Counterpoint: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) further expands its dominant position in AI and high-end processes.

It is noted that Counterpoint Research stated that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) has further expanded its leading position in the semiconductor foundry field, as evidenced by its recent announcement of third-quarter financial performance with revenue reaching $33.1 billion. Counterpoint Research analysis pointed out: "This achievement reflects the strong momentum of the 3-nanometer process and the continued high capacity utilization of the 4/5-nanometer process, supported by ongoing orders from artificial intelligence GPU and high-performance computing customers, as well as the demand for high-end smartphone platforms." Analysts stated that Apple Inc. is leading the increase in output of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's 3-nanometer process, while NVIDIA Corporation and AMD are driving the high demand for 4-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips, keeping capacity at full load. Hyperscale compute companies are also increasing the demand for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, including the TPU from Alphabet Inc. Class C, Tranium chips from Amazon.com, Inc. AWS, and the MTIA accelerator from Meta platform. Counterpoint pointed out that competitors such as Samsung and Intel Corporation are still far behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR in market share, but they are making some progress. "In terms of commercialization timeline, Intel Corporation expects wafer commitments for its foundry customers to start mass production in 2026, with major customers expected to ramp up production between 2026 and 2027," Counterpoint stated, "Intel Corporation has also adjusted its foundry strategy, shifting towards customer commitments rather than speculative capacity construction. This shift ensures that capacity expansion is directly linked to confirmed demand." Counterpoint also noted that Samsung's advanced process utilization rate and wafer consumption increased in the second quarter of 2025, and this trend is expected to continue for the remainder of the year. This is partly attributed to smartphone chips based on 2-nanometer technology. "Looking ahead, the future prospects of Samsung's advanced nodes will largely depend on the success of its 2-nanometer chips," Counterpoint stated, "In addition to its internal Samsung Exynos product line, the results of its collaboration with Tesla, Inc. in the coming years will be a key factor in determining whether Samsung can attract more customers and secure additional orders in advanced process nodes."