Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM  ) reported earnings on Jan. 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped, and earnings per share contracted significantly.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing logged revenue of $3.5 billion. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $3.5 billion. Sales were 8.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.8 billion

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.00. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.16 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.04 for Q4 were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.05 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 44.7%, 510 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 31.4%, 630 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 30.2%, 680 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.3 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.12.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $15.4 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.85.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,375 members out of 1,418 rating the stock outperform, and 43 members rating it underperform. Among 367 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 361 give Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is, with an average price target of $14.12.

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