Why is Taiwan Semiconductor so Cheap?

How a glut in microchips will meet turbocharged demand.

Andrew Willis 5 August, 2022 | 4:48AM
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Andrew Willis: We’ve been hearing for a while now about a shortage in microchips, yet since the beginning of the year, we’ve been watching the falling stock price of the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), or TSMC, is in one of the most cyclical businesses out there. The industry swings from shortage to glut and back again as the demand for electronics ebbs and flows. When budgets get tight, people aren’t likely to buy new smartphones… and that’s where 40% of TSMC’s revenue comes from.

The market sees an “inventory correction” ahead for TSMC’s semiconductor products, but it may have missed a few things. As equity analyst Phelix Lee points out, the wide-moat company is only one of two, alongside Samsung, that can produce certain forms of 5-nanometer chips. And the cutting-edge stuff that needs high-end mobile data processing – from the metaverse to autonomous driving, and smart cities – is just getting started.

For Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar Rating
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR197.21 USD1.32Rating

About Author

Andrew Willis

Andrew Willis  is Senior Editor at Morningstar.ca. He previously produced content for Fidelity Investments and finance events for Euromoney Institutional Investor and has written in the past for Thomson Reuters and CNN. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewWillisCDN.

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