In this episode, you’ll learn how Morris Chang’s radical bet rewired the semiconductor industry, why extreme scale and EUV mastery give TSMC a moat rival chipmakers can’t cross, how its Arizona and Japan fabs fit into a strategy shaped by China-Taiwan tension, and how wafer volumes, node mix, and multi-billion-dollar capex translate into free-cash-flow and ROIIC. Daniel and Shawn also debate the right way to price the ever-present geopolitical “wipe-out” tail risk, and ask whether today’s market price offers a margin of safety on what could be the most important company in the world.
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IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN
00:00 - Intro
07:39 - How TSMC evolved from a government-backed project to a trillion-dollar company
07:45 - How the semiconductor industry works
16:10 - Where TSMC’s dominance comes from
31:27 - What moat protects TSMC’s business
39:54 - What the competitive landscape looks like
43:55 - Where future growth is coming from
49:45 - How geopolitical risk is impacting TSMC
1:03:25 - Whether TSMC is attractively valued at its current levels
1:09:18 - Whether Shawn & Daniel add TSM to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio
And much, much more!
*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES
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Interview with TSMC Founder Morris Chang
Quartr’s Overview of TSMC
NZS Semiconductor Whitepaper
Check out our previous Intrinsic Value breakdowns: Nintendo, Airbnb, AutoZone, Alphabet, Ulta, John Deere, and Madison Square Garden Sports.
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