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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.

TSM

TSM: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with almost 60% market share. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public as an ADR in the U.S. in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious customer base, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that looks to apply cutting-edge process technologies to its semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 73,000 people.

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$TSM is featured in our Tom Carper strategy.

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Recent trades of TSM by members of U.S. Congress

Politician Type Traded
Daniel Goldman House / D Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Jul. 10, 2023
Tuberville, Tommy Senate / R Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Mar. 21, 2023
Josh Gottheimer House / D Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Mar. 09, 2023
Daniel Goldman House / D Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Feb. 27, 2023
Carper, Thomas R. Senate / D Sale (Partial) $1,001 - $15,000 Feb. 21, 2023
Tuberville, Tommy Senate / R Sale (Full) $1,001 - $15,000 Nov. 23, 2022
Tuberville, Tommy Senate / R Sale (Full) $1,001 - $15,000 Nov. 23, 2022
Carper, Thomas R. Senate / D Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Oct. 17, 2022
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Mar. 30, 2022
Carper, Thomas R. Senate / D Sale (Partial) $1,001 - $15,000 Jan. 19, 2022
Pete Sessions House / R Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Nov. 16, 2021
Thomas Suozzi House / D Sale $15,001 - $50,000 Oct. 06, 2021
Katherine M. Clark House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Sep. 16, 2021
Marjorie Taylor Greene House / R Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Jun. 16, 2021
Thomas Suozzi House / D Purchase $15,001 - $50,000 Jun. 11, 2021
Sara Jacobs House / D Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Apr. 09, 2021
Pete Sessions House / R Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Mar. 10, 2021
Mr. Peter Meijer House / R Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Feb. 17, 2021
Katherine M. Clark House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Feb. 08, 2021
Katherine M. Clark House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Feb. 08, 2021
Mr. Peter Meijer House / R Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Feb. 08, 2021
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Feb. 03, 2021
Mrs. Marjorie Taylor Greene House / R Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Jan. 22, 2021
Mr. Peter Meijer House / R Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Jan. 13, 2021
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Jan. 11, 2021
Katherine M. Clark House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Nov. 05, 2020
Katherine M. Clark House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Oct. 22, 2020
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Aug. 04, 2020
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Aug. 04, 2020
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $100,001 - $250,000 Jul. 28, 2020
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Jul. 27, 2020
Sean Patrick Maloney House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Jun. 26, 2020
Josh Gottheimer House / D Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Apr. 17, 2020
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Mar. 13, 2020
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Mar. 12, 2020
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $50,001 - $100,000 Jan. 13, 2020
Greg Gianforte House / R Purchase $50,001 - $100,000 Jan. 03, 2020
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $15,001 - $50,000 Dec. 17, 2019
Katherine M. Clark House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Nov. 05, 2019
Carper, Thomas R. Senate / D Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 Nov. 04, 2019
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $15,001 - $50,000 Oct. 15, 2019
Josh Gottheimer House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 Sep. 30, 2019
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $15,001 - $50,000 Sep. 27, 2019
Greg Gianforte House / R Sale $15,001 - $50,000 Sep. 10, 2019
Donna Shalala House / D Sale $15,001 - $50,000 Jun. 24, 2019
Mikie Sherrill House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 May. 28, 2019
Mikie Sherrill House / D Sale $1,001 - $15,000 May. 28, 2019
Katherine M. Clark House / D Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 May. 12, 2019
Katherine M. Clark House / D Purchase $1,001 - $15,000 May. 12, 2019
Greg Gianforte House / R Purchase $15,001 - $50,000 Apr. 24, 2019

Recently reported changes by institutional investors

Quarterly net insider trading by TSM's directors and management

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Government Contracts

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WallStreetBets

Number of mentions of TSM in WallStreetBets Daily Discussion

TSM News

Recent insights relating to TSM

CNBC Recommendations

Recent picks made for TSM stock on CNBC

Top ETF Holders

ETFs with the largest estimated holdings in TSM

Corporate Flights

Flights by private jets registered to TSM

Quiver LogoOur Analysis
Posted: 5 months, 2 weeks ago // April 14, 2023 4:21 p.m. UTC
Why These Trades Could be a Cause for Concern...

In a CNBC interview early Wednesday morning, when Warren Buffet was asked why he sold almost his entire stake in Taiwan Semiconductor ($TSM), Buffet first responded with, "There’s a danger of seismic action where they're located” before giving a more cryptic response stating “I'd rather have a US domiciled company, rather than be subject to who knows what depending on conditions outside their control” suggesting that ongoing geopolitical risks related to Taiwan pose a threat to Taiwan Semiconductor.

Having followed Buffet for many years, I thought every part of this response was abnormal. The idea that The Oracle of Omaha sold approximately $3.8 billion of TSM stock because of a potential earthquake seems ambitious, to say the least. The second part of the response implying that he's selling the company due to heightened geopolitical risks is also very unlike Buffet, who prides himself on investing in “great companies” and makes a point to not speculate on factors outside his control. Despite Buffet's unusual response, it likely wasn't enough to be a definite cause for concern regarding Taiwan and heightened geopolitical risks.

However, that was until just later the same day when Senator Tuberville disclosed his trades for March and revealed that he had purchased $75 strike price, $TSM put contracts, expiring 9/15/23.

This could be cause for concern for two primary reasons, with the first being that it's very rare to see lawmakers buying put contracts due to the nature of them being that they’re betting on a company to fall in market value.

The second reason is that Senator Tuberville sits on The Senate Committee for Armed Services and the Seapower and Strategic Forces subcommittee. As a result, Tuberville has access to classified military and defense information out of reach to the public. Given the heightened geopolitical tension around Taiwan in recent weeks, along with his purchase of TSM put contracts, the data suggests that Taiwan might be in the cross hairs of a potential war sooner rather than later.

While an outbreak of a war between China and the US over the island would have far-reaching consequences, Taiwan Semiconductors arguably has the most to lose of any company. Especially when you consider that the US has already singled out that in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the US would “Blow up” the TSM Semiconductor facilities and move the engineers to Arizona rather than let China access the technology.

Given the unusual nature of Buffet and Tuberville’s trades, it makes you wonder whether they know something about Taiwan that we don’t?

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