Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM)
TSMC is the world's most important chipmaker, acting as the invisible engine room for the tech giants that build our smartphones, AI, and computers.
Is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Dominant market position as the world's leading chip manufacturer. Worth weighing: High reliance on a small number of very large customers.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited do?
TSMC doesn't design its own gadgets; instead, it operates the massive, high-tech factories that manufacture the complex microchips designed by companies like Apple and Nvidia. The cash rolls in from charging these tech giants a fee to turn their blueprints into physical silicon wafers. What matters most is their ability to keep building the world's most advanced chips, which are in huge demand right now for artificial intelligence.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and growth, and weakest on value.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 0.9% a year
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 36% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 50% of sales into profit
- !High P/E of 37 - big growth is already priced in
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 40%)
- Quality screens high
- Growth screens high
- Momentum screens high
- —
Does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited pay a dividend?
Yes - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited currently pays a dividend of about 0.9% a year, which is £9.10 a year for every £1,000 invested (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it. An ISA doesn't shelter the US tax on this one →
What do the numbers say about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited's dividend?
There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.
Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.
Most recent ex-dividend date: 11 Jun 2026. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →
Does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited have more cash or more debt?
It holds about 3.52T in cash against about 982.45B of debt - so it has net cash of about 2.54T. More cash than debt is a cushion: it does not need to borrow just to cover what it owes.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited's numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited fell as much as −37% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
What do you actually own with TSM?
This US listing is an American Depositary Receipt (ADR), not a direct holding of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited's ordinary shares. A bank holds the real shares in Taiwan and issues receipts against them, and it is those receipts that trade in US dollars on a US exchange. It is the standard route by which a company listed abroad becomes available on a US market, and the receipt tracks the shares behind it.
- Two currencies are involved. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited reports its results in Taiwan dollars, while the listing itself trades in US dollars. Exchange-rate moves therefore affect the value alongside the movement of the underlying shares.
- There is a custody fee. The depositary bank charges a small annual fee for running the arrangement - often a few cents per receipt - usually taken out of dividends or passed on by your platform.
- Dividends cross a border. Any dividend is converted into US dollars by the bank, and Taiwan may deduct withholding tax before it reaches you.
- Voting works differently. Receipt holders generally do not vote at the company's meetings directly; the bank holding the shares handles that.
This describes how the listing is put together, using its registered security type. It is context about the instrument, not a view on the company.
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited?
About 15% of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, or about 15 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds. The rest, roughly 84%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited's sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £36 covers making the product or service, £14 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £50 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-15 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-16 | $3.89 | $4.31 | Beat +11% |
| 2026-04-15 | $3.33 | $3.49 | Beat +5% |
| 2026-01-15 | $2.98 | $3.14 | Beat +6% |
| 2025-10-15 | $2.63 | $2.92 | Beat +11% |
| 2025-07-17 | $2.31 | $2.47 | Beat +7% |
| 2025-04-17 | $2.05 | $2.12 | Beat +3% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited came in ahead of what analysts expected 6 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
AI becomes a permanent, massive pillar of the global economy.
Significant geopolitical shifts affecting regional operations.
What are the pros and cons of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Dominant market position as the world's leading chip manufacturer
- Extremely high profit margins compared to typical manufacturing
- Essential partner for the world's largest technology companies
- High reliance on a small number of very large customers
- Extremely expensive to build and maintain cutting-edge factories
- Low dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone. compared to more mature, slower-growing industries
- Geopolitical tensions impacting supply chains or operations
- Rapid changes in technology making current manufacturing processes obsolete
- Economic downturns reducing consumer demand for new gadgets
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained drop in global demand for high-performance computing chips
- Competitors successfully matching TSMC's manufacturing precision and scale
Common questions about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited pay a dividend?
Yes - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited currently pays a dividend of about 0.9% a year. Dividends are a share of profit paid to holders; the yield moves with the price and payouts can be cut.
When does Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited report earnings next?
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-10-15. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.