On secondary markets, ByteDance is valued at ~2x next year's sales. In contrast, its direct US and Chinese competitors, Meta and Tencent, trade at multiples of 6-7x. This massive discount is primarily attributed to the persistent regulatory uncertainty surrounding TikTok's US operations.
In contrast to widespread tech layoffs, ServiceNow is prioritizing hiring early-career professionals with 0-2 years of experience. The strategy is to tap into a generation of "AI natives" who intuitively leverage new AI tools, viewing this as a key advantage over experienced but less-adapted talent.
For companies like NVIDIA or Google, moving from TSMC to Intel or Samsung is not a simple supplier switch. It necessitates a complete redesign of the chip's architecture to fit the new foundry's technology. This complex and costly process can take one to two years, making it a last resort.
TSMC's "pure-play foundry" model, where it only manufactures chips and doesn't design its own, builds deep trust. Customers like Apple and NVIDIA can share sensitive designs without fear of competition, unlike with rivals Intel and Samsung who have their own chip products.
An analyst bluntly states Meta's last Llama model was a "colossal failure," putting immense pressure on its next release. With over $100 billion invested in its AI efforts, another underperforming model could signify a massive strategic misstep and a permanent lag behind Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
TSMC's new Arizona factory can produce NVIDIA's advanced chips, but this doesn't solve US supply chain dependency. The chips must still be shipped back to Taiwan for the critical advanced packaging stage, meaning the primary bottleneck remains firmly in Asia despite onshoring manufacturing.
Meta's valuation is suppressed relative to other mega-caps because investors are uncomfortable with Mark Zuckerberg's massive spending on speculative AI and Reality Labs projects. The core ad business is thriving, but he's growing expenses even faster, prioritizing long-term vision over short-term shareholder returns.
Despite record capital spending, TSMC's new facilities won't alleviate current AI chip supply constraints. This massive investment is for future demand (2027-2028 and beyond), forcing the company to optimize existing factories for short-term needs, highlighting the industry's long lead times.