In the past two years, there has been a serious shortage in the chip supply chain, and chip-related industries have been affected to varying degrees. With the help of Apple's customer, TSMC still earned more in the case of "lack of core".
On April 25, according to media reports, TSMC expects to receive orders from Apple for $17.024 billion (about 111.6 billion yuan) this year, up 23% year-on-year.
Because of its advanced process technology and high yield, TSMC has become the exclusive oem of Apple's self-developed chips for many years. Since 2016, Apple has handed over the self-developed A-series processor to TSMC to OEM, and the subsequent M series chips are also made by TSMC.
Thanks to Apple's huge sales and demand, TSMC has successfully made Apple its number one customer. The data shows that as the largest customer of TSMC, Apple's revenue contribution rate in 2021 is as high as 26%, much higher than the 10% of the second customer.
Of course, Apple will also have some concerns. Apple contributes nearly a quarter of TSMC's revenue, which means that Apple will largely be grasped by TSMC. But there is no way, who said that there is a tide of "lack of core" now?
Previous media reports said that due to chip shortages, Apple had to accept TSMC's chip price increase and order about 150,000 4nm process chips for its new processor. TSMC is really making a lot of money. However, can the "lack of core" still ensure the production capacity of TSMC?
Industry insiders pointed out that the current impact of the epidemic on the upstream semiconductor industry chain is very small. TSMC's foundry production schedule has also not been hit. It is expected that there will be a wave of upstream pulling goods in June this year.
It is worth mentioning that TSMC may deliver the first batch of 2nm chips to Apple in 2026, and Apple may also be TSMC's largest customer in the future.
Text | Zhao Jinjie title | Zeng Yi reviewed | Lee Ze-plutonium