TSMC's Trading Volume Surges 61% to Rank 17th Despite Stock Price Decline

On March 26, 2025, TSMC's trading volume reached 25.41 billion, marking a 61.33% increase from the previous day and ranking 17th in the day's trading volume. However, TSMC's stock price fell by 4.09%, marking two consecutive days of decline and a total decrease of 4.23% over the past two days.

TSMC's operations in Arizona are only about 10% more expensive than those in Taiwan, according to a recent study by TechInsights. This finding challenges earlier assumptions that high fab-building expenses in Arizona made US chip production financially impractical. The cost difference largely reflects the expenses associated with establishing a brand-new facility in an unfamiliar market with a new, sometimes unskilled workforce. Equipment, which accounts for well over two-thirds of the total expenses, is a significant portion of the wafer production cost. Leading equipment providers charge similar prices globally, effectively neutralizing geographic disparities. Although US labor costs are higher than in Taiwan, the heavy automation in modern fabs means that labor represents less than 2% of the overall cost. Additional logistics for Fab 21, including the return of wafers to Taiwan for dicing, testing, and packaging, add complexity but only minimally affect the overall expense. With plans to expand domestic packaging capabilities, TSMC's approach is proving to be strategically sound.

NVIDIA has confirmed that its latest "Blackwell" series of GPUs, including the latest Blackwell Ultra, are being manufactured at TSMC's Arizona facilities. TSMC announced a $100 billion investment in its Arizona expansion, and NVIDIA is ready to take up more of TSMC's capacity to meet its ever-growing demand for GPUs. NVIDIA is also looking at other options for supply chain manufacturing partners, including Intel, which is a potential target for NVIDIA. NVIDIA is interested in silicon manufacturing and chip packaging services, as Intel's Foveros 3D packaging and other technologies are attractive for Team Green.

TSMC is still considering a strategic joint venture to operate Intel's manufacturing capacity, according to sources close to Reuters. The proposed arrangement would limit TSMC's ownership to less than 50% and potentially distribute stakes to major American chip designers, including AMD, Broadcom, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm. The initiative emerged following direct intervention from the Trump administration, which has prioritized revitalizing domestic semiconductor manufacturing while maintaining American control of critical technology infrastructure. Under the proposed framework, Intel would spin off its Intel Foundry division, with TSMC acquiring a minority stake and bringing in partner companies as co-investors.

TSMC is set to benefit from the estimated 22 million Apple iPhone 16e unit sales. Apple's new design houses an A18 chipset, as well as their much-discussed debut modem design. The C1 is a custom 5G part; fully developed in-house. As expected, Apple contracted with TSMC for the production of A18 and C1 silicon—the A-type SoC is based on a 3 nm process node (TSMC N3E). Their proprietary modem baseband design utilizes 4 mm, while the receiver uses a 7 nm process—according to insiders. Taiwan's Commercial Times reckons that TSMC will be the "biggest beneficiary" from the aforementioned agreement with Apple. Ctee TW's latest report cites industry analysis; soothsayers estimate annual shipments reaching roughly 22 million units annually.