Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. TSEM scored 25.4, TSM scored 72.6 — TSM leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. TSM's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but TSEM's are as of December 2025 — a 6-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
TSEM
Tower Semiconductor Ltd.
Semiconductors · Quality-Growth
25.4
$228.71 · $25.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
47.2
TSM leads
TSM
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
Fastest growthTSM+31.6%
Strongest balance sheetTSEM0.05
Highest qualityTSM89 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
TSEM
stronger →← stronger
TSM
44
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
89
73
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
94
5
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
63
TSM is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
TSEM
TSM
-$49mF
FCF
$35.2bA
+9.1%B
Rev
+31.6%A
0.05A-
D/E
0.17B+
16.5xC
P/S
—
3.43D
PEG
0.87B+
—
P/E
33.3xB
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
TSEM
TSM
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
243% above
—
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~49%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
-77%
—
5-yr DCF upside
-71%
—
10-yr DCF upside
-58%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
TSEM
No notable signals flagged.
TSM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Foreign reporter (TWD)
The companies
TSEMTower Semiconductor Ltd.
Semiconductors · $228.71 · beta 0.89
Why now
Semiconductors · market cap $25.9b. Down 29% from 52-week high of $319.94 — deep drawdown territory. 10 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $312.93 (implying +37% upside).
Moat
Net margin 14% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. Semiconductor moat is process-design IP plus customer qualification timelines — once designed in, the company captures multiple product cycles before a competitor can displace.
Risk
Free cash flow is negative (-$49m) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Trailing P/E 90.4x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. P/S 16.5x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
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 TSEM and TSM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 47.2 points in favor of TSM. The widest single difference is Value, where TSM leads by 58.2 points.
ValueTSEM 4.7 · TSM 62.9TSM +58.2
QualityTSEM 44.5 · TSM 89.3TSM +44.8
GrowthTSEM 73.5 · TSM 93.6TSM +20.1
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 TSEM the better stock?
TSM scores higher: TSM 72.6, TSEM 25.4 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 TSEM differ most?
The widest gap is value, where TSM leads by 58 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. TSM leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are TSM and TSEM 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.