management reports: platform shares of revenue (HPC 2,192,931/3,809,054 = 57.6% in 2025 and 265,394/977,447 = 27.2% in 2017; smartphone 29.2% in 2025 and 51.6% in 2017; IoT 5.0% and 5.3%; automotive 4.9% and 4.5%; consumer electronics 1.3% and 6.5%; the four non-HPC lines 72.8% in 2017 and 34% in 2Q26); 2025 revenue increase NT$914,746 million, of which HPC 78.3%, and 2024 NT$732,572 million, of which 74.0%; 2017-2025 compound annual growth HPC 30.2%, automotive 19.8%, IoT 17.7%, smartphone 10.4%, consumer electronics -3.4%; year-on-year changes HPC +28.8%, -7.6%, +39.3%, +33.6%, +58.6%, +0.3%, +58.0%, +48.5% (2018-2025), smartphone 2023 -8.3% and 2020 +23.2%, IoT 2023 -17.4% and 2024 +2.2%, automotive 2022 +73.5%, 2023 +14.8%, 2024 +4.2%, 2025 +34.0%, company revenue 2023 -4.5%; IoT 2025 of NT$191.0 billion 2.6% below 2022's NT$196.1 billion; consumer electronics 2025 23.9% below 2017 while company revenue grew 3.9 times, and 1/46 of HPC in 2025 against 24% in 2017; consumer electronics and others NT$127.6 billion (3.3%); 2Q26 HPC revenue about 66% x NT$1,270.38 billion against 60% x NT$933.79 billion, about half as much again, on rounded platform shares — 2017 to 2Q26 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  15. ReportedIn 2018 it dropped NT$37.7 billion, or 7%, and recovered 12% in 2019.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2019 - net revenue by platform 2017-2019 on the platform basis adopted in 2019 (NT$ millions): smartphone 504,175 / 466,452 / 523,613; HPC 265,394 / 341,910 / 315,822; IoT 51,776 / 65,092 / 86,343; automotive 43,871 / 51,710 / 47,914; digital consumer electronics 63,097 / 58,470 / 53,733; others 49,134 / 47,840 / 42,560; total 977,447 / 1,031,474 / 1,069,985; 2019 increases from smartphone NT$57,161 million (12%) and IoT NT$21,251 million (33%), offset by HPC down NT$26,088 million (8%); 2018 increases from HPC NT$76,516 million (29%) and IoT NT$13,316 million (26%), offset by smartphone down NT$37,723 million (7%) — FY2017-FY2019 · publ. April 2020 · source ↗
  16. ReportedIn 2023 it fell 8.3% to NT$814.9 billion, the year TSMC described as weakening macroeconomic conditions, soft end demand and customers' inventory adjustment.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 - net revenue by platform 2023-2025 (NT$ millions): HPC 934,769 / 1,476,891 / 2,192,931; smartphone 814,914 / 1,005,130 / 1,110,816; IoT 161,917 / 165,516 / 191,047; automotive 133,654 / 139,323 / 186,667; digital consumer electronics 47,000 / 47,961 / 47,997; others 69,482 / 59,487 / 79,596; total 2,161,736 / 2,894,308 / 3,809,054; increases from HPC of NT$716,040 million (48%) and NT$542,122 million (58%) and from smartphone of NT$105,686 million (11%) and NT$190,216 million (23%); platform descriptions; only one operating segment, the foundry segment; gross margin 54.4%, 56.1% and 59.9%; 7-nanometer and below 74% of wafer revenue in 2025, up from 69%; ESMC in Dresden (Fab 24) and up to EUR5 billion of German state aid agreed December 2024 — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  17. ReportedIn 2023 it fell 8.3% to NT$814.9 billion, the year TSMC described as weakening macroeconomic conditions, soft end demand and customers' inventory adjustment.
    TSMC 1Q23 Quarterly Management Report - revenue decreased 18.7% quarter over quarter on weakening macroeconomic conditions, end-market demand softness and customers' inventory adjustment; revenue from HPC, smartphone, IoT, DCE and others decreased 14%, 27%, 19%, 5% and 18% while automotive increased 5% — 1Q23 · publ. April 20, 2023 · source ↗
  18. Moat Explorer calcIn 2023 it fell 8.3% to NT$814.9 billion, the year TSMC described as weakening macroeconomic conditions, soft end demand and customers' inventory adjustment.
    Moat Explorer calculation from TSMC's Forms 20-F FY2019, FY2022 and FY2025 and quarterly management reports: platform shares of revenue (HPC 2,192,931/3,809,054 = 57.6% in 2025 and 265,394/977,447 = 27.2% in 2017; smartphone 29.2% in 2025 and 51.6% in 2017; IoT 5.0% and 5.3%; automotive 4.9% and 4.5%; consumer electronics 1.3% and 6.5%; the four non-HPC lines 72.8% in 2017 and 34% in 2Q26); 2025 revenue increase NT$914,746 million, of which HPC 78.3%, and 2024 NT$732,572 million, of which 74.0%; 2017-2025 compound annual growth HPC 30.2%, automotive 19.8%, IoT 17.7%, smartphone 10.4%, consumer electronics -3.4%; year-on-year changes HPC +28.8%, -7.6%, +39.3%, +33.6%, +58.6%, +0.3%, +58.0%, +48.5% (2018-2025), smartphone 2023 -8.3% and 2020 +23.2%, IoT 2023 -17.4% and 2024 +2.2%, automotive 2022 +73.5%, 2023 +14.8%, 2024 +4.2%, 2025 +34.0%, company revenue 2023 -4.5%; IoT 2025 of NT$191.0 billion 2.6% below 2022's NT$196.1 billion; consumer electronics 2025 23.9% below 2017 while company revenue grew 3.9 times, and 1/46 of HPC in 2025 against 24% in 2017; consumer electronics and others NT$127.6 billion (3.3%); 2Q26 HPC revenue about 66% x NT$1,270.38 billion against 60% x NT$933.79 billion, about half as much again, on rounded platform shares — 2017 to 2Q26 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  19. ReportedIn the March 2023 quarter alone the line's revenue fell 27% on the quarter, the steepest drop of any platform that period.
    TSMC 1Q23 Quarterly Management Report - revenue decreased 18.7% quarter over quarter on weakening macroeconomic conditions, end-market demand softness and customers' inventory adjustment; revenue from HPC, smartphone, IoT, DCE and others decreased 14%, 27%, 19%, 5% and 18% while automotive increased 5% — 1Q23 · publ. April 20, 2023 · source ↗
  20. ReportedThe best years were 2020, up 23% to NT$645.3 billion, when TSMC's quarterly reports credited the ramp of 5G phones, then 2022, up 28%, and 2024, up 23%.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2022 - net revenue by platform 2020-2022 (NT$ millions): HPC 439,810 / 587,780 / 932,384; smartphone 645,304 / 695,091 / 888,879; IoT 110,355 / 133,006 / 196,115; automotive 44,367 / 67,077 / 116,381; digital consumer electronics 54,556 / 55,577 / 56,159; others 44,863 / 48,884 / 73,973; total 1,339,255 / 1,587,415 / 2,263,891; 2022 increases from HPC NT$344,604 million (59%), smartphone NT$193,788 million (28%) and IoT NT$63,109 million (47%); 2021 increases from HPC NT$147,970 million (34%), smartphone NT$49,787 million (8%) and automotive NT$22,710 million (51%) — FY2020-FY2022 · publ. April 2023 · source ↗
  21. ReportedThe best years were 2020, up 23% to NT$645.3 billion, when TSMC's quarterly reports credited the ramp of 5G phones, then 2022, up 28%, and 2024, up 23%.
    TSMC 1Q20 Quarterly Management Report - revenue decreased 2.1% quarter over quarter, less than seasonality, due to HPC-related demand and the continued ramp of 5G smartphones — 1Q20 · publ. April 16, 2020 · source ↗
  22. ReportedThe best years were 2020, up 23% to NT$645.3 billion, when TSMC's quarterly reports credited the ramp of 5G phones, then 2022, up 28%, and 2024, up 23%.
    TSMC Form 20-F FY2025 - net revenue by platform 2023-2025 (NT$ millions): HPC 934,769 / 1,476,891 / 2,192,931; smartphone 814,914 / 1,005,130 / 1,110,816; IoT 161,917 / 165,516 / 191,047; automotive 133,654 / 139,323 / 186,667; digital consumer electronics 47,000 / 47,961 / 47,997; others 69,482 / 59,487 / 79,596; total 2,161,736 / 2,894,308 / 3,809,054; increases from HPC of NT$716,040 million (48%) and NT$542,122 million (58%) and from smartphone of NT$105,686 million (11%) and NT$190,216 million (23%); platform descriptions; only one operating segment, the foundry segment; gross margin 54.4%, 56.1% and 59.9%; 7-nanometer and below 74% of wafer revenue in 2025, up from 69%; ESMC in Dresden (Fab 24) and up to EUR5 billion of German state aid agreed December 2024 — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. April 2026 · source ↗
  23. Moat Explorer calcThe best years were 2020, up 23% to NT$645.3 billion, when TSMC's quarterly reports credited the ramp of 5G phones, then 2022, up 28%, and 2024, up 23%.
    Moat Explorer calculation from TSMC's Forms 20-F FY2019, FY2022 and FY2025 and quarterly management reports: platform shares of revenue (HPC 2,192,931/3,809,054 = 57.6% in 2025 and 265,394/977,447 = 27.2% in 2017; smartphone 29.2% in 2025 and 51.6% in 2017; IoT 5.0% and 5.3%; automotive 4.9% and 4.5%; consumer electronics 1.3% and 6.5%; the four non-HPC lines 72.8% in 2017 and 34% in 2Q26); 2025 revenue increase NT$914,746 million, of which HPC 78.3%, and 2024 NT$732,572 million, of which 74.0%; 2017-2025 compound annual growth HPC 30.2%, automotive 19.8%, IoT 17.7%, smartphone 10.4%, consumer electronics -3.4%; year-on-year changes HPC +28.8%, -7.6%, +39.3%, +33.6%, +58.6%, +0.3%, +58.0%, +48.5% (2018-2025), smartphone 2023 -8.3% and 2020 +23.2%, IoT 2023 -17.4% and 2024 +2.2%, automotive 2022 +73.5%, 2023 +14.8%, 2024 +4.2%, 2025 +34.0%, company revenue 2023 -4.5%; IoT 2025 of NT$191.0 billion 2.6% below 2022's NT$196.1 billion; consumer electronics 2025 23.9% below 2017 while company revenue grew 3.9 times, and 1/46 of HPC in 2025 against 24% in 2017; consumer electronics and others NT$127.6 billion (3.3%); 2Q26 HPC revenue about 66% x NT$1,270.38 billion against 60% x NT$933.79 billion, about half as much again, on rounded platform shares — 2017 to 2Q26 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  24. ReportedUnder the old application scheme the slide in share had already begun: communication was 59% of 2017 revenue and 56% of 2018's.
    TSMC 4Q18 Quarterly Management Report - net revenue by application for full years 2018 and 2017: computer 14% and 9%, communication 56% and 59%, consumer 7% and 9%, industrial/standard 23% and 23% — Full years 2017 and 2018 · publ. January 17, 2019 · source ↗
  25. ReportedRevenue from the line fell 22% on the quarter in March 2025, rose 19% in September and 11% in December, then fell 11% in March 2026 and 4% in June.
    TSMC 1Q25 Quarterly Management Report - sequentially, revenue from HPC, automotive, DCE and others increased 7%, 14%, 8% and 20%, while smartphone and IoT decreased 22% and 9% — 1Q25 · publ. April 17, 2025 · source ↗
  26. ReportedRevenue from the line fell 22% on the quarter in March 2025, rose 19% in September and 11% in December, then fell 11% in March 2026 and 4% in June.
    TSMC 3Q25 Quarterly Management Report - sequentially, revenue from smartphone, IoT and automotive increased 19%, 20% and 18% — 3Q25 · publ. October 16, 2025 · source ↗
  27. ReportedRevenue from the line fell 22% on the quarter in March 2025, rose 19% in September and 11% in December, then fell 11% in March 2026 and 4% in June.
    TSMC 4Q25 Quarterly Management Report - sequentially, revenue from HPC, smartphone, IoT and others increased 4%, 11%, 3% and 14%; full-year 2025 net revenue by platform HPC 58%, smartphone 29%, IoT 5%, automotive 5%, DCE 1%, others 2% — 4Q25 and full year 2025 · publ. January 15, 2026 · source ↗
  28. ReportedRevenue from the line fell 22% on the quarter in March 2025, rose 19% in September and 11% in December, then fell 11% in March 2026 and 4% in June.
    TSMC 1Q26 Quarterly Management Report - net revenue NT$1,134.10 billion; sequentially, revenue from HPC, IoT, DCE and others increased 20%, 12%, 28% and 17%, while smartphone and automotive decreased 11% and 7%; HPC 61% and smartphone 26% of net revenue — 1Q26 · publ. April 16, 2026 · source ↗
  29. ReportedRevenue from the line fell 22% on the quarter in March 2025, rose 19% in September and 11% in December, then fell 11% in March 2026 and 4% in June.
    TSMC 2Q26 Quarterly Management Report - net revenue NT$1,270.38 billion against NT$933.79 billion in 2Q25; gross margin 67.7%; HPC 66%, smartphone 22%, IoT 5%, automotive 4%, DCE 1%, others 2% of net revenue (2Q25: HPC 60%, smartphone 27%); sequentially, revenue from HPC, IoT, automotive, DCE and others increased 20%, 4%, 15%, 5% and 5%, while smartphone decreased 4%; North America 78% of net revenue; 7nm and below 77% of wafer revenue — 2Q26 · publ. July 16, 2026 · source ↗
  30. ReportedHigher memory prices were expected to hold down phone and PC unit sales, and management's answer in January was that TSMC supplies most high-end smartphones, which are less sensitive to component prices, so customers were still sending healthy forecasts.
    TSMC 4Q25 earnings call transcript - in 4Q25 DCE decreased 22%; for 2025 HPC increased 48% and smartphone, IoT and automotive 11%, 15% and 34%, while DCE remained flat; revenue from AI accelerators accounted for high-teens percent of total revenue in 2025, with AI accelerator revenue growth forecast to approach a mid-to-high-fifties per cent CAGR for 2024-2029; N2 entered high-volume manufacturing in 4Q25 with strong demand from smartphone and HPC/AI; TSMC supplies most high-end smartphones, which are less sensitive to memory prices — 4Q25 call · publ. January 15, 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026