ASML

The 10 investment pros on the Barron’s Roundtable see the U.S. economy growing 4% to 6% this year as Covid is defeated. But lofty valuations could limit the market’s gains. Plus, 9 picks from Bill Priest and Meryl Witmer

Leaderboard stock Palantir and Taser maker Axon rallied, JPMorgan dropped to the bottom of the Dow Jones today, as stock futures aimed for a mixed open.

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. triggered a global chip stock rally after outlining plans to pour as much as $28 billion into capital spending this year, a staggering sum aimed at expanding its technological lead and constructing a plant in Arizona to serve key American customers.The envisioned spending spree sent chipmaking gear manufacturers surging from New York to Tokyo. Capital spending for 2021 is targeted at $25 billion to $28 billion, compared with $17.2 billion the previous year. About 80% of the outlay will be devoted to advanced processor technologies, suggesting TSMC anticipates a surge in business for cutting-edge chipmaking. Analysts expect Intel Corp., the world’s best-known chipmaker, to outsource manufacture to the likes of TSMC after a series of inhouse technology slip-ups.The sheer scale of TSMC’s envisioned budget -- more than half its projected revenue for the year -- underscores TSMC’s determination to maintain its dominance and supply its biggest American clients from Apple Inc. to Qualcomm Inc. At 52% of projected 2021 revenue, the chipmaker’s planned spending would be the sixth-highest among all companies with a value of more than $10 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The outlay may also ramp up pressure on Intel, whose budget for 2020 was roughly $14.5 billion.“The high capex guide is indicative of TSMC’s confidence in Intel’s outsourcing business,” Bernstein analysts led by Mark Li wrote in a note. “TSMC’s track record also shows high capex always subsequently led to high growth.”The world’s largest contract chipmaker expects revenue of $12.7 billion to $13 billion this quarter, ahead of the $12.4 billion average of analyst estimates. That will power mid-teens sales growth this year, though that’s roughly half the pace of the increase in 2020.Net income in the quarter ended December climbed 23% to NT$142.8 billion ($5.1 billion), compared with the NT$137.2 billion average of analyst estimates, the chipmaker said Thursday. That contributed to a 50% increase in full-year profit, the speediest rate of expansion since 2010. Sales in the December quarter climbed 14% to a record NT$361.5 billion, according to previously disclosed monthly numbers, helped in part by robust demand for Apple’s new 5G iPhones.Read more: As Chip Rivals Struggle, TSMC Goes In for the Kill: Tim CulpanTSMC jumped as much as 5.6%, the most since July, to an all-time high in early Friday trade, extending a rally of more than 70% over the past year. Supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd. climbed more than 4%, while ASML Holding NV rose 5.9% on Thursday. Other semiconductor companies in the U.S. rallied on Thursday, with Applied Materials Inc. gaining almost 8% and Lam Research Corp up 6% in New York. Intel gained 4%.The fourth-quarter results revealed increasing contributions from TSMC’s most-advanced 5-nanometer process technology -- used to make Apple’s A14 chips. That accounted for about 20% of total revenue during the quarter, more than doubling its share from the previous three months, while 7nm represented 29%. By business segment, TSMC’s smartphone business contributed about 51% to revenue, while high-performance computing (HPC) was at 31%.As rivals like United Microelectronics Corp. fall behind and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. struggles with American sanctions, TSMC’s pivotal role is likely to expand in 2021. The company has been racing to meet demand from larger-volume electronics clients, exacerbating a severe shortage of automotive chips that’s forcing firms like Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to curtail production.TSMC said the automotive industry had been “soft” since 2018 and demand only started to recover in the fourth quarter. The company is working with its automotive customers to address the capacity supply issues, Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei said, though he didn’t elaborate when the bottlenecks that forced carmakers to cut production could be resolved.Read more: Missing Chips Snarl Car Production at Factories WorldwideExecutives didn’t address reports about potential orders from Intel on Thursday, saying that they don’t discuss specific customers. The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker held talks with TSMC about making some of its best chips, people familiar have said, though it’s unclear whether the company may pivot after the appointment of Pat Gelsinger as its new CEO.“We believe Intel would not change its plans of CPU foundry outsourcing even with the CEO change,” Citigroup analysts wrote in a note, citing the time and costs associated with process qualification as well as the risk that U.S. chipmaker won’t get capacity from TSMC if it doesn’t book ahead. “In our view, Intel will be one of the major customers to first adopt 3nm for production. TSMC might start shipping 3nm wafers to Intel from early 3Q22.”Read more: Intel Talks With TSMC, Samsung to Outsource Some Chip ProductionConstruction on a planned $12 billion plant in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona will begin this year, executives reiterated, without specifying how much of the planned budget for this year will be allocated to the project. The factory will be completed by 2024, with initial target output of 20,000 wafers per month, though the company envisions having a “mega scale production site” over the long term, Chairman Mark Liu said.Even as TSMC grows, foundries such as TSMC, UMC and Globalfoundries Inc. aren’t expanding fast enough to meet the pandemic-induced spike in demand for gadgets. Those bottlenecks snarled the flow of chips not just to cars, but also Xboxes and PlayStations and even certain iPhones. TSMC is by far the most advanced of the foundries responsible for making a significant portion of the world’s semiconductors, serving the likes of Qualcomm and NXP Semiconductors NV, which also supply the mobile and auto industries.What Bloomberg Industries Says:TSMC’s $28 billion capital investment target for 2021 is 50% more than investors expected, and amounts to management’s strong vote of confidence in demand for smartphones and high-performance computing (HPC) chips over the next three years. The capital outlay target implies 2021 sales could leap to $56 billion, 4% higher than the $54 billion consensus expects, assuming 50% capital spending intensity.-- Charles Shum, analystClick here for the research(Adds analyst comments in fifth and 12th paragraph, latest share performance in seventh paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Axcelis Technologies shows rising price performance, earning an upgrade to its IBD Relative Strength Rating from 61 to 80.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's leading chip foundry, on Thursday delivered mixed results for the fourth quarter. However, it guided higher for sales in the current quarter.

ASML (ASML) closed the most recent trading day at $508.74, moving +1.46% from the previous trading session.

It's easy to overlook that plenty of great businesses were born elsewhere. Some of the best get missed because they operate in the background.

Shares of ASML Holdings (NASDAQ: ASML), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), and Micron Technologies (NASDAQ: MU) appreciated 64.8%, 41.4%, and 39.8%, respectively, in 2020, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. 2020 was a strong year for semiconductor equipment and memory stocks. Leading the charge was ASML Holdings.

Is (ASML) Outperforming Other Computer and Technology Stocks This Year?

Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials has benefited from rising capital spending this year, but not as much as many industry peers. But Applied Materials could outperform in 2021.

Does ASML (ASML) have what it takes to be a top stock pick for momentum investors? Let's find out.

ASML (ASML) closed at $476.18 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.83% move from the prior day.

ASML reports transactions under its current share buyback programVELDHOVEN, the Netherlands – ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) reports the following transactions, conducted under ASML's current share buyback program.DateTotal repurchased sharesWeighted average priceTotal repurchased value 14-Dec-2047,000373.8317,569,976.63 15-Dec-2055,000380.5120,928,108.30 16-Dec-2046,000385.9717,754,659.10 17-Dec-2048,000390.7518,755,782.56 18-Dec-2038,212390.1614,908,848.95 ASML’s current share buyback program was announced on 22 January 2020, and details are available on our website at https://www.asml.com/en/news/share-buybackThis regular update of the transactions conducted under the buyback program is to be made public under the Market Abuse Regulation (Nr. 596/2014).Media Relations ContactsInvestor Relations Contacts Monique Mols, phone +31 6 528 444 18Skip Miller, phone +1 480 235 0934  Marcel Kemp, phone +31 40 268 6494

Is (ASML) Outperforming Other Computer and Technology Stocks This Year?

The JOHCM Global Equity fund focuses on companies in promising sectors. Most of its roughly 40 holdings are directly tied to one of three trends: digitization, deglobalization, and decarbonization.

Advanced Energy Industries shows rising price performance, earning an upgrade to its IBD Relative Strength Rating.

Shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturers Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX), and ASML Holdings (NASDAQ: ASML) all rose materially higher during the month of November, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Applied Materials was up 39.3%, with Lam Research nearly matching it with 32.3% gains, and ASML logging a respectable 16.6% gain just for good measure.

Axcelis Technologies saw its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating jump to 96 Wednesday, up from 93 the day before.

Applied Materials saw a positive improvement to its Relative Strength (RS) Rating on Friday, with an increase from 78 to 83. When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, keep a close on eye on relative price strength.

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. is pouring $116 billion into its next-generation chip business that includes fabricating silicon for external clients, betting it can finally close the gap on industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as soon as two years from now.South Korea’s biggest company will mass-produce 3-nanometer chips in 2022, a senior executive at its foundry division told attendees at an invite-only event last month. That target, which hasn’t previously been reported, means it’s on a path to start churning out the industry’s most advanced semiconductors the same year as its Taiwanese rival expects to pass that milestone. Samsung is already developing initial design tools with key partners, Park Jae-hong, executive vice president of foundry design platform development, told conference delegates.If Samsung succeeds, that will be a breakthrough for its ambition to become the chipmaker of choice for the likes of Apple Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. that now rely on foundries like TSMC. The business isn’t new to Samsung, which was the first manufacturer of Apple’s A-series iPhone processors, but the company’s renewed push is now shepherded by billionaire heir Jay Y. Lee, who wants to see it establish tech leadership across advanced sectors like chipmaking and 5G networking to power its next phase of growth. Park’s comments suggest Samsung is accelerating its bid to compete with iPhone-chipmaker TSMC, one of the biggest beneficiaries of this year’s wave of stay-at-home demand for personal electronics.“To actively respond to market trends and lower the design barrier for competitive systems-on-chip development, we’ll keep innovating our cutting-edge process portfolio, while strengthening Samsung’s foundry ecosystem through close collaboration with partners,” Samsung’s Park told attendees, according to people at the event.Read more: Samsung Takes Another Step in $116 Billion Plan to Take on TSMCSamsung’s aim is in line with TSMC’s target of offering volume production of 3nm chips in the second half of 2022. But the Korean company also hopes to go one better by adopting what’s known as the Gate-All-Around technique, regarded by some as game-changing technology that can more precisely control current flows across channels, shrink chip areas and lower power consumption. TSMC had opted for the more established FinFET structure for its 3nm lines.“Samsung is catching up to TSMC very fast and it seeks to achieve dominance over its competitor by adopting the new technology for the first time,” said Rino Choi, a professor of materials science and engineering at Inha University. “However, if Samsung can’t improve production yields of the advanced node fast in an initial stage, it may lose money.”Already the world’s largest maker of computer memory and displays, Samsung wants a bigger share of the $250 billion foundry and logic-chip industry that’s set for accelerated growth with the advent of artificial intelligence and fifth-generation wireless technology. In 2019, TSMC controlled more than half of the contract chipmaking market while Samsung had just 18%, according to TrendForce data.Lee has taken a close interest in the matter. He flew to ASML Holding NV’s headquarters in the Netherlands last month to discuss supply of its extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, gear that’s indispensable to the creation of the most advanced semiconductors. Other top executives have toured major cities from San Jose to Munich and Shanghai, hosting foundry forums and negotiating deals.Some analysts question Samsung’s ability to carve out a significant share of a market dominated by TSMC, which spends some $17 billion annually to ensure it remains at the forefront of both technology and sheer capacity. For its part, Samsung’s semiconductor division plans to spend $26 billion on capital expenditure in 2020, but that’s been largely in support of its dominant memory business and not all of its expertise in making memory is directly relevant to creating advanced logic chips.Processors are more complex to manufacture than memory and their production yields are harder to control and scale up in the same way. Foundry customers also require bespoke solutions, imposing another barrier to rapid expansion and also making Samsung dependent on customers’ designs. But the Korean giant can draw confidence from its work with Nvidia Corp., whose chief executive officer sung the praises of collaborating with Samsung on customizing the manufacturing process for its latest graphics card silicon.The risks and initial setup costs have whittled down the number of companies capable of even competing in the EUV-based chipmaking industry. Intel Corp. this year announced it’ll consider outsourcing production of its most important chips for the first time, highlighting the complexities of the business and leaving Samsung and TSMC as the two major competitors. While Samsung has scored some marquee customers, TSMC’s long-standing relationships with clients allow for better coordination on design and manufacturing, leading to superior yields, said Sanjeev Rana, an analyst at CLSA Securities Korea.“In terms of chip performance, Samsung and TSMC are neck and neck,” Rana said. “Most smartphone, high-performance computing, high-end server applications need leading-edge process fabrication for performance and power efficiency reasons. This is where the competition between TSMC and Samsung comes into the picture.”Read more: Behind Samsung’s $116 Billion Bid for Chip SupremacyThe Korean company is making rapid advances, in part because even with TSMC’s deep pockets, the Taiwanese chipmaker cannot expand capacity quickly enough to satisfy all demand. Customers also prefer to use more than one foundry, which also works to Samsung’s advantage. The Korean company has already secured enough orders from major clients to keep its currently most-advanced 5nm process lines busy for the next few years, a company executive told Bloomberg News. The electronics giant increased its roster of semiconductor clients by 30% last year, according to another official. In recent months, Nvidia and IBM Corp. are among those that turned to Samsung for some of their chipmaking needs, while Qualcomm Inc. has reportedly awarded the company a 1 trillion won ($858 million) contract to build its flagship mobile processors.Samsung started up its first dedicated plant for EUV-based fabrication in the southern city of Hwaseong this year, while a second facility in Pyeongtaek is slated for mass production in the second half of 2021. The growth rate of its foundry business is expected to significantly exceed that of the market, which is likely to be in the high single-digits, Shawn Han, senior vice president of the semiconductor business, said during a recent earnings call. The GAA technology that Samsung’s chosen is expected to be adopt by TSMC for 2nm processes in 2024, but there’s a chance that schedule could be moved up to the second half of 2023, said Kim Young-soo, an analyst at SK Securities.“Technically, Samsung could turn the table in 2023 before TSMC kicks off the 2nm production,” Kim said. “There will be overflow orders of making application processor chips and edge computing devices. The key to expand the market share is how many EUV machines Samsung can secure.”Officials at Samsung believe the company has a competitive edge from its experience building both the chips and the devices that they go into, like Galaxy smartphones. It can foresee and address the engineering requirements of its clients. Samsung believes its other trump card is an ability to package memory and logic chips into a single module, improving power and space efficiency. But some companies may be wary about outsourcing production to a direct competitor. TSMC executives have from time to time highlighted the fact that the Taiwanese chipmaker doesn’t compete with any of its customers, a clear jab at Samsung.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.