Moat Index
Companies· Semis

TSMCTSM

Moat score

The only foundry that manufactures the leading edge at scale — and the most geopolitically exposed company on the index.

MOATE3.7Deep
3.7 Deep
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DimensionMOATECommunity
Switching costsweight 15Chip designs are tied to a process node; moving a flagship product to another foundry takes years and a redesign.8
Network effectsweight 15EDA tools, IP libraries, and packaging ecosystems optimize for TSMC nodes first, which pulls the next customer in.5
Scale & cost advantageweight 12The definitional case: no one else runs leading-edge volume at TSMC’s yield and cost.10
Brand & pricing powerweight 12Customers queue and accept price increases; capacity is allocated, not sold.8
Cornered resourceweight 12Process know-how at N3 and N2 that Intel and Samsung have not matched at scale.10
Distribution controlweight 12Sells directly to the largest chip designers in the world, who have nowhere else to go.7
Disruption resilienceweight 12Rival foundries remain years behind; the threat is political, not technical.8
Independenceweight 10Taiwan, US industrial policy, export controls, and ASML upstream — the lowest independence on the index.2

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How strong is TSMC's moat?

Question 1 of 8

Switching costs

Switching costs · weight 15

How painful — in money, time, risk, retraining — is it for a customer to leave?

5