TSMC’s Premium: Parsing Taiwan Semiconductor’s Value Amid Policy Shifts, High Capex, and a Steepening Curve
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) sits at the center of the AI compute supply chain. As of intraday Tuesday, its ADRs trade near $237.45, within sight of the 52‑week high at $248.28 and well above the $134.25 low, as investors balance 3nm/5nm leadership, a multi‑year capex program, and evolving policy risk. The macro backdrop remains supportive for capital‑intensive leaders: the effective federal funds rate has held at 4.33% throughout 2025, while the 10‑year Treasury yield is about 4.28% and the 2s10s curve has re‑steepened to roughly +55 bps (10Y 4.28% minus 2Y 3.73%). Ten‑year breakeven inflation is anchored near 2.41%, implying a proxy real 10‑year near 1.87%—a level that enforces valuation discipline but does not preclude premium multiples for cash‑generative cyclicals with durable moats, per FRED and U.S. Treasury data. Cross‑asset pricing corroborates that mix: SPY around $642.10, QQQ near $569.84, gold (GLD) near $310.92, long bonds (TLT) depressed near $86.56, and oil (USO) around $74.66, per Yahoo Finance.