The guardian mountain strikes! TSMC reportedly raises prices across all advanced processes by 5% to 10%: even 7nm can't escape

According to an exclusive report published by senior tech analyst Tim Culpan on the Culpium subscription platform, TSMC is secretly communicating price increases to its customers. Unexpectedly, this price hike is not limited to the widely rumored 3nm process but covers all advanced processes at 7nm and below, with increases roughly between 5% and 10%. This move is expected to significantly boost TSMC’s gross margin by more than 2 percentage points by 2026.
(Background summary: TSMC is fully pushing forward CoPoS packaging production for mass production in 2028! TrendForce: Taiwanese panel manufacturers are competing for glass substrate opportunities with FOPLP)
(Additional background: TSMC faces patent infringement lawsuits! Two US companies accuse it of infringement, and the Director of the Intellectual Property Office says TSMC has counterattacked, making the challenge ineffective)

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• The increase exceeds expectations by three times! All advanced processes are affected
• Senior management issues profit-seeking directives, TSMC’s official response remains conservative
• Annual revenue aims for 160 billion USD, gross margin to rise another 2%

The explosive growth in global AI computing power demand has demonstrated the extremely strong market pricing power of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the world’s leading foundry with absolute technological advantages. On the 23rd, renowned tech columnist Tim Culpan published an exclusive report on his Culpium subscription platform, pointing out that at the North American conference in April, TSMC showcased its next-generation A12 and A13 process technologies with flair, and after prominently spotlighting its logic process collaboration with SK Hynix on HBM4, it is quietly executing a comprehensive semiconductor supply chain price increase plan behind the scenes.

The increase exceeds expectations by three times! All advanced processes are affected

Previously, local Taiwanese media mainly focused on the supply shortage of the 3nm process. However, according to Culpan’s exclusive information, TSMC’s price increase this time is much broader and deeper than the outside world imagined: all advanced processes at 7nm and below will be uniformly raised. This means the affected revenue scope has tripled compared to previous expectations — while 3nm accounted for 25% of TSMC’s wafer revenue in the first quarter, the entire advanced process portfolio now accounts for as much as 75% of total wafer sales.

It is understood that this wave of price increases has already begun to be implemented gradually. Even if some contracts have not yet been officially executed, customers have been forced to incorporate higher costs into their latest procurement orders. Although adjustments vary across customers, processes, and product categories, the overall increase is roughly between 5% and 10%. Some customers were surprised to find that even the relatively older 7nm process, which first adopted EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography tools, is on the price hike list. Internal sources also revealed that some mature processes (Legacy nodes) may also face future price increases.

Senior management issues profit-seeking directives, TSMC’s official response remains conservative

This comprehensive fee hike originated from internal directives issued by TSMC’s senior management earlier this year to the business development and sales teams. At that time, senior executives observed that memory giants like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, riding the AI boom, had wildly increased their profits by 65% to 90%. As the backbone of computing power, TSMC naturally wanted a share of the pie. The management instructed employees that this price increase must be deeply linked to TSMC’s “value proposition and technological advantages.”

In response, TSMC’s official statement when asked by Culpan did not deny the move but adopted its usual conservative stance: “We do not comment on pricing strategies. Our pricing is strategic rather than opportunistic. TSMC will continue to work closely with customers to sell our value.” This statement is interpreted by the author as a “silent approval of the price hike,” also echoing TSMC Chairman and CEO Wei Zhejia’s remarks at the shareholders’ meeting about “hoping to raise prices,” and CFO Huang Ren Zhao’s “not ruling out” possibility.

Annual revenue aims for 160 billion USD, gross margin to rise another 2%

From a financial perspective, this mild but widespread price increase will significantly contribute to TSMC’s financial structure. Analysts estimate that TSMC’s full-year revenue in 2026 will grow by at least 30%, surpassing the 160 billion USD mark. Among the expected 85 billion USD revenue in the second half, at least 80% will come from advanced process wafers.

Using a conservative estimate of an average 5% increase, this comprehensive adjustment of advanced processes is expected to directly bring a “more than 2 percentage point” net increase in TSMC’s gross margin in 2026. Compared to the near-extortionate surges of memory manufacturers, TSMC’s adjustment, though reluctantly accepted by downstream customers, can only be silently endured. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook also openly stated that “price increases are inevitable,” indicating that major clients are already prepared to pass costs onto end consumers. The author humorously notes that this reshuffling of costs might finally realize the long-rumored “Red MacBook Neo” from Apple in the near future.