Taiwan Semiconductor MFG. (TSM)

It's been hurt recently. It's one of the leading assemblers of smart phones, particularly iPhones. Taiwanese stocks are affected by the downtown in the Chinese stock market, down 17-20% year to date.

TSM is on the leading edge of the semiconductor industry. They use some of the most sophisticated equipment and can offer customers excellent products. There is some concern because the visionary CEO has retired and it too soon to tell whether new management will be as visionary. Also there is concern that the tech space has run too far and may be due for a pullback.

A pretty cash rich company and doesn’t think they will be impacted by changes in interest rates. An extremely well-run company. Tends to be focused more on the software side than the hardware side, which is a less capital intensive industry. A reasonably priced company and a more appropriate investment if you are value oriented.

A manufacturer of semiconductors for other companies, specifically Qualcomm (QCOM-Q). Growth in recent years has really been driven by the increasing ubiquity of the smart phones and tablet devices. They are anticipating customers’ orders for smaller and smaller semiconductors that will be more powerful. Just won the contract for the 64-bit phone from the presumed iPhone 6 that will be coming out this fall. Near-term, there should be some margin concerns because it is such a CapX intensive business. They have to spend that CapX in the 1^st 6 months to be able to enjoy the benefits of the sales in the back of the year. Views this is a core holding in technology.

They manufacture chips for other companies. Incredibly well run company. A much more volatile stock than people think, because semiconductor business is very cyclical. Not an expensive stock at these levels. This is the time in the cycle that you should buy this type of company.

Sold half of his position around the $20 mark. Chinese market for mobile phones and smaller devices is what is really going to drive a lot of the semiconductor market moving forward. Unfortunately, phones do not require big or expensive chips like what is needed in a notebook, PC, etc. Defensive tech at the moment is not very interesting. People are looking for high levels of growth. If this dips down, you could buy it.

This one has done very, very well. The challenge of the semiconductor market is whether or not the market is going to transition to a growth or going to go back to a defensive story. Semiconductors are coming towards the end of the cycle and 4% dividend is not really high growth. He expects there will be a rollover of technology stocks generally. Semiconductors lead the technology sector. Watch it up to the 4^th quarter and see what happens.

Manufactures semiconductors for most of the companies. Have been growing their market share quite a bit.

Sold off last Friday on the back of earnings. The concern was that there was going to be lower margins moving forward. In his view the company is still the leading player in the leading technology space for the next 2 generations so profitability will continue. Lower margin issue is just related to emerging markets. Good story. Good 4% dividend.

Likes this but a lot of techs are ahead of themselves. Wait until the middle of the year before you start looking for tech stocks.

Manufacturing outsourcing company and makes semiconductor chips. Has a technology lead, so every time there is a new generation, those chips come from this company. Newest generation of chips tend to have the fattest margins. Very good balance sheet. Good dividend. Thinks it is a little overdone right now and would prefer it at $16.

Has done very well. They don’t design semiconductors. They make semiconductors for other companies. As semiconductors become more and more complex, there are fewer and fewer companies able to do it. Probably getting a little expensive.

There is a secular growth in the industry and this one is fairly uniquely positioned. They are a manufacturer for many of the designers of these products. Also, a number of fabricators are outsourcing their fabrications to them. Very good market share. Good dividend yield and thinks it will grow 3.5%-3.6%.