Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ASML scored 59.8, TSM scored 72.6 — TSM leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. TSM's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but ASML's are as of March 2026 — a 3-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Semiconductors · Quality-Growth
72.6
$453.31 · $2.4T
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestTSM33.3x
Fastest growthTSM+31.6%
Strongest balance sheetASML0.09
Highest qualityASML92 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ASML
stronger →← stronger
TSM
92
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
89
90
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
94
30
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
63
TSM is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ASML
TSM
$10.0bB+
FCF
$35.2bA
+15.6%B+
Rev
+31.6%A
0.09B+
D/E
0.17B+
57.8xC
P/E
33.3xB
1.10B+
PEG
0.87B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ASML
TSM
318% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
243% above
~52%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~49%/yr
-80%
1-yr DCF upside
-77%
-76%
5-yr DCF upside
-71%
-69%
10-yr DCF upside
-58%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Semiconductor Equipment & Materials · market cap $683.8b. 11% off the 52-week high of $1999.96. Revenue growing +16%, comfortably above the S&P median. 16 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $2,102 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
Net margin 30% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 54% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $683.8b market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
Trailing P/E 57.8x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. P/S 17.3x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard. Jurisdictional + permitting risk — mining and extraction operations concentrate exposure to political stability, royalty regimes, and environmental review timelines that can stall production for years.
TSMTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Semiconductors · $453.31 · beta 1.24
Why now
Semiconductors · market cap $2.4T. 7% off the 52-week high of $487.47. Revenue growing +32% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.87 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $555.01 (implying +22% upside).
Moat
Net margin 50% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 40% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $2.4T market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
Trailing P/E 33x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. P/S 16.9x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard. Semiconductor cyclicality — inventory corrections compress margins faster than analysts model. Monitor channel inventory and book-to-bill ratios as leading indicators.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ASML and TSM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 12.8 points in favor of TSM. The widest single difference is Value, where TSM leads by 32.6 points.
ValueASML 30.3 · TSM 62.9TSM +32.6
GrowthASML 90.0 · TSM 93.6TSM +3.6
QualityASML 91.6 · TSM 89.3level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is TSM or ASML the better stock?
TSM scores higher: TSM 72.6, ASML 59.8 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do TSM and ASML differ most?
The widest gap is value, where TSM leads by 33 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. TSM also leads growth, while quality is effectively level between them.
How are TSM and ASML scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.