Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped on Wednesday following news that Berkshire Hathaway slashed its stake in the third-party silicon-wafer fabricator late last year.
In Taipei, shares 2330, -3.67% fell 3.6%, while U.S.-listed shares TSM, +1.92% slid over 6% in premarket trading.
Berkshire BRK.A, -0.84% BRK.B, -0.94%, whose chief executive officer is widely followed investor Warren Buffett, cut its stake in U.S-listed shares of Taiwan Semi by 86% to 8.3 million in the fourth quarter, after paying around $4.1 billion for 60 million shares in the third quarter, according to a 13-F filing on Tuesday.
In 2022, Taiwan Semi shares suffered their biggest loss in 20 years, tumbling 38%, though Buffett and co. would have missed out on a bounce of 17% seen so far in 2023. Last month, the company reported earnings that beat forecasts, though revenue fell short.
But the company also offered encouragement that the downturn to the chip industry could bottom in the first half of this year.