We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
The Better Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now: TSM or INTC
Read MoreHide Full Article
The semiconductor industry has witnessed stupendous growth over the past four decades, with chips becoming an integral part of electronic devices like computers and smartphones, to name a few. An increase in acceptance of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to fuel demand for semiconductors.
Manufacturing, healthcare, and retail sectors have already integrated digital technologies that require robust semiconductor solutions. Thus, the global semiconductor industry is likely to witness a CAGR of 14.9% from 2024 to 2032, hitting $2062.59 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights.
However, despite the positive trend, picking the top semiconductor stocks is challenging since their sales fluctuate incessantly. So, here is one chip stock to buy right away — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM - Free Report) — and one industry bigwig to shun — Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) .
2 Reasons to be Bullish on TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing expects healthy demand for its chips as more companies begin to implement AI features in smartphones. Apple Inc.’s (AAPL - Free Report) initiative to launch the iPhone 16 this fall should boost demand for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s chips. The new “Apple Intelligence” system has already benefited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Apple is one of the biggest clients of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and accounts for around one-fourth of TSM’s revenues.
Demand for AI applications like Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Gemini and Open AI’s ChatGPT has increased noticeably. But such applications require huge data, kept in data centers, which rely on graphic processing units (GPUs) that NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) manufactures. And without TSM’s manufacturing prowess, the GPUs can’t be operative. So, in a way, the surging demand for AI applications would continue to boost Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s sales over the next several years and help its shares soar.
No doubt, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s earnings outlook for the current year remains promising, with the $6.45 Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share up 11.4% from a year ago.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s shares have already outperformed the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) this year (+64.6% vs. +22.6%).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
2 Reasons to be Bearish on INTC
Intel, regrettably, is losing its competitive edge over its rival Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) . Intel is in a fix after failing to make much progress in its foundry business. AMD has progressed significantly in producing high-performance processing machinery. Intel’s failure to take advantage of the ever-growing AI applications industry is alarming against the strong growth posted by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which is currently the industry standard.
On the other hand, Arm Holdings plc (ARM - Free Report) is disrupting Intel’s server, storage, and networking space. ARM’s designs in the micro server segment have witnessed espousal by quite a lot of Intel’s competitors. As a result, Intel’s earnings outlook for the current year remains bleak, with the $0.38 Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share down a massive 77.5% from a year ago.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Intel’s shares have underperformed SOXX year to date, down 57.4%. Notably, both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Intel are listed in SOXX.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM Fundamentals – Very Strong
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, by the way, has generated profits more competently than Intel. This is because TSM has a return on equity (ROE) of 25.5%, while Intel’s is around 4.4%. As a thumb rule, any reading above 20% is primarily considered very strong.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is a solid dividend payer, which is indicative of a stable business model. Its dividend payout ratio sits at 31% of earnings, a low payout that indicates the company is reinvesting the bulk of its earnings in research and development, a must for growth. Whereas, Intel’s dividend payout ratio is 109% of earnings, which is unsustainable.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM Less Pricey Than INTC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s shares are less expensive than Intel’s, which has given the integrated circuit foundry an edge over the world’s largest semiconductor company. After all, buying INTC’s shares will burn a larger hole in your wallet than the TSM stock.
This is because, per the Price/Earnings ratio, TSM stock presently trades at 26.5X forward earnings. However, INTC’s forward earnings multiple is 56.6X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM to Buy Hand Over Fist
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, rightfully, is a better buy than Intel as it is well-positioned to make the most of the growth in AI, can generate profit consistently, and has a lower valuation.
Prominent brokers have also increased the average short-term price target of TSM by almost 19% from the company’s last closing price of $172.04. The analysts’ highest price target is at $250.
Image: Bigstock
The Better Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now: TSM or INTC
The semiconductor industry has witnessed stupendous growth over the past four decades, with chips becoming an integral part of electronic devices like computers and smartphones, to name a few. An increase in acceptance of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to fuel demand for semiconductors.
Manufacturing, healthcare, and retail sectors have already integrated digital technologies that require robust semiconductor solutions. Thus, the global semiconductor industry is likely to witness a CAGR of 14.9% from 2024 to 2032, hitting $2062.59 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights.
However, despite the positive trend, picking the top semiconductor stocks is challenging since their sales fluctuate incessantly. So, here is one chip stock to buy right away — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM - Free Report) — and one industry bigwig to shun — Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) .
2 Reasons to be Bullish on TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing expects healthy demand for its chips as more companies begin to implement AI features in smartphones. Apple Inc.’s (AAPL - Free Report) initiative to launch the iPhone 16 this fall should boost demand for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s chips. The new “Apple Intelligence” system has already benefited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Apple is one of the biggest clients of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and accounts for around one-fourth of TSM’s revenues.
Demand for AI applications like Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Gemini and Open AI’s ChatGPT has increased noticeably. But such applications require huge data, kept in data centers, which rely on graphic processing units (GPUs) that NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) manufactures. And without TSM’s manufacturing prowess, the GPUs can’t be operative. So, in a way, the surging demand for AI applications would continue to boost Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s sales over the next several years and help its shares soar.
No doubt, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s earnings outlook for the current year remains promising, with the $6.45 Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share up 11.4% from a year ago.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s shares have already outperformed the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) this year (+64.6% vs. +22.6%).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
2 Reasons to be Bearish on INTC
Intel, regrettably, is losing its competitive edge over its rival Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) . Intel is in a fix after failing to make much progress in its foundry business. AMD has progressed significantly in producing high-performance processing machinery. Intel’s failure to take advantage of the ever-growing AI applications industry is alarming against the strong growth posted by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which is currently the industry standard.
On the other hand, Arm Holdings plc (ARM - Free Report) is disrupting Intel’s server, storage, and networking space. ARM’s designs in the micro server segment have witnessed espousal by quite a lot of Intel’s competitors. As a result, Intel’s earnings outlook for the current year remains bleak, with the $0.38 Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share down a massive 77.5% from a year ago.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Intel’s shares have underperformed SOXX year to date, down 57.4%. Notably, both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Intel are listed in SOXX.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM Fundamentals – Very Strong
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, by the way, has generated profits more competently than Intel. This is because TSM has a return on equity (ROE) of 25.5%, while Intel’s is around 4.4%. As a thumb rule, any reading above 20% is primarily considered very strong.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is a solid dividend payer, which is indicative of a stable business model. Its dividend payout ratio sits at 31% of earnings, a low payout that indicates the company is reinvesting the bulk of its earnings in research and development, a must for growth. Whereas, Intel’s dividend payout ratio is 109% of earnings, which is unsustainable.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM Less Pricey Than INTC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s shares are less expensive than Intel’s, which has given the integrated circuit foundry an edge over the world’s largest semiconductor company. After all, buying INTC’s shares will burn a larger hole in your wallet than the TSM stock.
This is because, per the Price/Earnings ratio, TSM stock presently trades at 26.5X forward earnings. However, INTC’s forward earnings multiple is 56.6X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM to Buy Hand Over Fist
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, rightfully, is a better buy than Intel as it is well-positioned to make the most of the growth in AI, can generate profit consistently, and has a lower valuation.
Prominent brokers have also increased the average short-term price target of TSM by almost 19% from the company’s last closing price of $172.04. The analysts’ highest price target is at $250.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TSM, thus, has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). But INTC has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.