[News] TSMC’s 2025 Overseas Split: China Leads Profits, Arizona Turns Profitable, Japan Losses Widen

While NVIDIA, taking over Apple, reportedly claimed the top spot as TSMC’s largest customer, accounting for 19% of 2025 revenue, all eyes are also on the earnings performance of the company’s overseas fabs. According to Mirror Media, citing TSMC’s 2025 annual report, the Arizona plant turned profitable last year, but the real cash cows were the China fabs—Nanjing and Shanghai, focused on 16 nm and 28 nm, together raked in roughly NT$39.177 billion in net profit.

According to TSMC, its Nanjing plant netted about NT$27.606 billion in 2025, with Shanghai adding NT$11.571 billion. Mirror Media notes that serving automotive, MCU, and power-management ICs, these mature fabs have mostly fully depreciated equipment, keeping costs low and letting revenue flow almost straight to profit.

As previously reported by Guacha, TSMC’s Nanjing plant currently churns out about 20,000 16/12 nm wafers and 40,000 28/22 nm wafers per month, representing roughly 3% of the company’s total capacity.

Most Improved Award: Arizona

Meanwhile, as TSMC accelerates its U.S. expansion—with 4 nm already in production and 3 nm expected on American soil as early as 2027—its Arizona fabs are already showing strong results. The plant swung to a NT$16.1 billion profit, rebounding from a NT$14.3 billion loss in 2024, while Japan’s previously leading Kumamoto fab posted a NT$9.767 billion loss, according to TSMC’s 2025 annual report.

Mirror Media highlights that TSMC’s Arizona plant has been fully booked by tech giants like NVIDIA, Apple, Google, and Microsoft, with AI-driven orders delivering peak margins. Despite a brief Q3 disruption from an industrial gas shortage, the facility closed the year in the black, the report adds. Notably, the U.S. accounted for over 74% of TSMC’s 2025 sales, with regional revenue jumping 42.3% to NT$2.83 trillion.

Kumamoto Struggles: Losses Widen Ahead of 3nm Upgrade

On the other hand, while TSMC has proposed upgrading its second Kumamoto fab to 3 nm, the current facility saw losses more than double, jumping from NT$4.4 billion in 2024 to NT$9.767 billion, according to TSMC.

ESMC, which broke ground in 2024 and is expected to feature 28/22nm and 16/12nm, is also suffering from heavy initial equipment depreciation, utilities, and operational costs prior to production, Mirror Media reports. According to TSMC, Germany’s ESMC posted a net loss of NT$688.6 million in 2025, widening from a NT$556.9 million loss in 2024.

In contrast to Japan’s renewed momentum after earlier delays, TSMC appears to be taking a more cautious approach toward its expansion in Germany. The Economic Daily News previously reported that Chairman C.C. Wei emphasized the site is fully geared toward automotive demand, focusing on 28/22 nm and 16/12 nm nodes for car and industrial chips, with little likelihood of moving into sub-5 nm advanced processes.

While construction remains on schedule, the company has adopted a wait-and-see stance on mass production. The original 2027 ramp-up timeline is now uncertain, pending a clearer recovery in automotive demand, the report notes.

Read more

• [News] TSMC Flags Significantly Higher Capex Over Next 3 Years; Arizona 4th Fab, Packaging Site in Works
• [News] TSMC Reportedly to Upgrade Kumamoto 2nd Plant to 3nm, Boosting Japan’s Chip Capabilities

(Photo credit: TSMC)