Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported sharply higher quarterly and July results as demand for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and emerging AI agents accelerated, while Third Point increased its stake by 67% in the second quarter. TSMC’s second-quarter revenue rose 36% to NT$1.27 trillion ($39.45 billion, or about $40.2 billion) and net income increased 77.4% to NT$706.56 billion ($22 billion, or $22.3 billion), beating analysts’ NT$632.64 billion estimate. July revenue rose 44.7% year over year to NT$467.58 billion, and revenue for the first seven months of 2026 increased 37% to NT$2.872 trillion. TSMC raised its 2026 capital-spending forecast to $60 billion-$64 billion and expects third-quarter revenue of $44.6 billion-$45.8 billion. Despite the earnings growth, shares fell 7.3% the following day, driving Taiwan’s benchmark TAIEX to its largest single-day point loss on record; they were later down 0.57% at $415.14 on Monday. TSMC represents more than 40% of the TAIEX and as much as 60% of the MSCI Taiwan Index, while its market value is close to $2 trillion. Taiwan overtook India in May to become the world’s fifth-largest stock market, according to Bloomberg calculations, but about two-fifths of that value comes from TSMC. Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation chair Sherman Lin is promoting the island’s integrated AI ecosystem, including smaller companies beyond TSMC, while the exchange develops the Taiwan Pristine Stock Index, Taiwan Innovation Board and Power Up corporate-governance program. TSMC is also expanding its partnerships and overseas operations, including plans for three Xiaomi chips and a reportedly planned $6.3 billion image-sensor plant with Sony in Kumamoto, Japan.