Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM) is having its worst month in nearly four years. The strange comfort is that Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) is having an even worse one.

  • TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares are down 15% so far in July, putting the stock on pace for its worst month since September 2022. That is a sharp pullback for one of the market’s biggest AI winners. But measured against direct foundry rival Intel, the selloff looks far less dramatic: Intel has dropped roughly 31% over the same stretch.

QUICK CONTEXT: TSMC Beats Market Estimates

TSMC’s chipmaker’s net income soared to NT$706.56 billion ($22 billion), a 77.4% increase from the previous year, surpassing analyst expectations of NT$632.64 billion. Revenue also climbed to NT$1.27 trillion ($39.45 billion), exceeding forecasts and marking a 36% rise from the previous year.

The company’s advanced manufacturing technologies, particularly those at 7-nanometer and below, contributed significantly, accounting for 77% of total wafer revenue. Wendell Huang, TSMC’s Senior VP and CFO, attributed the strong quarter to robust demand for their industry-leading process technologies. This demand is largely driven by the growing need for AI accelerators and high-end chips, which has consistently bolstered TSMC’s performance.

However, the stock’s decline comes amid a broader semiconductor selloff that has impacted the Nasdaq 100, dragging it down by more than 1%. This downturn in chip stocks is also affecting companies like Western Digital and SanDisk, as profit-taking and new IPO filings in China add pressure to the sector.

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, TSMC outlined its expectations for continued strong demand in the third quarter.

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