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Disclosure: The author holds a long position in TSM.
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TSM

Analysis as of: 2025-10-14
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
The world’s leading pure-play semiconductor foundry, producing advanced logic chips and advanced packaging for global fabless and systems companies.
ai automation cloud hardware semiconductors

Summary

Compute manufacturing’s keystone keeps compounding
Dominant share at leading nodes plus scaled packaging underpin a credible path to ~$250B sales by 2030. Policy risk and overseas dilution temper, but don’t derail, upside.

Analysis

Thesis
Owns the compute-capex flywheel. With 2nm/A16 leadership and scaled CoWoS/SoIC packaging, TSMC can compound AI/HPC manufacturing share into >$250B 2030 revenue while keeping trust, yield and distribution moats.
Last Economy Alignment
Compute supremacy requires wafer + packaging + yields at global scale; TSMC is the pivotal manufacturing platform for AI era despite geopolitics/capex drag.

Growth Outlook

Average Implied Multiple (to 2030)
2.3x (from 3 most recent periods)
Reasoning
Deterministic: Revenue path. 1) Rev_2030 assumed 250,000 (USD-m) on leading-edge share, AI packaging mix, N2/A16 ramps. 2) EV/Rev_2030 multiple = 10x (peer premium sustained by compute capacity + trust). EV_2030 = 2,500,000. 3) Current EV ≈ current market cap 1,220,000 + net debt (debt–cash) ≈ −48,800 → 1,171,200. 4) 2,500,000 / 1,171,200 ≈ 2.1x. Comps cross-check: TSM trades high-teens EV/Rev TTM; Intel/Samsung foundry lower; sustaining 10x into 2030 is optimistic but feasible with packaging-led margins and capacity scarcity.

Risk Assessment

Overall Risk Summary
Key risks: policy/tariff shifts (incl. tool/export curbs), overseas fab cost dilution, yield/throughput at N2 and advanced packaging scale, and customer concentration. Execution track record and balance sheet offset much of this.