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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Taiwan Semiconductor, Intel, Apple, Alphabet, NVIDIA, iShares Semiconductor ETF, Advanced Micro Devices and Arm

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 23, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM - Free Report) , Intel Corp. (INTC - Free Report) , Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL - Free Report) , NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) , iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) , Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) and Arm Holdings plc (ARM - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

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 Ltd. — and one industry bigwig to shun — Intel Corp.

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 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 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 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.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s shares have already outperformed the iShares Semiconductor ETF this year (+64.6% vs. +22.6%).

2 Reasons to be Bearish on INTC

Intel, regrettably, is losing its competitive edge over its rival Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 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 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.

Intel’s shares have underperformed SOXX year to date, down 57.4%. Notably, both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Intel are listed in SOXX.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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