Tesla's Quality Score Tumbles, While Taiwan Semiconductor's Growth Rating Soars

While daily stock price moves tend to dominate headlines, shifts in fundamental ranking scores can often tell a deeper story about a company’s trajectory. This week, Benzinga’s proprietary Growth, Value, Quality and Momentum data revealed major swings among household names, from electric vehicles to pharmaceuticals and financials.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings evaluate companies across four key factors: Value, Momentum, Growth and Quality. The Growth score specifically measures how quickly a company’s revenue and earnings have expanded, blending both long-term trajectories with more recent performance trends. Here are five big companies that stood out.

Tesla: Quality Score Slips

Tesla Inc TSLA was one of the most notable laggards this week, with its Quality score dropping 16.14 points from 73.14 to 57.00.

That decline represents one of the steepest drops among mega-cap names, suggesting potential cracks in underlying fundamentals such as profitability, stability or balance sheet strength. Investors may want to watch whether this signals a broader shift in sentiment toward the EV giant.

Among key headlines, Tesla this week hiked the price of its top Cybertruck “Cyberbeast” trim by $15,000 to $114,990 with added features, even as it faces rising inventories, slowing global sales and mounting legal pressure over its FSD system.

Taiwan Semiconductor: Growth Leader

On the upside, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSM posted a massive jump in Growth, soaring 58.05 points from 29.96 to 88.01.

As the world’s largest contract chipmaker, TSM’s leap highlights accelerating expectations around AI and high-performance computing demand. The surge not only reinforces its position as a tech bellwether, but also sets it apart in an already growth-heavy semiconductor sector.

Investors are watching as U.S. officials weigh taking equity stakes in chipmakers receiving CHIPS Act subsidies, including Taiwan Semiconductor, a move Taiwan’s economic minister said requires further review due to potential impacts on the firm’s ownership and operations.

American Express: Back in the Quality Pack

American Express Co AXP quietly crossed a meaningful milestone this week. Its Quality score moved above the 50th percentile, placing it in the upper half of all ranked companies.

While the point change was modest, the move carries weight. For a financial services leader, achieving a top-tier position in financial stability and operational efficiency metrics strengthens the case for resilience in a volatile credit environment.

In July, American Express beat second-quarter estimates with revenue up 9% to $17.86 billion and an adjusted EPS of $4.08, driven by record cardmember spending and fee growth, while reaffirming its full-year revenue and earnings guidance.

AbbVie: Momentum Shifts Higher

AbbVie Inc ABBV also broke into new territory. The pharmaceutical giant’s Momentum score pushed past the 50th percentile, suggesting the stock is beginning to draw more consistent investor buying.

For a mature healthcare name known for steady dividends, the uptick in momentum signals renewed interest and could mark the beginning of a larger trend in pharma leadership.

This week, AbbVie reported positive Phase 3 trial results for Rinvoq in severe alopecia areata, with up to 55% of patients achieving at least 80% scalp hair coverage at 24 weeks versus minimal response in the placebo group, while maintaining a consistent safety profile.

Nucor: Quality Weakens

Not all industrial names held firm. Steelmaker Nucor Corp‘s NUE Quality score dropped a steep 30.99 points, falling from 78.71 to 47.72.

Such a sharp deterioration in financial health metrics may reflect sector pressures, margin compression, or shifting demand dynamics in the steel industry. For investors, this kind of decline often serves as an early warning sign.

Nucor and other U.S. steelmakers successfully pushed for broader tariffs this week, with the Commerce Department now imposing 50% duties on over 400 steel and aluminum products, a move aimed at bolstering domestic producers but raising costs for automakers and manufacturers.

Why It Matters

From Tesla’s Quality stumble to Taiwan Semiconductor’s Growth surge, this week’s shifts show how mega-cap fundamentals can move quickly beneath the surface, even if stock prices don’t immediately reflect it.

Crossing percentile thresholds, like AbbVie and American Express did, can be especially important, signaling when a stock enters or exits leadership territory.

For traders and investors alike, these ranking changes provide an early read on where strength and weakness may emerge next in some of the market’s most important companies.

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