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Ahead of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) upcoming earnings call for the first quarter, Japanese financial research firm Nomura is out with its fresh take on its present situation and future expectations. TSMC's crucial place in the global semiconductor industry - which places it at the heart of the chip supply chain for firms unable to fabricate their silicon - also means that its financials are a barometer for the performance of the broader semiconductor industry. With the current mania surrounding artificial intelligence, the earnings report is quite important as it allows the industry to see the number of orders flowing through the fabs in Taiwan.
For its part, Nomura's report is full of optimism about TSMC, and the latest share price target of NT$975 marks a hefty upgrade over the previous target of NT$700 and ties in place with Goldman Sachs' TSMC share price target as the second highest for non Taiwan based analysts.
According to Nomura, the two key catalysts that TSMC's investors need to be aware of moving forward are central processing unit (CPU) products and artificial intelligence chips. This marks a complete shift for TSMC's business model, which until very recently had benefited tremendously from the growth in global smartphone usage.
TSMC is Apple's primary supplier of smartphone processors, and after the Californian company's partnership with Samsung soured due to poor product quality, it expanded and developed its ties with the Taiwanese chip maker instead.
Nomura's current TSMC share price target is NT$975, and the firm has maintained its Buy share price rating for TSMC in
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