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Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This Brilliant New Technology Could Drive Taiwan Semiconductor to Become a $3 Trillion Company
Key Points Taiwan Semiconductor is set to launch a 2nm chip later this year. The demand for this new technology outpaces demand for previous generations. 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing › Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) is currently valued at around $1.25 trillion, making it the ninth-largest company in the world. Normally, investors don't expect these large companies to produce outstanding growth, as the larger a business gets, the more difficult it becomes for it to grow. However, TSMC has monster growth projections on the table, as well as a new technology that could drive shares much higher. Rising from today's $1.25 trillion valuation to a $3 trillion valuation would require a 140% return. However, management believes there's plenty of growth in store for Taiwan Semiconductor to meet this threshold. Taiwan Semiconductor's new chip technologies will push its stock higher Taiwan Semiconductor is the world's leading semiconductor foundry. Its business strategy is to offer its clients best-in-class chip production technologies, and not compete against them. This business model has worked out incredibly well for TSMC, and its customer list ranges from Nvidia to Apple to Tesla. If you have a cutting-edge technology device, it's likely that it contains a chip manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor. One of the reasons TSMC established itself at the top of its industry is its dedication to driving the next greatest innovation. In recent chip launches, Taiwan Semiconductor outpaced its peers by offering the most advanced technology available first. That doesn't seem to be changing, as it has some promising technology in the pipeline. Later this year, Taiwan Semiconductor is expected to launch its N2 chip node, indicating 2nm (nanometer) spacing between traces. The pre-launch demand for the N2 node exceeds that of the 3nm and 5nm offerings. This is big news for Taiwan Semiconductor, as the improvements this generation offers are substantial enough that many companies are designing their products around this new technology. The biggest improvement the N2 offers its users is energy efficiency. This has implications for the smartphone industry, with longer-lasting phones being more desirable. Additionally, the energy consumption of AI computing devices to run generative AI prompts is becoming a front-and-center topic. When N2 chips are configured at the same processing speed as 3nm chips, they consume 25% to 30% less energy. That's a massive improvement, and the energy savings from these chips may warrant upgrading to new computing units. Beyond its N2 launch, the company is slated to bring its A16 chip (1.6nm) to market in 2026. The A16 is expected to achieve an energy consumption improvement of 15% to 20% on top of the N2. A14 is the next technology TSMC is working on, but it won't reach production until 2028, so there's quite a bit of time between now and the scheduled launch date. Still, these technologies will drive further growth for TSMC and potentially propel it to a $3 trillion valuation mark in a fairly short timeframe. Taiwan Semi's management projects monster growth over the next five years Management projects that, starting with 2025, its revenue will rise at nearly a 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years. However, management has exceeded its own guidance every quarter this year, so it shouldn't surprise investors to see this projection increase. Should TSMC grow its revenue at a 20% CAGR, that would indicate nearly 150% growth, above the threshold needed for TSMC to rise to a $3 trillion valuation point. Additionally, Taiwan Semiconductor isn't an expensive stock, at least compared to the broader market. At 24.6 times forward earnings, TSMC is only slightly more expensive than the S&P 500, which trades at 23.8 times forward earnings. With a reasonable price tag and a fairly clear growth strategy, I think Taiwan Semiconductor is about as no-brainer a stock pick as it gets in today's market. Should you invest $1,000 in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now? Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,063,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Keithen Drury has positions in Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Brilliant New Technology Could Drive Taiwan Semiconductor to Become a $3 Trillion Company was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This Bezos-backed EV startup is betting you'll pay extra for a stereo in your petite pickup
By Kalea Hall and Nora Eckert (Reuters) -When Will Haseltine saw images online of a small, boxy electric pickup from startup Slate Auto this past spring, he got on the waitlist right away. The sparse interior and crank windows reminded him of the no-frills pickups he grew up around in Memphis, Tennessee – but he was most enamored with the sub-$20,000 price tag. That price, though, factored in a $7,500 federal tax break, which is set to expire Sept. 30, a casualty of the budget package U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law earlier this month. Now Haseltine isn't sure the truck will fit his budget when it comes out, expected late next year. 'The Slate was the first time that I looked at a car, wanted it, and could also really make it happen," said Haseltine, a 39-year-old musical instrument technician. Without the tax credit, he said: "That's just plain too much." Michigan-based Slate has raised $700 million from investors, including founder Jeff Bezos, and has racked up more than 100,000 reservations for its cars. But the company is launching into a tough U.S. market. A few years ago, the electric-vehicle space was awash in hopeful entrepreneurs looking to cash in on the global transition to electric cars. But U.S. EV sales growth has cooled as consumer interest has faded. The loss of federal tax breaks will further hurt demand, auto executives and analysts predict. Like other EV startups, Slate likely faces a long road to profitability. The EV business has proven to be a money loser for most industry players, partly because batteries remain relatively expensive. Even in China, where smaller, inexpensive EVs have proliferated and companies enjoy a cost advantage over Western automakers, most are unprofitable. Slate founders believe the company can overcome those obstacles by offering something that is in short supply in today's U.S. car market: affordability. The average new-vehicle selling price is above $45,000. 'We are building the affordable vehicle that has long been promised but never delivered,' Slate CEO Chris Barman said at a Detroit conference in July. The company has a chance to fill a void left by Tesla, which has backtracked on plans to introduce a mid-$20,000s electric vehicle. The startup has taken a bare-bones approach to its two-seat pickup, which is slightly smaller than a Honda Civic hatchback. How bare-bones? A stereo and power windows will cost extra. Slate hasn't disclosed the cost of such add-ons. 'IT'S A COOL IDEA' Slate's creation started with an idea from Miles Arnone, the CEO of Re:Build Manufacturing, a Massachusetts-based startup that includes several former Amazon employees. Arnone believed workers needed better access to affordable vehicles. Arnone shared his idea with Jeff Wilke, the company's chairman and a former Amazon executive, and eventually, a small team was formed. The group hired Barman, who spent most of her career as an engineering executive at Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis. Barman told Reuters recently that Slate will be able to absorb the loss of the $7,500 tax credit because the truck's price still will undercut competitors. The company plans to build the pickup at an old catalog factory in Warsaw, Indiana. Executives are taking steps to hold down costs, starting with a simplified design that uses about 500 parts in the truck's assembly, compared with a few thousand for a traditional truck. The plan to build all of its trucks in a basic package – what the company calls a 'SKU of one' – allows customers to choose to add a stereo, center console, special lighting, and other features later. The pickup will be built with composite body panels in gray, with an option for a vinyl wrap. That will sidestep the need for a paint shop, which is one of the most expensive investments in a typical car factory. Slate's minimalist approach is a leap of faith that Americans will forgo creature comforts they have been increasingly willing to splurge on. Last year, U.S. buyers spent 33% above the base price on average, springing for higher-end trim packages and extra features, according to . That was up from 28% in 2014. But there is mounting evidence that new cars are becoming out of reach for many Americans. That could worsen under the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs, which threaten to increase prices on popular budget cars imported from Mexico, Korea and elsewhere. From that standpoint, Slate's price-conscious pickup might be hitting at the right time, said Paul Waatti, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific. 'There's a growing appetite, especially among younger drivers, for vehicles that are more honest, more modular and less over-engineered,' he said. 'Slate taps right into that.' Traditional automakers and startups have found mixed success rolling out larger electric pickup trucks in recent years. Now, startups like Slate and California-based Telo are focusing on smaller electric pickups. In a town hall meeting in early May, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Executive Chair Bill Ford told employees they admired the company's customer-centered ethos and focus on affordability. Tim Kuniskis, Stellantis' head of American brands, called Slate 'super interesting' at a June event, while also questioning how affordable it would be for some shoppers once they added all the options they wanted. 'The idea behind it, we've talked about that idea a million times,' he said. "It's a cool idea.' Connectez-vous pour accéder à votre portefeuille
New York Post
44 minutes ago
- New York Post
Left-wing hedge fund D.E. Shaw fears ‘reprisals' over DEI from Trump administration: sources
Staffers at the notoriously secretive hedge fund D.E. Shaw fear the wildly lucrative left-wing firm could face 'reprisals' from the Trump administration over its woke DEI policies, The Post has learned. The New York-based powerhouse founded by billionaire David E. Shaw — whose algorithm-driven trades made it the most profitable hedge fund in 2024, raking in $11.1 billion for investors, according to Institutional Investor magazine — has grown remarkably quiet of late when it comes to diversity, equality, and inclusion, sources said. D.E. Shaw did not respond to The Post's emailed request for comment for this article. 8 Billionaire David E. Shaw, who has a long history of donating to Democrats, founded the money-spinning firm in 1988. YouTube/WebsEdge Science The company, which gave a young Jeff Bezos his big break in finance before he set up Amazon in 1994, has promoted DEI policies for years. A June 2019 memo obtained by The Post that was written by managing director Eddie Fishman encouraged staffers 'to display their pronouns' that 'align with their gender identity' in their emails so managers could 'foster an inclusive culture.' 8 The June 2019 memo. Obtained by the NY Post But a review by The Post of archived pages from D.E. Shaw's website shows that its DEI language has since been scrubbed, including references to how the firm 'actively promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion.' Now, its site merely says it's seeking 'talented people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.' One insider said top brass at the Wall Street firm — whose 74-year-old namesake helped bankroll the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — made 'a strategic move' to steer away from full-throated wokeness over fear of catching the attention of the White House. 'There was some concern that aggressive policies would make the firm a target for reprisals by the current administration,' the source said. 'And we were about as aggressive as you could get.' 'They were going 100 miles an hour on DEI in public, only then to drop to zero and fall off a cliff,' said another staffer. 'The communications have certainly been ratcheted back,' claimed a third employee. 'It's not as in-your-face as it once was.' 8 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott while working at D.E. Shaw. The then-couple quit in 1994 when Bezos set up the online retail giant. REUTERS 8 Top DOJ lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon issued a stern warning to corporate America in a Senate hearing on July 23: 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it.' CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images D.E. Shaw's retreat follows a Supreme Court ruling last month and a White House-led crackdown on corporate DEI policies, which critics say lower performance standards and foster so-called reverse discrimination. Top Department of Justice lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, issued the starkest of warnings to corporate America during a testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 23. 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it,' the top Trump administration official said. Nevertheless, five sources with direct knowledge of the matter told The Post that executives at the company — founded by computer scientist Shaw in 1988 after he did stints at Stanford, Columbia and Morgan Stanley — are still paying lip service to wokeness to the rank and file. 'They have said internally that our commitment and programs regarding DEI are not changing,' said another senior D.E. Shaw source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'They have themselves in a bit of a bind. They went hardcore DEI to appear progressive and cater to liberal recruits,' a veteran of the firm added. 'Internally, they are putting a brave face on it. But they are now very worried that the administration will start looking into them.' 8 President Trump has ordered the DOJ to crack down on the DEI policies that flourished under the Biden-Harris administration. Bloomberg via Getty Images 8 The woke job placements mysteriously disappeared from the DE Shaw website after The Post approached the firm for comment about its DEI policies. Fearing Trump's ire, the hedge fund appears to have axed its 'inclusive' Bridge internship. The program was set up in 2016 for 'historically underrepresented' groups in finance. The 'woke' job placement schemes still featured prominently on D.E. Shaw's website last week. But they have now been deleted after The Post approached the firm for comment on their DEI policies on Friday. According to an archived version of D.E. Shaw's Campus website — an online recruitment portal — the firm created three programs aimed at diverse recruitment. Its 'Discovery' program was 'designed for students who self-identify as women', while 'Momentum' was aimed at those 'who self-identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community D.E. Shaw also had a program called 'Latitude,' which was 'for students who self-identify as Native American or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.' 8 One scheme called Momentum was open to students who self-identify as part of the 'LGBTQIA+ community.' Other Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Bank of America and Jamie Dimon's JPMorgan Chase have scaled back their public commitments to DEI. The Post reported exclusively how Goldman decided to give woke the boot — on its website at least — when its partners met with CEO David Solomon in Miami in February. The Post attempted to speak to additional employees at D.E. Shaw, but they declined, citing fears of retribution from D.E. Shaw's management, which has even been known to weigh in on whether employees can attend social gatherings with people who have left the company. 'It is definitely something that people are talking about at the firm,' a separate person briefed on the matter told The Post. 'The irony is that the whole firm is still very white and very male,' said another source. 8 Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is one of the biggest names among the DE Shaw alumni. He served both the second Clinton and first Obama administrations. Getty Images The hedge fund's leadership team counts two females, Alexis Halaby and managing director Anne Dinning, amongst its ranks. The firm last made major headlines in 2022 when it was forced to pay a $52 million defamation settlement to one of its former rising stars, Dan Michalow, after an arbitration panel found that it had falsely accused him of sexual misconduct. Michalow, who always denied any wrongdoing, left the company not long after the start of the #MeToo movement, where hundreds of rich and powerful men were accused of sexual misdeeds. Aside from Amazon's Bezos and his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, D.E. Shaw's most famous alum is arguably Lawrence Summers. He served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and as director of Barack Obama's National Economic Council.
