3 Semiconductor Stocks That Are Restructuring the Supply Chain

The global chip shortage remains one of the biggest stories in the investment community. By now, the reasons for the shortage are well documented. The unanswered question at the moment is when will the shortage end? Some analysts believe supply will be constricted well into 2022 and it may not be until 2023 before supply chains are back to normal.  

It will be interesting to see how companies that are reliant on these chips tweak their supply chain philosophies to balance a lean “just in time” mindset to the inefficiencies that were revealed by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

But until then, there are chips to be made and money to be made by investors. In this article, we’ll quickly take a look at three semiconductor companies that are taking the initiative to ensure the availability of their chips in the future.  

A Company With Bold Expansion Plans

The first company to look at is Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). The chipmaker made news recently by announcing plans to build production plants in Europe. The company’s initial plan is to build two factories on the continent. However, it has said it is prepared to spend up to €80 billion over the next decade which is in line with the company’s ambitions to be a global chip provider. To that end, in March Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion to build new chip facilities in the United States.  

In making the announcement about the company’s European ambitions, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said, “This new era of sustained demand for semiconductors needs bold, big thinking.” INTC stock is up 10.6% which is lagging the broader market. However, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) initiated coverage with a $78 price target on August 26, 2021.  

The Company That Continues to Lead the Way

Any list of semiconductor stocks to buy should include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). The company is the world’s largest contract chipmaker. And the company also has plans to increase its manufacturing capacity. Taiwan Semiconductor is planning to spend $10 billion in the next three years to make this happen. And that’s on top of the $28 billion the company has spent this year to meet the rising demand. This included building a plant in Arizona.  

Some investors may be concerned that such a dramatic increase in capital expenditures may impact profitability, particularly as the company has just closed what is typically its strongest quarter in terms of revenue. But with the chip shortage likely to last through 2021 at least, it makes sense to continue to bet on the quality that comes from a leader in the sector. 

A Chip Company That is Becoming Much More

One company that is having no trouble with stock price growth in 2021 is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), which is last on this list but certainly not least. NVDA stock is up 69% in 2021 on strong demand for its gaming chips. But the company has much more to offer than that. For example, Nvidia has an extensive chip licensing business. However, it’s also looking to acquire ARM, a leader in that space. This is significant because one emerging threat to semiconductor companies is the ability for some of its largest customers to develop in-house capabilities. However, in order to do that, they would likely be using the services of a company like ARM to help jump-start their process.  

Nvidia also spends over $1 billion a year on research and development. Nvidia is also striving to become a leader in the artificial intelligence (AI) market. And early sales of the company’s graphic processing units (GPUs) suggest its efforts are paying off. Artificial intelligence is a field that can take the company’s GPUs beyond the gaming and data center arenas in which it has performed superbly throughout the pandemic.