Which Is a Better Investment, Intel Corporation or Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 02, 2026
Large versus logo comparing two stocks in the same industry
Featured Tickers:

Sifting through countless of stocks in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Intel Corporation or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited

Intel Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and services computing and related end products and services in the United States, Ireland, Israel, and internationally. It operates through three segments: CCG, DCAI, and Intel Foundry. The company offers client computing group products, including client and commercial CPUs, discrete client GPUs, edge computing, and connectivity products; data center and AI products, such as server CPUs, discrete GPUs, and networking products; and semiconductors comprising wafer fabrication, substrates, and other related products and services. It also provides driving assistance and self-driving solutions; and develops and manufactures multi-beam mask writing tools. The company sells its products through sales organizations, distributors, resellers, retailers, and OEM partners. It serves original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, cloud service providers, and other manufacturers and service providers. Intel Corporation has a strategic collaboration with Infosys Limited to develop a multi-layer AI fabric that unifies infrastructure, models, data, applications, and workflows into a composable and agent-ready ecosystem. The company was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides various wafer fabrication processes, such as processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others. The company also involved in providing customer and engineering support services; manufacturing of masks; investment in technology start-up companies; research, designing, developing, manufacturing, packaging, testing, and sale of color filters; and investment activities. Its products are used in high performance computing, smartphones, Internet of things, automotive, and digital consumer electronics. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.

Latest Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Intel Corporation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Intel Corporation had a $467.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment median of $4.6 million. Intel Corporation’s stock is up 144% in 2026, up 2.1% in the previous five trading days and up 265.38% in the past year.

Currently, Intel Corporation does not have a price-earnings ratio. Intel Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $57.0 billion with a -19.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 25.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.513 per share for the current fiscal year. Intel Corporation does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 1, 2026, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited had a $2.0 trillion market cap, putting it in the 100th percentile of all stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s stock is up 36.7% in 2026, down 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 79.32% in the past year.

Currently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s price-earnings ratio is 154.1. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s trailing 12-month revenue is $139.6 billion with a 49.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 25.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $16.898 per share for the current fiscal year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Intel Corporation INTC F
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited TSM C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Intel Corporation has a Growth Score of 16, which is Very Weak. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Intel Corporation or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Intel Corporation or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Intel Corporation INTC C
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited TSM A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Intel Corporation has a Quality Score of 43, which is Average. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a Quality Score of 98, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a better overall quality grade than Intel Corporation. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Intel Corporation INTC B
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited TSM B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Intel Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 78, which is Positive. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a Earnings Estimate Score of 64, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Intel Corporation or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is a better fit.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

AAII Platinum Banner

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Intel Corporation or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Stock?

Overall, Intel Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 16, Estimate Revisions Score of 78 and Quality Score of 43.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited stock has a Growth Score of 59, Estimate Revisions Score of 64 and Quality Score of 98.

Comparing Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



Find New Stock Opportunities With Included With AAII Platinum
High Relative Dividend
Yield Screen:
8.7% Compared to S&P 500
at only 6.9%

Since Inception. Data as of 12/31/2024.




Try AAII Platinum and get full access to
769.3% Stock Superstars Portfolio Total Return Since Inception
Compare to:
710.3% iShare DOW Jones
U.S. Index ETF (IYY)

SSR Group 3 O'Shaughnessy portfolio has a 411.2% gain since inception performance compared to IYY at only 119.1%% Performance as of 11/29/24.

Get your free copy of our special report analyzing the tech stocks most likely to outperform the market.

Download the FREE Report Here:

BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $2

Get access to powerful investment discovery tools and a wealth of investment education to help you achieve your financial goals.