Managing Director, Zero One, Zero One

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Managing Director, Zero One

Zero One

Founded in 2015, Zero One produces independent investment research and provides corporate finance advisory services with a focus on both listed and private technology companies. Founder Vincent Fernando has over 20 years of experience in US and Asia capital markets.

Independent Investment Research

Equity Bottom-Up

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) - ADR / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>TSMC Delivers Strong 3Q24 Revenue and Margin Growth; Margin Guidance Climbs</li>
<li>Management Says Believes AI Demand is Not Hyped... Companies Extracting ROIs</li>
<li>TSMC – Structural Long Rating Maintained; NT$1,515 Price Target Suggests 46% Upside</li>
</ul>


TSMC Delivers Strong 3Q24 Revenue and Margin Growth; Margin Guidance Climbs
Management Says Believes AI Demand is Not Hyped... Companies Extracting ROIs
TSMC – Structural Long Rating Maintained; NT$1,515 Price Target Suggests 46% Upside


TSMC 3Q24: Capex & Margin Guidance Remains Strong; Explains Why AI Demand Not Overhyped; Stay Long

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist, Ingenuity

William Keating

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist

Ingenuity

Our focus is exclusively on in-depth research & consulting in the broader semiconductor industry. We focus on the key players, namely Intel, Micron, Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, NVIDIA, AMD, TSMC & Global Foundries - as well as some of the lesser known, but nonetheless critical, companies such as ASML (for EUV), Mellanox, Cavium, Xilinx etc. We specialise in their products, roadmaps, process technologies, competitive advantages & threats etc. We also help our clients understand the implications of new and emerging technologies, e.g. 3D X-Point, 3D NAND, Carbon Nanotubes, Autonomous Driving, Graphene, Silicon Photonics, Wafer-Level Optics, Artificial Intelligence, FPGA, GPU, ASIC etc. 

Semiconductor Analysis & Research

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Q424 revenue forecast of $26.5 billion, up 13% QoQ and the highest Q3 to Q4 revenue jump since Q4 2017</li>
<li>Demand for AI acceleration is real and just beginning. According to a key customer of theirs, "demand right now is just insane"</li>
<li>Overseas fabs progressing well with Arizona yielding well and on track for high volume production in early 2025</li>
</ul>


Q424 revenue forecast of $26.5 billion, up 13% QoQ and the highest Q3 to Q4 revenue jump since Q4 2017
Demand for AI acceleration is real and just beginning. According to a key customer of theirs, "demand right now is just insane"
Overseas fabs progressing well with Arizona yielding well and on track for high volume production in early 2025


Technology / Semiconductor / Internet Research

Nicolas Baratte

<ul>
<li>Main positive surprise in 3Q24 is a sharp margins expansion, reflecting Utilization increase. OP 9% above Consensus.</li>
<li>Main positive surprise in 4Q24 guidance: high QoQ revenue growth at 13%, which suggests further Utilization increase and TSMC could beat its margins guidance again.  </li>
<li>Net Income growth is accelerating in 2H24 to ~55% YoY. The stock is not that expensive, we estimate trading at 17.2x 2025 and 13.8x 2026 EPS.</li>
</ul>


Main positive surprise in 3Q24 is a sharp margins expansion, reflecting Utilization increase. OP 9% above Consensus.
Main positive surprise in 4Q24 guidance: high QoQ revenue growth at 13%, which suggests further Utilization increase and TSMC could beat its margins guidance again.  
Net Income growth is accelerating in 2H24 to ~55% YoY. The stock is not that expensive, we estimate trading at 17.2x 2025 and 13.8x 2026 EPS.


TSMC: 3Q24 Large Beat, Guidance Better, the Stock Is Not Expensive

Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

<ul>
<li>4Q24 Guidance: Sales will be US$26.1-26.9bn, up 13%; GM outlook will be 57-59%; and OPM outlook is 46.5-48.5%</li>
<li>AI revenue contribution will triple and reach mid-teens sales contribution this year. Almost every AI innovator cooperates with TSMC.</li>
<li>APT will grow above the corporate average in the next five years.GM is approaching the corporate average, but it's not the same currently.</li>
</ul>


4Q24 Guidance: Sales will be US$26.1-26.9bn, up 13%; GM outlook will be 57-59%; and OPM outlook is 46.5-48.5%
AI revenue contribution will triple and reach mid-teens sales contribution this year. Almost every AI innovator cooperates with TSMC.
APT will grow above the corporate average in the next five years.GM is approaching the corporate average, but it's not the same currently.


TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): 4Q24 Outgrowth; Co-Work with Almost AI Innovators.

<ul>
<li>The rally of the Asia Tech sector (+24% YTD) is highly concentrated in a handful of stocks. TSMC is up 64% but Samsung is down -22% YTD. </li>
<li>With the exception of AI, end-demand isn’t great. Smartphone up 8% but below 2019-21 level. PC flattish. x86 Server flattish. Telecom capex declining. Automotive electronics declining.   </li>
<li>AI is the most disruptive trend since Cloud in 2010. Years of increasing Capex are in front of us. But short-term, stocks are properly valued to rich, growth is slowing.</li>
</ul>


The rally of the Asia Tech sector (+24% YTD) is highly concentrated in a handful of stocks. TSMC is up 64% but Samsung is down -22% YTD. 
With the exception of AI, end-demand isn’t great. Smartphone up 8% but below 2019-21 level. PC flattish. x86 Server flattish. Telecom capex declining. Automotive electronics declining.   
AI is the most disruptive trend since Cloud in 2010. Years of increasing Capex are in front of us. But short-term, stocks are properly valued to rich, growth is slowing.


All Is Not Well in Tech Sector, AI Growth Slows, TSMC Expensive. Samsung, SK Hynix More Attractive.

Taiwan

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. manufactures integrated circuits based on its proprietary designs.  The Company offers a comprehensive set of integrated circuit fabrication processes to manufacture CMOS logic, mixed-mode, volatile and non-volatile memory and BiCMOS chips.  Taiwan Semiconductor is an affiliate of Philips Electronics N.V.

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) - ADR (TSM US)

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Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) - ADR (TSM US)

TSMC 3Q24: Capex & Margin Guidance Remains Strong; Explains Why AI Demand Not Overhyped; Stay Long

TSMC reports strong revenue and margin growth in 3Q24, with belief in sustainable AI demand and maintaining a positive long-term outlook.

Vincent Fernando, CFA

TSMC Q324 Earnings Key Takeaways

Q424 revenue forecast of $26.5 billion, up 13% QoQ and the highest Q3 to Q4 revenue jump since Q4 2017. According to a key customer, demand for AI...

William Keating

TSMC: 3Q24 Large Beat, Guidance Better, the Stock Is Not Expensive

Margins expansion from 3Q24 reflects Utilization finally picking up, driving gross margins up. Yet, utilization is only at ~80% in 3Q24 when 10...

Nicolas Baratte

TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): 4Q24 Outgrowth; Co-Work with Almost AI Innovators.

TSMC's 4Q24 guidance shows strong sales growth, with AI revenue set to triple and contribute significantly to overall sales. APT expected to...

Patrick Liao

All Is Not Well in Tech Sector, AI Growth Slows, TSMC Expensive. Samsung, SK Hynix More Attractive.

Difficult juncture for Asia Tech. Consumer and Enterprise segments are flattish; stocks have underperformed. AI is the only growth driver, growth...

Nicolas Baratte

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

TSMC 3Q24: Capex & Margin Guidance Remains Strong; Explains Why AI Demand Not Overhyped; Stay Long

​TSMC reports strong revenue and margin growth in 3Q24, with belief in sustainable AI demand and maintaining a positive long-term outlook.

Vincent Fernando, CFA

TSMC Q324 Earnings Key Takeaways

Q424 revenue forecast of $26.5 billion, up 13% QoQ and the highest Q3 to Q4 revenue jump since Q4 2017. According to a key customer, demand for AI...

William Keating

TSMC: 3Q24 Large Beat, Guidance Better, the Stock Is Not Expensive

Margins expansion from 3Q24 reflects Utilization finally picking up, driving gross margins up. Yet, utilization is only at ~80% in 3Q24 when 10...

Nicolas Baratte

TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): 4Q24 Outgrowth; Co-Work with Almost AI Innovators.

​TSMC's 4Q24 guidance shows strong sales growth, with AI revenue set to triple and contribute significantly to overall sales. APT expected to...

Patrick Liao

All Is Not Well in Tech Sector, AI Growth Slows, TSMC Expensive. Samsung, SK Hynix More Attractive.

Difficult juncture for ​Asia Tech. Consumer and Enterprise segments are flattish; stocks have underperformed. AI is the only growth driver, growth...

Nicolas Baratte

TSMC reports strong revenue and margin growth in 3Q24, with belief in sustainable AI demand and maintaining a positive long-term outlook.

TSMC's 4Q24 guidance shows strong sales growth, with AI revenue set to triple and contribute significantly to overall sales. APT expected to...

Difficult juncture for Asia Tech. Consumer and Enterprise segments are flattish; stocks have underperformed. AI is the only growth driver, growth...