TSMC News & Analysis
18 articles
Market Mood
Apple (AAPL) Raises Prices by Nearly 20% on MacBooks and iPads
Apple (AAPL) has announced price increases of nearly 20% on select MacBooks and iPads due to rising costs of memory and storage chips. This move comes as the overall electronics industry faces significant challenges, attributed to increased demand from AI data centers. The MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of storage increased from $1,699 to $1,999 in the US. Alongside Apple, Xbox's console prices will also rise, with increases between $100 and $150, reflecting broader pressures in the consumer electronics market.
Read More
Samsung Electronics (005930) Rises 4% Following Global Tech Selloff
Samsung Electronics (005930) shares increased more than 4%, despite previously jumping as much as 10% during the session. This followed a global selloff that saw South Korean chip stocks drop over 12% the previous day, with SK Hynix falling by 3%. The Kospi Index, which includes these stocks, initially surged over 3% before dropping to a 1% loss. Other technology stocks in the region had mixed performance, with companies like Tencent and Baidu showing slight gains, while Xiaomi and JD.com experienced declines.
Read More
Intel (INTC) Stock Surges After Apple Chip Collaboration Announcement
Intel (INTC) experienced a stock increase to an all-time high after President Trump announced that Apple would collaborate with the company on chip design and production in the U.S. Intel's stock has increased over 500% in the past year. For the first quarter, Intel's foundry segment generated $5.4 billion in revenue, marking a 16% year-over-year increase, although only $174 million came from external customers. The company reported a $2.4 billion operating loss during the same period. Intel aims for early design commitments from external customers by the second half of 2026.
Read More
Apple (AAPL) Plans Price Increases Due to Rising Chip Costs
Apple (AAPL) plans to raise product prices due to surging memory chip costs, as stated by CEO Tim Cook. He noted that price hikes are 'unavoidable' given the current unsustainable situation in the chip industry, although specific products or timelines were not provided. The prices of essential memory chips have escalated amid rising artificial intelligence (AI) demand and supply chain disruptions. In early 2026, Apple recorded a 17% growth in sales compared to the previous year, further underscoring the situation's potential impact on consumer products.
Read More
SoftBank (9984) Shares Drop Over 11% in Tech Sell-off
Shares of SoftBank Group (9984) fell more than 11% to 7,377 yen amid a tech sector sell-off in the U.S. market, reflecting wider profit-taking. This decline occurred despite a year-to-date increase of approximately 70% in its share price, driven by enthusiasm for AI investments. Additionally, SoftBank sold a 3.25% stake in Indian eyewear maker Lenskart for approximately 28.73 billion rupees ($5.32 per share). The sell-off impacted other tech giants in Asia, with TSMC down 1.65% and Foxconn falling over 4%.
Read More
AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) Begins Production of Venice EPYC Processors
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) has commenced ramping production of its Venice EPYC processor, leveraging TSMC's 2nm process technology. In the past month, AMD stock gained over 40%, and has increased approximately 125% year-to-date. This marks a significant milestone as Venice is the first high-performance computing product to enter production on TSMC’s advanced process. Additionally, AMD plans to extend the 2nm technology to a follow-on EPYC processor, Verano, which will support the growing demands of AI workloads.
Read More
AMD (AMD) Stock Hits All-Time High with 118% Year-to-Date Gain
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) stock closed up 3.99% at $467.51 on May 22, achieving an all-time high. The stock has increased 118.3% year-to-date, driven by rising capital expenditures from hyperscalers and optimism following Intel's Q1 earnings. AMD has announced investments exceeding $10 billion in Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem to enhance its manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, the company is ramping up production of its next-generation EPYC processor, codenamed 'Venice,' using TSMC’s advanced 2nm process technology, essential for competitiveness against rival products.
Read More
Taiwan (TWN) Becomes 6th Largest Stock Market, Surpassing Canada
Taiwan has overtaken Canada to become the world's sixth-largest stock market, valued at $4.7 trillion, while South Korea has moved past the U.K. to rank eighth, with a market capitalization of $4.4 trillion. This shift reflects the impact of the AI boom, which is concentrating market power in semiconductor-rich economies. In 2004, Taiwan and South Korea's markets were valued at approximately $500 billion and $400 billion, respectively. TSMC represents over 40% of Taiwan’s market cap, and Samsung and SK Hynix account for 42.2% of South Korea's Kospi index, indicative of the concentration risk present in both markets.
Read More
Chipmakers Face Supply Chain Pressure Amid Iran Conflict
The ongoing Iran conflict is impacting supply chains and profitability for key chipmakers, including TSMC and Infineon. TSMC, which manufactures Nvidia chips, warned that rising costs for essential materials like helium may affect profitability. Qatar, accounting for over 30% of the helium market, has faced disruptions due to Iranian strikes, straining semiconductor production. VAT Group reported a hit of 20-25 million Swiss francs ($25.5 million to $32 million) in first-quarter sales due to the conflict. These conditions could further escalate, affecting broader tech sector performance and supply accessibility for major companies like Nvidia (NVDA).
Read More
Samsung (005930) Surpasses $1 Trillion Valuation with 15% Rally
Samsung Electronics (005930) shares surged over 15% on Wednesday, pushing its market capitalization past $1 trillion, marking the second Asian company to achieve this, after TSMC. The notable rise followed record first-quarter earnings, with an operating profit of 57.2 trillion won and revenue hitting 133.9 trillion won. The spike in stock value was also influenced by Apple’s exploratory talks with Samsung about chip production for U.S. devices, potentially impacting the supplier landscape. The increased demand for high-bandwidth memory chips amid AI advancements has significantly boosted Samsung’s profitability, even as competition remains intense.
Read More
Samsung (005930) Aims to Increase Advanced Logic Chip Customers
Samsung Electronics (005930) forecasts an increase in its customer base for advanced logic chips, citing strategic efforts in innovation and production. This move is significant in the semiconductor market, where competition is fierce, particularly with rivals like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The company's focus on cutting-edge technology may enhance its market share and drive revenue growth in a crucial segment. Such developments could impact overall stock performance within the semiconductor industry.
Read More
Emerging Market Stocks Reach Record High Amid Asian Chipmaker Surge
Emerging market stocks have reached a record high due to a rally in Asian chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung, and SK Hynix. This recovery follows significant losses related to the recent Iran conflict. The performance of these chipmakers has contributed to a broad rebound in the emerging market stock index, indicating renewed investor confidence. The surge highlights the impact of technology sectors on overall market performance in emerging economies.
Read More
TSMC (TSM) Trade Secrets Case Results in Up to 10-Year Sentences
A Taiwan court has sentenced individuals involved in a trade secrets case related to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to prison terms of up to 10 years. This verdict highlights the seriousness with which trade secret violations are treated in Taiwan, potentially impacting TSMC's legal and operational environment. The case may have implications for how companies manage intellectual property and trade secrets. While direct financial effects on TSMC (TSM) are not disclosed, such cases can influence investor confidence and market perceptions around the company's governance.
Read More
Euclyd Seeks $118M Funding Amid AI Chip Market Growth
Euclyd, a Dutch startup focusing on AI chips, is in talks to raise at least €100 million ($118 million) to scale its technology. The company claims its chips can deliver 100 times higher power efficiency for AI inference compared to Nvidia's latest generation chips. In 2026, over $200 million has already been invested in European AI chip firms. Euclyd's technology aims to replace traditional GPU architectures, which could impact the competitive landscape for AI hardware.
Read More
TSMC Reports 58% Q1 Profit Increase Fueled by AI Demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a 58% increase in first-quarter profit, with net income reaching NT$572.48 billion, exceeding estimates of NT$543.32 billion. Revenue also grew to NT$1.134 trillion, surpassing the expected NT$1.127 trillion. TSMC's high-performance computing division, driven largely by AI applications, constituted 61% of its revenue. Additionally, the company anticipates its capital expenditures could rise to between $52 billion and $56 billion this year, as it prepares for sustained demand.
Read More
ASML (ASML) Reports €38.8B Backlog and Raises 2026 Revenue Guidance
ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) has reported an order backlog of €38.8 billion for the end of 2025, up from €35.9 billion in 2024. The company raised its 2026 revenue guidance to between €34 billion and €39 billion, compared to €32.7 billion in 2025, indicating potential growth of 4% to 19% year-over-year. ASML's monopoly in extreme ultraviolet lithography systems is critical for manufacturing advanced semiconductor chips at nodes below 5 nm. This growth is driven by strong AI chip demand and expansions at major clients such as TSMC and Samsung.
Read More
Tech Stocks Shift Amid War; $700B AI Infrastructure Spending Estimated
The ongoing war with Iran has led to a major shift in market dynamics, with a rotation from technology stocks into value and small-cap stocks due to fears of recession. Energy stocks have gained traction, while the five largest data center operators are projected to spend approximately $700 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026. Alphabet (GOOGL) claims its tensor processing units are fully utilized, alongside CoreWeave's GPUs. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) has significantly raised its capital expenditures to boost chip production capacity, indicating strong long-term projections for AI cloud computing.
Read More
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) Nears Full Capacity as AI Chip Demand Surges
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) is reported to be operating near full capacity due to increased demand for AI chips, as confirmed by an executive at Broadcom. The semiconductor industry is facing supply chain constraints and shortages in materials such as printed circuit boards and lasers. TSMC has indicated customer planning timelines are now extending to 2-3 years. The company produces approximately 90% of the world's most advanced chips and is working to expand its capacity in Arizona and Taiwan to meet demand.
Read More