Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) turned 50.8% of its revenue into operating profit in its 2025 fiscal year. Operating profit is what a company earns from its business after the costs of running it. Intel made an operating loss of 4.2% of its revenue.
The two earn their money in different ways. TSMC makes chips that other companies design. Intel designs processors and makes most of them in its own factories. This post compares their fiscal 2025 annual reports, then five years of share returns.
What is the difference between TSMC and Intel? TSMC is a foundry, a company that manufactures chips designed by its customers. Intel designs processors for computers and data centres. It makes most of them itself, while selling little manufacturing to outsiders.
In fiscal 2025 TSMC's operating margin (operating profit as a share of revenue) was 50.8% on revenue of 3,809.1 billion New Taiwan dollars (NT$). Intel's was −4.2% on $52.9 billion.
Intel's chip-making division, Intel Foundry, lost $10.3 billion in operating profit. Only $307 million of its revenue came from outside Intel.
Over the five years to 26 October 2026, $10,000 became $40,253 in TSMC's shares and $20,353 in Intel's, against $17,950 in the S&P 500. Intel's stake fell 65.0% on the way.
What is the difference between TSMC and Intel?
TSMC manufactures chips to designs provided by its customers. Our guide to what TSMC does covers the model. TSMC's annual report puts High Performance Computing at 58% of 2025 revenue and smartphones at 29%.
Intel sells the chips it designs. Its Client Computing Group, which supplies computer processors, had revenue of $32.2 billion. Its Data Center and AI group had $16.9 billion. A third segment, Intel Foundry, runs the factories.
Our semiconductor value chain guide shows where designers and foundries sit.
TSMC and Intel side by side
Fiscal 2025 | TSMC (IFRS, year to 31 Dec 2025) | Intel (GAAP, year to 27 Dec 2025) |
|---|---|---|
Revenue | NT$3,809.1 billion ($121.4 billion) | $52.9 billion |
Revenue growth on 2024 | 31.6% (in NT$) | −0.5% |
Gross margin | 59.9% | 34.8% |
Operating income | NT$1,936.1 billion ($61.7 billion) | −$2.2 billion |
Operating margin | 50.8% | −4.2% |
Net income attributable to shareholders | NT$1,697.6 billion ($54.1 billion) | −$267 million |
Net margin | 44.6% | −0.5% |
Earnings per share | NT$65.47 (NT$327.37 per ADS, $10.44) | −$0.06 diluted |
Research and development | NT$246.4 billion ($7.9 billion), 6.5% of revenue | $13.8 billion, 26.1% of revenue |
Cash from operations | NT$2,275.0 billion ($72.5 billion) | $9.7 billion |
Capital expenditure | NT$1,272.4 billion ($40.6 billion), 33.4% of revenue | $14.6 billion, 27.7% of revenue |
Cash from operations less capital expenditure | NT$1,002.6 billion ($32.0 billion) | −$4.9 billion |
$ means US dollars. TSMC's dollar figures are the translations printed in its annual report, at NT$31.37 to $1. Margins are each company's reported figures. Source: TSMC Form 20-F and Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025
In size, TSMC's 2025 revenue of NT$3,809.1 billion was 2.30 times Intel's $52.9 billion, using TSMC's translation to US dollars. Revenue grew 31.6% at TSMC in New Taiwan dollars, while Intel's fell 0.5%.
Which company is growing faster?
Fiscal 2021 was the reverse of 2025. Intel reported $79.0 billion, while TSMC reported $57.2 billion, translated at NT$27.74 to $1 in its 2021 report.
In growth, TSMC's 2025 revenue was 2.40 times its own 2021 level in New Taiwan dollars. Intel's 2025 revenue was 0.67 times its 2021 level. Chart 1 indexes each to 100 in its own currency.
Source: TSMC Form 20-F and Intel Form 10-K filings, fiscal 2021 to 2025
TSMC's revenue rose in every year except 2023. Intel's fell in every year.
Which has the higher margin?
Gross margin is revenue less the direct cost of making the product, as a share of revenue. Operating margin also subtracts research, administrative and restructuring costs. Our guide to reading an income statement defines each line.
Intel had the higher gross margin in fiscal 2021, at 55.4% against TSMC's 51.6%. In 2025 TSMC's was 59.9% and Intel's was 34.8%. Chart 2 shows operating margin for both.
Source: TSMC Form 20-F and Intel Form 10-K filings, fiscal 2021 to 2025
TSMC's operating margin stayed between 40.9% and 50.8% in all five years. Intel's fell from 24.6% in 2021 to −22.0% in 2024, then recovered to −4.2% in 2025.
Where does Intel's loss come from?
Chart 3 gives each Intel segment's 2025 operating result, with the costs no segment carries.
Source: Intel Form 10-K, fiscal 2025
Intel Products, the client and data centre groups together, earned $12.7 billion of operating income. Intel Foundry, the chip-making division, lost $10.3 billion on $17.8 billion of revenue, a margin of −57.9%. Nearly all of that revenue came from Intel's own product groups. External customers paid $307 million, which is 1.7% of the segment's revenue.
The consolidated operating loss was $2.2 billion. Interest and other income of $3.3 billion included a $5.6 billion pre-tax gain on selling 51% of Altera, a maker of programmable chips that Intel had owned outright. Net income attributable to Intel shareholders was a loss of $267 million.
How much do TSMC and Intel spend?
TSMC spent NT$246.4 billion on research and development in 2025, which is 6.5% of revenue and $7.9 billion. Intel spent $13.8 billion, or 26.1% of revenue. In dollars that is 1.75 times TSMC's research budget, on less than half of TSMC's revenue.
TSMC's capital expenditure, the cash spent on factories and equipment, was NT$1,272.4 billion, or $40.6 billion at NT$31.37 to $1, the rate TSMC prints beside its cash flow statement. TSMC's own text translates the same spending at its 2025 average rate of NT$31.11, which gives $40.9 billion. That is 33.4% of revenue.
Intel's cash additions to property, plant and equipment were $14.6 billion, or 27.7% of revenue.
Cash from operations less capital expenditure is free cash flow, a measure outside Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (non-GAAP) that we compute ourselves. TSMC's was $32.0 billion. Intel's was −$4.9 billion.
TSM is TSMC's American depositary share (ADS), a certificate traded in New York that stands for five TSMC ordinary shares. A TSM price and an Intel price therefore count different amounts of company. Returns avoid this, because a percentage change does not depend on how many shares a certificate holds. INTC is Intel's ticker.
A $10,000 stake in each buys at the close on 26 October 2021 and is valued on 26 October 2026, with dividends counted, before costs and tax. SPY (the S&P 500 ETF) is the benchmark.
Source: YX Insights price data (TSM, INTC, SPY)
TSMC's stake grew to $40,253, or 32.12% a year. Intel's grew to $20,353, or 15.27% a year. The S&P 500 stake grew to $17,950, or 12.41% a year. Intel's shares gained 103.5% while its revenue fell 33.1% between fiscal 2021 and 2025.
The worst fall is the largest drop from a previous high, searched over all five years. TSMC's was 56.5%, from 14 January to 3 November 2022. It regained the old high on 4 March 2024.
Intel's was 65.0%, from 11 January 2022 to 8 April 2025. Its stake was then worth $4,079. Intel regained the old high on 21 January 2026, 4.03 years after it was set.
Volatility is how widely a price swings from day to day, scaled to a year. We measure it as the standard deviation of simple daily returns, multiplied by the square root of 252 trading days. It was 38.6% for TSMC, 55.5% for Intel and 17.2% for the index. Our guide to the drawdown explains falls.
The window covers six calendar periods: part-year 2021 from 26 October, full years 2022 to 2025 and part-year 2026 to 26 October. TSMC finished ahead of the index in five of the six, all but 2022. Intel finished ahead in four, all but 2022 and 2024.
How did we compare TSMC and Intel?
TSMC files its annual report on Form 20-F, in NT$, under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the international accounting rulebook. Its fiscal 2025 ended on 31 December 2025. Its dollar figures are TSMC's own translations at NT$31.37 to $1. In this post "$" means US dollars.
Intel files its annual report on Form 10-K, in US dollars, under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Its fiscal 2025 ended on 27 December 2025. Every filing figure is as reported. The only non-GAAP measure is the free cash flow described above.
Share returns count dividends, from 26 October 2021 to 26 October 2026, which is 1,255 trading days.
What does this comparison leave out?
It covers one fiscal year of filings and one five-year window. Both companies have filed later quarters since. It gives no valuation and no forecast.
Our Multi-model Signals cover both names, TSM and INTC.
TSMC turned 50.8% of its fiscal 2025 revenue into operating profit, while Intel's operating result was a loss of 4.2%.
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Common questions about TSMC and Intel
Is TSMC bigger than Intel?
Yes, by revenue. TSMC's fiscal 2025 revenue was NT$3,809 billion, which its annual report translates to $121.4 billion. Intel's was $52.9 billion. Intel was larger in fiscal 2021, with $79.0 billion against TSMC's $57.2 billion. TSMC's New Taiwan dollar revenue is now 2.40 times its fiscal 2021 level, while Intel's is 0.67 times.
Does Intel make chips for other companies like TSMC?
Only a little so far. Intel Foundry sells manufacturing to outside customers, but they paid $307 million in fiscal 2025. That is 1.7% of the segment's $17.8 billion of revenue. The rest came from Intel's own product groups. TSMC's business is making chips to its customers' designs.
Which has the higher profit margin, TSMC or Intel?
TSMC. Its fiscal 2025 operating margin was 50.8% and its gross margin 59.9%. Intel's operating margin was −4.2% and its gross margin 34.8%. TSMC reports under IFRS Accounting Standards, the international rulebook, while Intel reports under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The margins are as each company reports them, so they are not strictly like for like.
Has TSMC or Intel stock performed better over five years?
TSMC's. A $10,000 stake in TSM on 26 October 2021 was worth $40,253 on 26 October 2026, with dividends counted. The same stake in INTC was worth $20,353. Intel's fell 65.0% from its January 2022 high before recovering, while TSMC's worst fall was 56.5%.
What is the difference between TSM and TSMC?
TSMC is the company. TSM is its American depositary share in New York. One TSM share represents five TSMC ordinary shares, so TSMC's basic earnings were NT$327.37 per TSM share against NT$65.47 per ordinary share. Our guide to what TSMC does covers the company.
DISCLAIMER: This article is strictly educational. Any information or analysis in this note is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Nothing in this note is intended to be investment advice and nor should it be relied upon to make investment decisions. Any opinions, analyses, or probabilities expressed in this note are those of the author as of the note's date of publication and are subject to change without notice.
