Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), the world's largest contract chip maker, has earned a coveted five-star ranking.  

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Taiwan Semiconductor's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Taiwan Semiconductor facts

Headquarters

Hsinchu, Taiwan (1987)

Market Cap

$43.73 Billion

Industry

Semiconductors

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$8.74 Billion

Management

CEO Dr. Rick Tsai (Since 2005)

CFO Lora Ho (Since 2003)

Compound Annual Revenue Growth (Over Past Five Years)

10.4%

Dividend Yield

5.3%

Competitors

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC)

Semiconductor Manufacturing International

CAPS Members Bullish on TSM Also Bullish on:

General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

CAPS Members Bearish on TSM Also Bearish on:

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 1,188 of the 1,222 members who have rated Taiwan Semiconductor -- or 97% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include twholman and akilahkt.

Last month, twholman listed several of Taiwan Semiconductor's strong points: "Lots of cash, stable R&D spending, very little debt, high net profit margins make this a strong stock to consider buying before the recession is over."

In a pitch from late last year, akilahkt highlighted Taiwan Semiconductor's long-term competitive edge:

Chip foundries require intense capitalization, a need that favors larger companies over smaller ones. This means [Taiwan Semiconductor's] size gives it an advantage over other non-US chip makers both in terms of scale advantages and technology investments. So if you are buying chip stocks, [Taiwan Semiconductor] is the choice … [Taiwan Semiconductor] makes the chips that go inside everything from toys to cell phones (and may get some of AMD's fabrication business too). It is reasonable to expect demand for [Taiwan Semiconductor’s]output will scale with the overall consumer manufacturing. Any turnaround in the economy will be seen first in companies like [Taiwan Semiconductor].

What do you think about Taiwan Semiconductor, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!