24 Apr 2026 09:51:01 ET | 13 pages

Ve recap two key themes that drew the most investor interest this week: Google new TPUs and TSMC Technology roadmap.

Two New TPUs: GOOGL at its Google Cloud Next'26 this week (note) announced the use of two TPUs with one dedicated for training large scale workloads (TPU V8t) and one dedicated for inference TPU V8i. TPU 8t performs well at large, compute-intensive training workloads that need larger compute throughput and scale-up bandwidth. TPU 8t is chasing ultimate scale as it can train 134k XPUs at once can scale up to 1M XPUs. 8t is the first TPU to support 4-bit computing (FP4) allowing to double speed given the same compute. TPU 8i, on the other hand is designed with more memory bandwidth via SRAM to serve the most latency-sensitive inference workloads. While the 8i similar to Ironwood which uses up to 192 GiB of HBM3E and features a high-speed on-chip SRAM buffer (often referred to as Vector Memory (VMEM)), 8i uses 3x more SRAM than Ironwood making it 80% better performance-per-dollar compared to the previous generation. Ideal for inference and agentic workloads. We expect to see more customizations of memory architectures for inference and agentic workloads and believe AVGO is the primary silicon partner for both TPU 8t and TPU 8i, given the increasing architectural complexity of inference accelerators and AVGO's recent multi-year long-term agreement with Google. While there are reports (The Information, 4/19) of Google working with Marvell to build new smaller inference chips in the future, per Marvell prior commentary, we believe Google is already working with Marvell on Arm-based Axion CPU. At networking front, 8t uses GOOGL's proven 3D Torus which is a specialized, high-speed 3D network topology connecting thousands of TPUs directly. TPU 8i uses a new Boardfly topology which connects 4 TPUs on each board with 8 boards combined to form one rack or group and 36 groups (racks) combined to form a pod (1,152 chips) interconnected via OCS.

At Google Cloud Next, NVIDIA and Google Cloud announced Vera Rubin will join Google Cloud's broad Blackwell portfolio ranging from HGX and NVL72 systems, all

US Semiconductors and Hardware 24 April 2026

the way to RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs (blog, 4/22). Specifically, Google Gemini models running on NVIDIA Blackwell and Blackwell Ultra GPUs are now in preview on Google Distributed Cloud.

TSMC Technology Symposium – TSMC showcased $ \underline{\text{technology roadmap through 2029}} $ (4/22), covering advanced logic (A13, A12, N2U), advanced packaging, automotive & robotics and specialty nodes. A13, a direct optical shrink of A14, delivers ~6% higher transistor density along with improvements in power efficiency and performance. A12, which is also built on the A14 platform, will also have Super Power Rail backside power delivery following A16. Both A13 and A12 are scheduled to enter production in 2029. N2U, targeted for production in 2028, represents a third-year extension of the N2 platform enabled by DTCO, offering either 3–5% higher performance at the same power or 8–10% lower power at the same performance, allowing for 2–3% density improvement. According to $ \underline{\text{Tom's Hardware}} $ (4/22), the latest roadmap highlighted a new bifurcated strategy: TSMC plans to introduce a new node annually for client applications (such as N2 family, A14, and A13), while AI and HPC workloads—where power delivery and performance are more paramount—will follow a two-year cadence, with nodes such as A16 now expected reaching volume production in 2027 and A12 in 2029. On packaging side, TSMC will continue to scale CoWoS to 14x reticle size in 2028 and ultimately uses SoW that can support >40x CoWoS equivalent reticle size in 2029. It's also worth noting that TSMC's current roadmap does not including ASML's high-NA EUV tools, which we view as a positive for patterning companies like AMAT and LRCX.

US Semiconductors and Hardware 24 April 2026

Weekly Investor Pulse 4/10: Intel Terafab, Apple Foldable iPhone & AVGO LTA$s$

US Semiconductors and Hardware 24 April 2026

(AMAT.O; US$403.91; 1; 23 Apr 26; 16:00)

We value AMAT at $420 using a 30x P/E multiple on 2027E EPS. We view a 30x multiple, above AMAT's 3-year average multiple of 19x, as appropriate given secular tailwinds and incremental AI data center investment.

Downside risks to the achievement of our target price include the following: 1) As fab utilization and capital equipment orders are closely linked to the stock price, any material differences to our supply/demand model (e.g. demand drops suddenly, or supply increases more rapidly than we predict) may cause our valuation methodology to be inaccurate. 2) As the market share leader in multiple sub-segments of semiconductor equipment, AMAT is uniquely positioned to capitalize on inflections as well as face tough competition from large peers in industry cycles.

(AVGO.O; US$419.94; 1; 23 Apr 26; 16:00)

Our PT of $475, or 30X F27 EPS, is at the midpoint of recent trading range of 20-40X due to the accelerating AI sales.

We see the following key risks to our target price:

Customer: We estimate it derives ~35-40% of sales from its largest customer, Google. Therefore, any major uptick/downtick in demand for Google's products could result in upside/downside to our estimates and rating for Broadcom.

SG&A target: Broadcom's long-term SG&A target is <3% of revenue (excluding stock-based compensation), one of the lowest among semi peers. However, if Broadcom is unable to reach its SG&A target, it could result in downside to our estimates and rating for Broadcom.

Competition: Any fluctuations in market share between Broadcom and its competitors could result in upside/downside risk to our estimates.

M&A: If Broadcom pursues further acquisitions, it could lead to margin/EPS accretion/dilution and result in upside/downside to our estimates.

If the impact on the company from any of these factors proves to be greater than we anticipate, the stock will likely have difficulty achieving our target price. However, should they be less than anticipated, the stock could trade above our target price.

(LRCX.O; US$258.56; 1; 23 Apr 26; 16:00)

We value LRCX at $315 using ~37x P/E multiple on 2027 earnings. We view a ~37x multiple vs 3-yr average of 23x but below peak of 40x as appropriate given extended WFE cycle, secular AI tailwinds, higher services or one third of total sales contribution, share gains, and rising equipment capital intensity.

The key downside risks to our investment thesis and target price on LRCX include: 1) increasing competition in deposition and etch; 2) weaker-than-expected overall semi market demand, especially memory; and 3) slower-than-expected demand in China due to US-China trade and IP tensions.

Lam Research Corp (LRCX)

Rating/target price changes above reflect Eastern Time

Ratings and Target Price History Fundamental Research

Ratings and Target Price History Fundamental Research

Rating/target price changes above reflect Eastern Time

Short-Term View/Catalyst Watch Research

CW - Catalyst Watch, STV - Short-Term View

Rating/target price changes above reflect Eastern Time

Short-Term View/Catalyst Watch Research

Rating/target price changes above reflect Eastern Time

CW - Catalyst Watch, STV - Short-Term View

Within the past 12 months, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. or its affiliates has acted as manager or co-manager of an offering of securities of Applied Materials Inc, Broadcom Inc.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. or its affiliates has received compensation for investment banking services provided within the past 12 months from Applied Materials Inc, Broadcom Inc.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. or its affiliates received compensation for products and services other than investment banking services from Applied Materials Inc, Broadcom Inc, Lam Research Corp in the past 12 months.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. or its affiliates currently has, or had within the past 12 months, the following as investment banking client(s): Applied Materials Inc, Broadcom Inc.

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