A logo of Taiwanse chip giant TSMC can be seen in Tainan, Taiwan December 29, 2022. The likely decline in profit also reflects a strong performance last year, when the company was still riding high on pent-up post-pandemic demand. The world's largest contract chipmaker is set to report net profit of T$195.9 billion ($6 billion) for July-September - its second straight quarter of profit decline, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 19 analysts. Given that, much of Thursday's focus will be on TSMC's outlook for the fourth quarter and beyond. Fubon Securities expects a slow start to next year for TSMC, with 10% growth in the first quarter, predicting order cancellations towards the year end and mild restocking demand.

---

Persons: Ann Wang, SmartEstimates, Morgan Stanley, SmartEstimate, TSMC, Sarah Wu, Ben Blanchard, Emily Chan, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Revenue, TAIPEI, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, TSMC's, Fubon Securities, TSMC, Apple, Thomson Locations: Tainan, Taiwan, Asia's, TSMC's Taipei