The golden days of high water ASPs are over. How much $$$ can you add to the wafer by adding a feature here and a device kicker there?
This "differentiation pivot" will also get old when the next time there is an "efficiency action ". There will be a different gig next time around.
Thank you for hitting the nail on the head.
TSMC has done it with hard work and commitment to their customers and investors. While GF has been a tragedy, a comedy of errors, a web of deceit and lies, a colossal waste of resources and people's sweat, blood and tears!
"Goliath WON !" - hell no!
TSMC was a tiny when found compared to Gorillas like IBM, Intel and Texas Instruments.
Morris Chang & SMT grown the business winning one customer at a time to make TSMC #1 in the World and to surpass Intel as the Technology leader at 7nm node.
In contrast, by deploying half-a-billion EUV tools in June'18 just to fool an inexperienced Investor and to confuse some (but not all ) customers about “ 7nm is on track for High-volume manufacturing in the 2nd half of 2018 !” and then, next month, decommissioning EUV and laying-off unspecified number of 7nm technologists – is NOT the right business model for growing your Company.
“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Abraham Lincoln. Need to know your heroes.
Let me ask a better question .
Did Fab 8 & GF EVER had a future ?? vs the likes of INTEL / Samsung & TSMC ?
David VS Goliath ..... Goliath WON !!!!