Glonghui, April 22 | Citigroup published a research report showing that TSMC's profit for the first quarter of this year increased 9% year-on-year to NT$225 billion, and gross margin remained strong and resilient, reaching 53.1%, higher than the bank and market forecasts. TSMC expects revenue to increase by 6% quarterly in the second quarter of this year. The gross margin and operating profit margin are expected to reach 52% and 41%. The capital expenditure budget and annual revenue growth expectations will remain unchanged, but based on demand recovery over a longer period of time, management lowered the industry's growth forecast from 20% to more than 10 percentage points. Citi reiterated its “buy” rating. Considering that demand for AI and advanced nodes is expected to accelerate as the N2 pricing and cost structure continues to improve and the company's scale expands next year, TSMC's growth will continue to outperform the industry. It is expected that next year's profit will grow stronger year-on-year, so it raised its target price for **** stocks to NT$1,030.