Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) have lost more value than those of any other firm in Asia since mid-June as investors brace for prolonged weakness in the chip sector. The rout may not be over.
Since its June high, Taiwan-based TSMC shares have fallen 10%, erasing $72 billion from its market cap due to worries about the macro environment and soft global consumer electronics demand. A continued rise in the volatility skew in recent months as traders bid up bearish contracts is indicating a further drop in TSMC’s stock.
Shares of the world’s largest contract chipmaker jumped 60% between October and June thanks to the global frenzy over everything related to artificial intelligence. But traders have turned more wary about just how much that will contribute to the bottom line, especially without a pickup in the smartphone and personal-computer business. Even high-end AI chip orders have slowed at a faster pace than expected.