Tokyo Electron fires employee tied to TSMC leak
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Aug 07 2025
0mins
Should l Buy TSM?
Company's Response to Legal Issue: Tokyo Electron confirmed that a former employee from its Taiwan subsidiary is involved in an investigation by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office regarding intellectual property issues, and they have dismissed the individual while cooperating with authorities.
Commitment to Compliance: The company emphasized its commitment to legal compliance and ethical conduct, stating that there is currently no evidence of confidential information being shared with third parties.
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Analyst Views on TSM
Wall Street analysts forecast TSM stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for TSM is 313.46 USD with a low forecast of 63.24 USD and a high forecast of 390.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
8 Analyst Rating
7 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 348.850
Low
63.24
Averages
313.46
High
390.00
Current: 348.850
Low
63.24
Averages
313.46
High
390.00
About TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is a Taiwan-based integrated circuit foundry service provider. The Company is primarily engaged in integrated circuit manufacturing services. It offers advanced process technologies, specialised process solutions, advanced photomask and silicon stacking, and packaging-related technologies, while supporting a comprehensive design ecosystem. The Company's products serve diverse electronic sectors including artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, wired and wireless communications, automotive and industrial equipment, personal computing, information applications, consumer electronics, smart internet of things, and wearable devices.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Significant Revenue Growth: TSMC's Q4 revenue reached $33.73 billion, reflecting a 25.5% year-over-year increase, demonstrating strong demand in the semiconductor market and reinforcing its leadership position.
- Strong Profit Margins: The company reported a profit margin of 48.3%, indicating its competitive advantage in high-end chip manufacturing, effectively controlling costs while achieving high returns.
- Advanced Process Technology: In 2023, over half of TSMC's revenue came from chips larger than 7nm, with significant increases in the production of 3nm and 5nm chips, as 3nm chips accounted for 28% of total shipments, showcasing ongoing investment in technological innovation.
- Robust Market Demand: With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technologies, TSMC is experiencing increasing customer demand, solidifying its status as the world's largest chip foundry and is expected to benefit from the growth in AI infrastructure investments.
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- Market Growth Potential: According to Fortune Business Insights, the AI market is projected to grow from $375.9 billion this year to $2.48 trillion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate of 26.6%, which presents significant opportunities for related companies.
- TSMC's Industry Position: As the world's largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC produced over 11,800 products across 288 different processes in 2024, demonstrating its unparalleled influence and customer base in the industry.
- Strong Financial Performance: TSMC reported fourth-quarter revenue of $33.73 billion, a 25.5% increase year-over-year, with a profit margin of 48.3%, indicating robust profitability in a rapidly growing market.
- Technological Advancements and Market Demand: TSMC derived over half of its revenue from chips larger than 7 nanometers in 2023, but has significantly increased production of 3nm and 5nm chips, which now account for 28% and 35% of total shipments respectively, showcasing its agility in adapting to technological advancements and market demand shifts.
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- Investment Return Analysis: With a 20-year horizon, an initial investment of $10,000 and monthly contributions of $100 at a 21% annual return could yield $1 million, highlighting the immense potential of long-term investing.
- High-Return Stock Recommendations: To achieve the $1 million goal in just 10 years, an initial investment of $50,000 and monthly contributions of $100 are required, necessitating a challenging 30% annual return for investors.
- Nvidia's Market Advantage: Nvidia has achieved a 30% average annual return over the past decade, and despite a 15% decline from its peak, its competitive edge in GPU design for data centers remains strong, with projections of $7 trillion in AI infrastructure spending by 2030.
- Taiwan Semiconductor's Industry Position: As the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC holds a 67% share of the third-party chip market and produces 90% of advanced AI chips, positioning it to benefit from the booming AI industry, while its current stock price remains relatively low at a 32x earnings ratio.
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- Earnings Beat: Nvidia, Micron, and TSMC all surpassed Wall Street's sales and earnings expectations, demonstrating their leadership in the rapidly growing AI infrastructure sector, which further solidifies investor confidence in these stocks.
- Surge in AI Infrastructure Investment: Tech giants are projected to spend approximately $400 billion on AI infrastructure this year, a massive investment that will likely drive these AI stocks to continue outperforming, reflecting strong market demand and future growth potential for AI technologies.
- Increased Capital Expenditures: Both Alphabet and Meta have indicated that their capital expenditures on AI compute infrastructure will nearly double by 2026, signaling sustained enthusiasm from major tech companies for AI investments, which will directly benefit the performance of Nvidia, Micron, and TSMC.
- Shareholder Value Enhancement: As the pace of AI adoption accelerates, these three companies are not only experiencing continuous growth in sales and earnings but are also creating significant value for shareholders, prompting analysts to potentially readjust their expectations to reflect their strong performance in the AI market.
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- Tariff Exemption Plan: The Trump administration intends to provide tariff exemptions for companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to support their data center construction amid the AI boom, which is expected to drive investment and expansion for these firms.
- TSMC Investment Commitment: The U.S. Commerce Department plans to tie tariff exemptions to investment commitments from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which has pledged $165 billion to expand production capacity in the U.S., highlighting its focus on the American market.
- Supply Chain Stability: While the Trump administration has threatened tariffs, it has refrained from broadly taxing semiconductors from Taiwan, a strategy aimed at protecting Big Tech's AI supply chain from significant disruption, ensuring their continued growth.
- Policy Monitoring: An official briefed on the plans indicated that they are not finalized, and the government will closely monitor the implementation process to ensure the integrity of the tariff and rebate measures, preventing excessive benefits to TSMC.
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- Nvidia's Strong Performance: Nvidia reported sales of $57 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $54.7 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 surpassing the forecast of $1.23, highlighting its robust growth potential in the AI market.
- Micron's Impressive Results: Micron's sales reached $13.6 billion, outpacing the consensus estimate of $13.2 billion, while its diluted EPS of $4.78 significantly exceeded the expected $3.77, indicating its competitive edge in the data center memory market.
- TSMC's Continued Leadership: TSMC achieved revenue of $33.7 billion, beating forecasts of $33.1 billion, with earnings per American depositary receipt (ADR) of $3.14 surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.82, showcasing its strong capabilities in semiconductor manufacturing.
- Growing AI Expenditure: Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon are projected to increase their AI spending to at least $400 billion by 2026, reflecting strong investment intentions from major tech companies, which will further drive sales and earnings growth for Nvidia, Micron, and TSMC.
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