We recently published a list of 12 Best Tech Stocks to Buy For Long-Term Investment. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) stands against other tech stocks to buy for long-term investment.
On April 1, Chris Verrone, chief market strategist at Strategas Research Partners, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Closing Bell’ to talk about his outlook on the tech sector. Verrone believes that most of the current market’s negative sentiment has already been factored into recent stock prices. He highlighted that even after the market’s decline, the VIX, and the currency and bond volatility are lower than they were during the mid-March stress period. Plus, fewer stocks are hitting new lows. He thinks that market lows are formed during periods of bad news, and the market will rally from its current level with an anticipated range of 5,900 to 5,950.
Verrone believes that the current downturn is more than a typical 10% correction so it will take some time to figure out the market’s true direction. He emphasized the importance of monitoring market breadth, new highs, and credit conditions in the upcoming weeks and months. He also acknowledged the shift in investor sentiment, with more bears than bulls. As the conversation touched on the impact of the Fed and politics in a market, Verrone stated that he pays more attention to what the 2-year Treasury yield tells him instead of listening to what Fed officials have to say. He noted that the 2-year yield’s decline from 3.83% to 3.85% suggests a shift in the market expectations for the Fed’s actions. He highlighted the resilience of financials during the correction and contrasted it with the weakness of tech. He thinks that, unlike financials that entered the correction as leaders, the tech sector might not be able to regain the leadership role.
While Verrone’s stance acknowledges the current weakness in tech, it’s important to note that the tech sector remains one of the more innovative markets in the long run. For instance, MAG7 continues to be a driving force for this market.
Our Methodology
We first sifted through financial media reports to compile a list of the top tech stocks that are being touted as long term investment plays. We then selected the 12 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database which tracks the moves of over 900 elite money managers.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A close-up of a complex network of integrated circuits used in logic semiconductors.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 186
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) is a tech company that manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices globally. It provides various wafer fabrication processes. It also offers customer & engineering support services, invests in tech start-up companies, and provides investment services. Its products are used in HPC, smartphones, IoT, automotive, and digital consumer electronics.
The company’s HPC segment made up 51% of its total revenue in 2024 after showcasing a 58% year-over-year revenue increase which was driven by AI-related applications. Revenue from AI accelerators contributed mid-teens percentage to this total revenue for the year. These accelerators include AI GPUs, AI ASICs, and HBM controllers. The company is investing in advanced process technologies, such as 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer, which are needed to develop high-performance AI chips. It’s also developing A16 technology with Super Power Rail (SPR) for specialized HPC products.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) forecasts that revenue growth from AI accelerators will reach a mid-40% CAGR for five years starting from 2024. The company’s capital expenditures for 2025 are expected to be between $38 and $42 billion. On March 4, TD Cowen’s Krish Sankar reiterated a Hold rating on the company with a $215 target. Sankar views the company’s recent $100 billion US investment as low-risk but at the same time acknowledges the timeline uncertainty.
Seeing the potential in its AI chip demand, Sands Capital Technology Innovators Fund stated the following regarding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) third-quarter 2024 results and guidance showcased strong continued demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Revenue increased by 29 percent, and earnings saw a 54 percent rise year-over-year. Gross margins were at their highest since 2022, bolstered by price hikes and record utilization at both the 3 nanometer (nm) and 5nm nodes. TSMC’s full-year revenue outlook was revised upward from 25 percent to 30 percent growth. The company also anticipates higher capital expenditure in 2025, a leading indicator for revenue.
Meanwhile, TSMC’s competitive position within the leading-edge chip fabrication industry has improved. The company noted that demand for its next-generation 2nm (N2) node is considerably higher than for its predecessor, N3. Additionally, TSMC has more capacity for N2 than N3. This situation contrasts with Intel and Samsung, which both recently disclosed struggles in ramping up their leading-edge nodes. Together, Intel and Samsung account for approximately $25 billion of foundry revenue, which could potentially migrate to TSMC over time…” (Click here to read the full text)
Overall, TSM ranks 6th on our list of the best tech stocks to buy for long-term investment. While we acknowledge the growth potential of TSM, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
