TSMC is about to hold its earnings call, and the market expects high capital expenditure and price increases to continue — good news for TSMC and the AI supply chain, but a cost burden for customers buying chips.

• Market reports suggest TSMC may open a second campus in Dallas, Texas, building another batch of advanced wafer fabs there. In an interview, Trump also mentioned that "that big chip company from Taiwan" is pouring large sums into investment in the United States.
• The move to build plants in the US is driven mainly by tariffs and customer demands for local production. US customers already account for the majority of TSMC's business, and serving AI and high-performance computing clients close by while diversifying geopolitical risk are key considerations.
• Demand from Nvidia and the major cloud providers for advanced process nodes and CoWoS packaging remains strong, undercutting earlier claims that "AI investment is cooling off."
• Prices for advanced nodes, advanced packaging and mature nodes could all rise next year, as materials and equipment grow more expensive, while tight supply of high-end capacity gives TSMC room to push through increases.
• TSMC is also in talks to operate a new Texas plant for Terafab, Musk's new company. Musk has said the matter is only at the discussion stage.

Outlook: The earnings call will focus on 2027 capital expenditure, whether the Texas plant plan is finalised, and whether the massive investment will squeeze profit margins in the near term.