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If I Could Only Buy 1 Semiconductor Stock, This Would Be It
TSMTSMC(TSM) The Motley Fool·2025-02-08 14:57

Core Insights - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plays a crucial role in the global AI infrastructure ecosystem, making it relatively resilient to market downturns [1] - Recent challenges in the semiconductor industry, particularly concerns over AI spending due to the release of an open-source AI model by DeepSeek, have negatively impacted many semiconductor stocks [2] - TSMC is estimated to account for 65% of the global foundry market in 2024, positioning it favorably amidst fears about future AI spending [3] Financial Performance - TSMC's revenues for 2024 are projected to reach 90billion,reflectinga3090 billion, reflecting a 30% year-over-year increase, with gross margins expanding to 56.1% [6] - For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, TSMC expects revenues between 25 billion and 25.8billion,representinga34.725.8 billion, representing a 34.7% year-over-year increase at the midpoint [6] - The high-performance computing (HPC) segment has become TSMC's largest revenue contributor, with HPC revenues up 58% year-over-year in 2024, accounting for nearly 51% of total revenues [7] Technological Advancements - TSMC leads in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, with advanced process nodes making up 69% of wafer revenue in 2024, up from 58% in 2023 [8] - The company plans to commence volume production of a next-generation 2-nanometer process node in the second half of 2025, with an extension called N2P expected in 2026 [8] Capital Expenditure and Growth Strategy - TSMC plans to allocate 38 billion to $42 billion in capital expenditures for 2025, with approximately 70% directed towards advanced process technologies [9] - The company anticipates strong demand for AI accelerators, expecting revenues from this segment to double in 2025, driven by data center demand [11] Market Position and Valuation - TSMC trades at 23.7 times forward earnings, which is lower than peers like Nvidia and ASML, indicating a potentially attractive valuation [13] - Analysts project TSMC's revenues and earnings per share to grow by 27.75% and 28.1%, respectively, in 2025, alongside a dividend yield of 0.94% [13]