DIGITIMES senior analyst Luke Lin said Warren Buffett's investment in Apple should be viewed not simply as a stock trade, but as a bet on the company and its leadership under CEO Tim Cook.
Over the 10-year period cited by Lin, the value of Berkshire Hathaway's Apple holdings rose from US$35.1 billion to US$185.1 billion, a fivefold increase. For investors seeking a hands-off approach, Cook has maximized Apple's operating value and helped make the company Berkshire Hathaway's largest asset position, Lin said.
Although Cook has faced criticism for a perceived lack of product innovation, Lin said that from the perspective of market-value management, he remains one of the most highly regarded and capable CEOs today.
MediaTek addresses Intel speculation
Recent market rumors about Intel's activity in advanced packaging have stirred industry discussion, particularly after MediaTek recruited former TSMC executive Douglas Yu, widely known as the "father of CoWoS," as a consultant.
Some outside observers have alleged that MediaTek made the move to help Google's second-generation TPU chip adopt Intel's EMIB-T packaging technology. Lin said the allegation is serious for MediaTek, which has long worked closely with TSMC, because it implies the company could be using former TSMC talent to help a rival.
MediaTek has issued a statement clarifying that Yu's role is aimed at optimizing its advanced-packaging cooperation with TSMC and is unrelated to Intel.
The economics of yield and loss
On the competition between Intel and TSMC in advanced packaging, Lin pointed to what he described as the economics of CoWoS.
While rumors suggest Intel's EMIB-T yield has reached 90%, Lin said that level, though seemingly high, would still be insufficient for high-end packaging. TSMC's CoWoS-L yield in 2026 is expected to exceed 98%, according to Lin.
The cost structure is critical because AI chips combine expensive logic wafers with HBM memory. A 90% yield would still mean one out of every 10 units fails.
If Intel were to damage costly wafers that customers such as Google or MediaTek had purchased from TSMC, the resulting losses could exceed the packaging fees Intel collects, Lin said. In that scenario, the more Intel handles, the more it could lose.
Lin said Google remains undecided on orders for its second-generation TPU and has not fully shifted to Intel, partly because Intel's technology maturity and yield have yet to match TSMC's.
TSMC's leverage points to higher prices
Lin also addressed Cook's reported complaint that limited TSMC advanced-node capacity had affected iPhone sales. He said the issue reflects the long lead time required to build TSMC capacity, as well as the fact that utilization has already exceeded 100%.
As TSMC's bargaining power continues to rise in the global semiconductor supply chain, Lin predicted that the company's foundry price increases for new processes in 2027 will be significantly higher.
TSMC is unlikely to remain as restrained as it was in the past, Lin said. Instead, he expects the company to price its services in a way that better reflects the true value of its increasingly scarce technology.
Article translated by Sherri Wang and edited by Jack Wu
