In this edition, the US-China truce could be the real deal or a mirage; China home prices should stabilize in 2025; Coinbase breach damage should be manageable; and Novo Nordisk, Atlas Copco Class A, and UnitedHealth Group. .

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with mid-60s market share in 2024. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public in Taiwan in 1994 and as an ADR in the US in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious customer base, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that looks to apply cutting-edge process technologies to its semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 73,000 people.

Advanced Micro Devices designs a variety of digital semiconductors for markets such as PCs, gaming consoles, data centers, industrial, and automotive applications. AMD’s traditional strength was in central processing units and graphics processing units used in PCs and data centers. Additionally, the firm supplies the chips found in prominent game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox. In 2022, the firm acquired field-programmable gate array leader Xilinx to diversify its business and augment its opportunities in key end markets such as data center and automotive.

The wireless business contributes nearly 70% of AT&T’s revenue. The firm is the third-largest US wireless carrier, connecting 73 million postpaid and 17 million prepaid phone customers. Fixed-line enterprise services, which account for about 15% of revenue, include internet access, private networking, security, voice, and wholesale network capacity. Residential fixed-line services, about 11% of revenue, primarily consist of broadband internet access, serving 14 million customers. AT&T also has a sizable presence in Mexico, with 24 million customers, but this business only accounts for 3% of revenue. The firm has agreed to sell its 70% equity stake in satellite television provider DirecTV to its partner, private equity firm TPG.