Analysts expect fourthquarter profit of T226.4 bln
Q4 revenue flat but beat company expectations
Stock price has soared on chip demand for AI applications
Earnings call at 0600 GMT on Thursday

TAIPEI, Jan 16 Reuters Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, is expected to report a 23 drop in fourthquarter profit on Thursday, but analysts predict better growth this year on the back of rebounding demand.

The likely decline in profit also reflects a strong performance in 2022, when the company, whose customers include Apple and Nvidia, was still riding high on pentup postpandemic demand.

The world39;s largest contract chipmaker is set to report net profit of T226.4 billion 7.21 billion for the October to December period its third straight quarter of profit decline, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 20 analysts. SmartEstimates give greater weighting to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

That compares to the yearearlier net profit of T295.9 billion.

Revenue in the final three months of last year came in at T625.5 billion 20.10 billion, according to Reuters calculations from TSMC data released last week, compared with 19.93 billion in the yearearlier period, but that still beat both the company39;s and market39;s expectations.

Global demand for semiconductors began to weaken in the second half of 2022, but analysts say inventories at smartphone and computer makers are running down and restocking demand is expected to pick up….