TSMC is building out capacity faster than ever on AI demand, a strong signal for chip investors, even as Taiwan's market suffered its sixth-worst point drop ever on inflation fears.

• TSMC has close to 20 new plants in the works worldwide, with 13 advanced chip and packaging sites in Taiwan and 5 to 6 abroad, plus extra 3nm plants now added in Taiwan, the US and Japan.
• Third-quarter sales and profit hit records and beat forecasts, and full-year dollar sales are expected to grow 44%, with the message that almost every AI player is now a customer.
• The 2nm process entered high-volume production with good yields in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, and 2nm capacity should more than double by 2027; the next-generation A14 process starts production in 2027 and mass production in 2028.
• Taiwan's index fell 3.4% and lost over 1,600 points, dragged down by weak US tech stocks after hotter-than-expected US inflation data revived talk of Fed rate hikes.
• Worries about debt behind the AI buildout are spreading: CoreWeave's bond yields jumped toward 15%, its stock fell more than 15%, and the selling hit SpaceX and Oracle too.

Outlook: TSMC's record results and capacity plans give the chip story room to run, but jittery markets and questions about who is paying for the AI buildout will keep driving big swings.