COMPARE · Data as of August 21, 2026
LRCX vs TSM
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. LRCX scored 57.0, TSM scored 69.7 — TSM leads.
Compare another set
LRCX
Lam Research Corporation
57
$314.00 · $392.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
12.7
TSM leads
TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
69.7
$418.95 · $2.2T
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- CheapestTSM31.2x
- Fastest growthTSM+33.9%
- Strongest balance sheetTSM0.17
- Highest qualityTSM90 / 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)
LRCX
stronger →← stronger
TSM
85
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
90
83
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
94
26
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
55
TSM is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
LRCX
TSM
$4.9bB
FCF
$35.7bA
+26.0%A-
Rev
+33.9%A
0.33B
D/E
0.17B+
54.6xC
P/E
31.2xB
1.43B
PEG
0.98B+
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
LRCX
TSM
517% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
213% above
>60%/yr
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~46%/yr
-87%
1-yr DCF upside
-76%
-84%
5-yr DCF upside
-68%
-78%
10-yr DCF upside
-53%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
LRCX
Why this score
- Raising its dividend
- Durable high returns
TSM
Why this score
- Raising its dividend
- Durable high returns
- Foreign reporter (TWD)
The companies
LRCXLam Research Corporation
Why now
Semiconductor Equipment & Materials · market cap $392.9b. Down 28% from 52-week high of $438.50 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +26% — in hypergrowth territory. 31 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $371.35 (implying +18% upside).
Moat
Net margin 31% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 58% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $392.9b 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 54.6x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Beta 1.86 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. P/S 16.9x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
TSMTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Why now
Semiconductors · market cap $2.2T. 13% off the 52-week high of $479.00. Revenue growing +34% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.98 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 18 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $554.45 (implying +32% upside).
Moat
Net margin 40% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 27% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $2.2T 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 31x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. P/S 15.6x 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 LRCX and TSM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 12.7 points in favor of TSM. The widest single difference is Value, where TSM leads by 28.6 points.
- ValueLRCX 26.1 · TSM 54.7TSM +28.6
- GrowthLRCX 83.3 · TSM 93.9TSM +10.6
- QualityLRCX 85.2 · TSM 90.3TSM +5.1
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a 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.