jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images AT&T ( T ) remains an attractive firm for investors looking for income. I have been covering the firm since 2022, and in my last article in January 2026 , I reiterated my previous buy rating due to the increasing share buybacks, attractive dividend payments, and fair valuation. In my writing today, I will continue the discussion along these lines, inc...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images AT&T ( T ) remains an attractive firm for investors looking for income. I have been covering the firm since 2022, and in my last article in January 2026 , I reiterated my previous buy rating due to the increasing share buybacks, attractive dividend payments, and fair valuation. In my writing today, I will continue the discussion along these lines, including some of the key numbers from the most recent earnings release . Earnings Results There are a few key points that I would like to highlight from T's earnings results that I believe investors should pay attention to right now. 1. Decline in Free Cash Flow, year-over-year. Consolidated results (AT&T) This may look alarming at first, but the deterioration is not driven by weaker operational performance but a few non-recurring items - and these were actually expected by management already in Q4 2025. First of all, the Lumen integration is a key factor here; second, the increased CAPEX is due to the accelerated fiber buildout. These all incur costs now one way or another, but in the long term they are expected to strengthen the growth of the business. Looking forward to Q2, the FCF is expected to recover. 2. Advanced connectivity metrics Metrics (AT&T) T managed to add more than 500K internet connections in the most recent quarter, and this is already the 6th consecutive quarter with additions above 500K. While I find this figure impressive by itself, what I like even more is the 42% convergence rate. Why is this important? The convergence rate basically shows that 42% of the advanced home internet customers are also wireless customers, meaning that they use two different services provided by T. This is attractive because it makes a potential switch to another provider relatively cumbersome, especially when we consider that sometimes T sells these services in bundles, meaning that they cannot cancel fiber without also cancelling wireless. I believe this is an attractive mo...
President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea as early as next week, Yonhap news agency has reported, as Beijing and Pyongyang’s long-standing ties have grown warmer in recent months. “We have obtained intelligence indicating that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea soon,” the South Korean agency said, citing a government source. Another government official told Yonhap that Xi migh...
President Xi Jinping is expected to visit North Korea as early as next week, Yonhap news agency has reported, as Beijing and Pyongyang’s long-standing ties have grown warmer in recent months. “We have obtained intelligence indicating that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea soon,” the South Korean agency said, citing a government source. Another government official told Yonhap that Xi might visit North Korea later this month or early next month. A separate source said the Chinese leader could seek to mediate relations between North Korea and the United States, it said. Advertisement The expected trip to Pyongyang comes after Foreign Minister Wang Yi travelled to the North Korean capital last month , meeting not only its top diplomat Choe Son-hui but also the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un. As North Korea’s primary economic and political partner, China has been working with Pyongyang to restore a relationship that weakened during the Covid-19 pandemic. China’s Xi hails ‘fruitful’ talks with Russia’s Putin #xitrumpsummit Kim visited Beijing last year, where he appeared with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a significant military parade.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd shares have extended their 2026 rally after fresh insider buying and a target price increase from Barclays, keeping the world’s largest contract chipmaker in focus for US investors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, better known as TSMC, remains in the spotlight after its New York–listed shares climbed following recent insider share purchases and ...
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd shares have extended their 2026 rally after fresh insider buying and a target price increase from Barclays, keeping the world’s largest contract chipmaker in focus for US investors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, better known as TSMC, remains in the spotlight after its New York–listed shares climbed following recent insider share purchases and a target price hike from Barclays, which reiterated an “overweight” stance and lifted its price objective to 470 USD in a note reported on 05/20/2026 by MarketBeat as of 05/20/2026. The stock was recently quoted around 401.74 USD on the NYSE, up about 2.3% on the day according to data compiled by MarketBeat as of 05/20/2026. As of: 05/21/2026 By the editorial team – specialized in equity coverage. At a glance Name: TSMC TSMC Sector/industry: Semiconductors, foundry services Semiconductors, foundry services Headquarters/country: Hsinchu, Taiwan Hsinchu, Taiwan Core markets: Global smartphone, high-performance computing and automotive chips Global smartphone, high-performance computing and automotive chips Key revenue drivers: Advanced logic process nodes and long-term foundry contracts Advanced logic process nodes and long-term foundry contracts Home exchange/listing venue: Taiwan Stock Exchange and NYSE (ADR: TSM) Taiwan Stock Exchange and NYSE (ADR: TSM) Trading currency: New Taiwan dollar in Taipei, US dollar on NYSE Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd: core business model Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd operates as a pure-play semiconductor foundry, producing chips on behalf of fabless designers and integrated device makers. The group does not market its own branded chips; instead, it focuses on high-volume, high-yield manufacturing for customers in smartphones, data centers, PCs and automotive electronics, according to its corporate profile published on 03/28/2026 by TSMC as of 03/28/2026. By concentrating capital and engineering resources on manufacturi...
The AI semiconductor supercycle is rewriting the playbook for Asia's two most chip-dependent stock markets, with ripple effects reaching into crypto infrastructure. Korea’s KOSPI and Taiwan’s Taiex have surged to historic highs, propelled almost entirely by a single force: insatiable global demand for AI chips. At the center of this rally sit three companies. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Tai...
The AI semiconductor supercycle is rewriting the playbook for Asia's two most chip-dependent stock markets, with ripple effects reaching into crypto infrastructure. Korea’s KOSPI and Taiwan’s Taiex have surged to historic highs, propelled almost entirely by a single force: insatiable global demand for AI chips. At the center of this rally sit three companies. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) have collectively become the gravitational core of their respective indices, pulling entire national markets upward as data centers, cloud providers, and AI labs scramble to secure next-generation silicon. The numbers behind the boom Samsung Electronics has crossed a $1 trillion market capitalization, driven by surging demand for its AI-oriented semiconductor products. Samsung and SK Hynix together account for 38.2% of the KOSPI’s total market capitalization. Advertisement The KOSPI itself has hit a record high of 4,457.52. Goldman Sachs has gone even further, projecting the index could reach 8,000 if the AI chip cycle continues to accelerate. Across the Taiwan Strait, the Taiex index has punched through 30,000, fueled by optimism around TSMC’s dominant position in advanced semiconductor fabrication. TSMC manufactures the most cutting-edge AI accelerators for Nvidia and other designers. Both South Korean and Taiwanese equities are leading global markets in year-to-date performance, driven almost exclusively by AI excitement. Why chips are the new oil Samsung and SK Hynix dominate the HBM market, which is the memory architecture that AI accelerators like Nvidia’s H100 and B200 require in massive quantities. TSMC, meanwhile, is the only foundry capable of manufacturing chips at the 3-nanometer and upcoming 2-nanometer nodes at scale. What this means for crypto investors Several crypto-native projects are building decentralized GPU marketplaces and AI compute networks that rely directly on the hardware Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC prod...