[Click eStock] "TSMC Reaffirms Monopoly Position as AI Semiconductor Supplier"

On the 17th, Korea Investment & Securities analyzed that TSMC reaffirmed its monopoly position as a supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors through its fourth-quarter earnings announcement last year.

TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company, announced yesterday that its fourth-quarter revenue last year increased by 38.8% year-on-year to 868.46 billion Taiwan dollars (approximately 38.4 trillion KRW), and net profit rose by 57% to 374.68 billion Taiwan dollars (approximately 16 trillion KRW). Additionally, TSMC provided a revenue forecast of 25 to 25.8 billion USD for the first quarter of this year, exceeding Wall Street's estimate of 24.4 billion USD.

Moon Seung-hwan, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, "Both the fourth-quarter earnings and the first-quarter guidance last year exceeded market expectations. Strong AI demand alleviated market concerns." He added, "Among the figures in this year's guidance, the most notable was capital expenditure (CAPEX). It dispelled the somewhat conservative CAPEX execution estimates suggested by some in the market due to explosive AI demand."

He continued, "TSMC reaffirmed its monopoly position as an AI semiconductor supplier in this earnings announcement and maintained an optimistic outlook for several years. The 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER) is 19 times, indicating low valuation pressure, so we maintain a positive view." However, he cautioned, "It is important to be aware of external uncertainties such as the Trump tariff issue and discounts in Chinese foundries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.