Steven Fiorillo
Seeking Alpha Analyst, Basis Point Podcast Co-Host
TSMC's capex plans suggest the AI chip trade is not over for semiconductors, Nvidia, AMD and Micron. CFO Wendell Huang cites robust multi-year demand, including agentic AI, behind $60-64 billion of 2026 capex; TSMC expects 2026-28 spending to be even more significantly higher than in the prior three years. Hyperscaler earnings should reinforce the higher AI capex trajectory. CoreWeave-driven fears feel overdone, though the neocloud model does not appeal long term. x.com x.comÂ
TSMC's AI-era growth opportunity makes it an incredibly bullish investment. CEO C.C. Wei said its annualized growth opportunity is probably higher than a high-50% CAGR. x.comÂ
TSMC may lose pricing power as performance gains shift from shrinking transistors to stacking, interconnects and optics, while logic folding could make older processes competitive. Despite strong leading-edge demand, investors may overestimate the profit share its node leadership can retain. Its cautious expansion and past reluctance toward advanced packaging suggest a risk-averse culture that protects returns but could leave it late to disruptive technologies and key customers. x.comÂ
TSMC's strong AI demand is straining supply, while solid company fundamentals and attractive semiconductor valuations make an abrupt stop to its advance unlikely. TSMC's Wendell Huang expects 2026-28 capex to be significantly higher than in the previous three years to support customer growth; he says most capex is tied to long-term demand. x.comÂ
TSMC's third capex raise in six months signals strong demand, not overreach, since management tends to be too conservative on capex; the market's 4% premarket drop looks wrong. Q2 EPS of $4.31 beat by $0.37 and revenue of $40.2 billion rose 33.7%, with a 67.7% gross margin. 2026 capex guidance rose to $60-64 billion from $52-56 billion, the next three years' capex should be significantly higher, and management sees strong AI demand through at least 2029-2030. x.com x.comÂ
NVIDIA, Broadcom, Micron and TSMC should be worth less because AI risk has risen while the expected reward has not. The CEOs of Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX and Tesla have said AI risks killing all humans and needs to slow down, yet not a single analyst cut ratings or price targets on these chipmakers. In game-theory terms, higher risk with the same reward makes the bet worse. x.comÂ
A supply response could compress Western Digital's pricing and margins, eroding its apparent cheapness. Its 2013-24 normalized earnings merit a look: even huge demand growth in other industries eventually drew supply and mediocre returns. A digestion/reset would hurt buy-and-hold investors, though the outcome is uncertain. Pre-AI economics were mediocre and unlikely to become amazing post-AI; TSMC's stronger pre-AI economics make its post-AI case better. x.com x.com x.comÂ
TSMC's latest results point to AI chip demand still running ahead of supply, supporting the semiconductor and equipment trade. Cantor says TSMC raised its 2026 revenue outlook again, guided December-quarter sales above consensus and held 65-67% gross-margin guidance through the N2 ramp; its bullish sector read names Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA. Jensen Huang says AI labs need not reach trillions in revenue to justify the buildout. x.com x.comÂ
TSMC's growth is constrained by capacity, so its growth rate is already known and priced in. x.comÂ
TSMC is cheap at about 15x 2022 EBIT given the coming surge of spending on AI silicon, while investors pay 15x or more EBIT for almost any weak business. The machine marches on. x.comÂ