For Asian equities, TSMC’s results are a bellwether for the whole AI supply chain, and its weight in Taiwan’s benchmark means the guidance will likely move the index as much as the profit figure. A raise to the low-to-mid 40% range for full-year revenue growth, as Morgan Stanley expects, would reinforce the AI trade across chipmakers, server builders and equipment suppliers, while any caution on fourth-quarter demand would hit a richly valued sector. Comments on capex and a possible Texas expansion will feed into US chip-equipment names. With TSMC’s shares broadly matching the market’s rally this year, the bar for a positive reaction is high.---TSMC keeps printing records; Thursday is about whether its guidance can keep pace with what the market already expects.Summary:TSMC is expected to report a 65% jump in third-quarter net profit to around T$746 billion ($23 billion), according to an LSEG SmartEstimate from 16 analystsAnything above about T$707 billion would be a record and mark an 11th straight quarter of profit growthThe earnings call, with fourth-quarter and full-year guidance, is on Thursday at 06:00 GMT (2:00 am ET)Third-quarter revenue rose 50% year on year to a record, beating forecastsMorgan Stanley expects TSMC to lift its full-year revenue growth forecast to the low-to-mid 40% rangeAnalysts expect questions on a possible Texas expansion, after Elon Musk said TSMC could sublease part of his Terafab complexTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is expected to report a sixth consecutive quarter of record profit on Thursday, driven by surging technology-sector spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure, Reuters reported.The world’s largest maker of advanced AI chips is forecast to post a 65% rise in third-quarter net profit to around T$746 billion ($23 billion), according to an LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 16 analysts, which gives more weight to historically accurate forecasters. Any result above about T$707 billion would be the company’s highest-ever quarterly profit and its 11th straight quarter of growth. TSMC already reported last week that third-quarter revenue rose 50% year on year to a record, beating expectations.Analysts say demand remains strong for both TSMC’s AI chipmaking capacity and CoWoS, its advanced packaging technology that combines processors and memory into a single high-performance unit, a critical step in building AI accelerators. That demand has made TSMC, a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, Asia’s most valuable company, with a market value of around $2.1 trillion, almost double that of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics.Guidance will be the main focus. The company will give fourth-quarter and updated full-year forecasts on its earnings call at 06:00 GMT (2:00 am ET). Morgan Stanley analyst Charlie Chan expects TSMC to raise its full-year revenue growth forecast to the low-to-mid 40% range, from more than 40% currently, on strong demand for its 3-nanometre chips. In July, TSMC lifted its capital spending forecast for this year to between $60 billion and $64 billion.Analysts also expect questions about expansion in Texas. TSMC is investing $265 billion in chip plants in Arizona, and Reuters reported in September that it was evaluating a Texas investment. Elon Musk said last week that his companies would build and operate the Terafab AI chip complex, with TSMC potentially subleasing part of it. Chan said Texas could become necessary given demand and limited space in Arizona within five years, while another equity analyst saw little urgency because some planned Arizona fabs have yet to be built, describing Texas as a longer-term option.TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares have risen 63% this year, broadly in line with the 69% gain in Taiwan’s broader market, leaving guidance as the likely driver of the stock’s reaction. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.