By Cris Tolomia

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. disclosed July revenue of NT$467.58 billion ($14.5 billion), up 44.7% year on year, reflecting an accelerating appetite for chips used in artificial intelligence applications.

The result puts TSMC ahead of its own full-year guidance. The company said it expects 2026 revenue to grow by slightly above 40% in U.S. dollar terms, a target it raised after its second-quarter earnings last month. TSMC also raised its capital expenditure projection to between $60 billion and $64 billion for the year.

During the second-quarter earnings report, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei said "AI-related demand continues to be extremely robust." High-performance computing, the segment where TSMC books AI chip revenue, accounted for 66% of second-quarter revenues.

Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, said July's numbers put TSMC ahead of its 40% growth target for the year. "This is no mean feat and highlights that for now demand is still there and takes the pressure off August and September somewhat in that these two months don't have to be as aggressive," Barringer told CNBC. He added a note of caution, warning that the industry's fortunes are volatile and that month-to-month figures are inherently noisy.

The company issues no accompanying statement when it publishes its monthly revenue data.

The July figure builds on a strong first half of the year. June revenue came in at NT$442.68 billion, a 67.9% year-on-year jump that marked the best sales month in the company's history, lifting second-quarter revenue to NT$1.27 trillion — a 36% rise from the same period a year earlier and slightly above the top of TSMC's own guidance range.

The first six months of 2026 produced NT$2.4 trillion ($74.99 billion) in total revenue, running 35.6% ahead of where the company stood at the midpoint of last year.

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Because TSMC's customer list spans major AI players such as Nvidia and Google, its monthly revenue releases serve as a broad barometer for technology spending across the industry. The results lifted European chip-sector equities on Monday, with ASML gaining more than 2% and both Infineon and STMicro moving higher alongside it. TSMC stock is up 50% for the year.