(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported better-than-expected earnings, the latest signal that electronics demand has held up better than feared. 

The world’s largest contract chipmaker booked NT$237 billion ($7.9 billion) in net income for the quarter ended June, compared with the average estimate of NT$219.8 billion. 

The results from Apple Inc.’s most important chipmaker may allay investors’ fears about an economic slowdown and soaring inflation hurting demand for everything from phones to cars. Last week, Samsung Electronics Co. also reported a better-than-anticipated 21% jump in revenue, triggering an Asian stock rally. TSMC’s role as the predominant manufacturer of advanced semiconductors also likely cushioned its profit margins during the downturn. 

Read more: TSMC Sales Soar 44% in Another Sign of Resilient Tech Demand

Concerns persist about rising inventories in the $550 billion semiconductor industry and the longer-term impact of a potential global recession. TSMC’s shares are down more than 20% this year alongside a sector-wide selloff. But Credit Suisse analysts including Randy Abrams said TSMC remained one of their top picks because of its market share gains and dominant position. 

“We expect TSMC to report an upbeat 2Q and believe there is upside to consensus 2H22 and 2023 forecasts given the company’s solid share gains in” high-performance computing, Citi analysts wrote in a note.

TSMC, the world’s most advanced maker of silicon chips, has benefited from its most important customer. Over the past year and a half, Apple has launched five types of Mac chips. The Taiwanese firm also continues to ride the auto industry’s growing demand for semiconductors as cars become more digitized. Revenue jumped 44% to NT$534.1 billion in the second quarter, as previously reported.

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