Taiwan’s Taichung District Prosecutors Office has filed new indictments against the local unit of Tokyo Electron and three other individuals for allegedly stealing proprietary process data from the island’s leading contract chipmaker. Investigators allege the defendants illicitly obtained design specifications and mask layouts related to advanced 5-nanometer node production. If convicted, the charges carry penalties of up to seven years in prison and fines totaling NT$50 million, underscoring heightened legal risks for foreign equipment suppliers and their personnel operating in Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem.

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. climbed as much as 6%, marking their largest one-day gain since April and pushing the stock to fresh record highs. The rally reflects growing investor optimism about AI-related chip demand at major cloud and data-center clients. Over the past three months, seven brokerage firms have raised their outlooks, with Barclays lifting its target by 7.6% and UBS by 3.0%. According to MarketBeat, the consensus rating stands at “Buy,” with analysts citing expanded capacity utilization at leading-edge fabs and robust order visibility for high-performance computing applications.

TSMC reported third-quarter earnings per share of NT$14.32, delivering a net margin of 43.7% and a return on equity of 34.3%. The company maintains a strong liquidity position, with a current ratio of 2.69 and debt-to-equity of 0.19. Cash flow conversion remains high against capital expenditure plans to double advanced-node capacity by 2028. The board approved a higher quarterly dividend of NT$0.9678 per share—up from NT$0.83—equating to an annualized payout of NT$3.87 and a yield of 1.2%. Institutional investors continue to add modestly to holdings, with 16.5% of shares now under the control of hedge funds and asset managers.