TSMC is riding high. The Taiwanese chipmaker—sole supplier of artificial-intelligence (AI) chips to Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chip designer—has seen sales more than double since the start of 2020. While other semiconductor firms fret about cooling demand for gadgets and cars, TSMC believes demand for AI is just gearing up. Investors agree, propelling its market capitalisation towards $1trn and into the world’s ten most valuable firms. More
The origin of On, a Swiss sportswear brand, is unusual. In 2010 Olivier Bernhard, a triathlete, stuck bits of garden hose to the bottom of his trainers for added cushioning. The idea worked so well that he and two friends decided to make a business out of it. Their shoes were a hit; last year the company made almost $2bn in sales. On November 12th it reported that its revenue in the quarter to September grew by 32%, year on year. On now has a market value of $17bn. More
A spectre hangs over Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where diplomats, scientists and activists are gathered for the UN’s annual climate-change summit. Last time he was in office Donald Trump, a fossil-fuel booster and climate-science denier, yanked America out of the UN’s Paris climate agreement (it later rejoined). The president-elect has vowed to do so again on his first day back in office. More
Vimal Kapur, the boss of Honeywell, should have seen it coming. Industrial conglomerates like his have long been out of fashion. Between the beginning of June last year, when Mr Kapur took over at Honeywell, and November 11th the firm’s shares had risen by just 16%, compared with 46% for industrial companies in America’s S&P 500 index. On November 12th Elliott Management, a feared activist investor run by Paul Singer, announced it had taken a $5bn stake in the company, probably its largest ever such position, and called for Honeywell to break itself up. Investors seemed pleased with the idea, sending Honeywell’s shares up by 4% on the day of the announcement. More
Confidence is contagious. Someone declaring a position with ringing certainty is more likely to inspire than someone who hedges their bets. “We may fight them on the beaches; it depends a bit on the weather,” would have been a lot less persuasive. What is true of Churchill’s wartime oratory is true in less dramatic circumstances. A study by Matthias Brauer of the University of Mannheim and his co-authors analysed language used in letters from activist investors; it found that more confident letters were associated with more successful activist campaigns. More
German bOSSES can’t catch a break. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago their firms have been pummelled by surging energy prices, slowing demand in China, stiffening competition, fractious workers and a dysfunctional (though soon to be ousted) government. Shares in German companies have risen by just 3% since the start of 2022, compared with 16% for those in rich countries as a whole (see chart). Now the country’s CEOs are wringing their hands over Donald Trump’s return to power. More
A PART OF Donald Trump’s political genius is being all things to all people—or at least to all of his supporters. He has said so many contradictory things, throughout his public life and during the presidential campaign, that it is easy to latch onto the bits you like and either ignore those you don’t, or dismiss them as braggadocio. Investors, it seems, are no different. The former president’s decisive victory on November 5th sparked a global rally in equities, as stockpickers filled the Trump-shaped hole in their vision of the future with hopes and dreams. In those reveries, lower taxes and less red tape propel the planet’s biggest economy, and with it the economy of the planet as a whole. By the end of the week stocks were up by 2.4% globally relative to election day. More
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