CHT vs TW: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
CHT and TW are similarly sized, but TW trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (21.84x vs 27.00x): the market is paying up for CHT's profile and pricing TW more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
CHT vs TW: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | CHT | TW | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 27.00 | 21.84 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 27.14 | 23.99 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.12 | 0.62 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 43% of range | 18% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 11.02 | 3.23 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: TW is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how CHT and TW affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CHT and TW share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CHT and TW exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) do?
Chunghwa Telecom runs the physical communications backbone of Taiwan. Descended from the state telecom administration and privatised in stages beginning in 2000, it still carries roughly a third government ownership and remains the largest operator in every segment it competes in: mobile subscribers, fixed voice lines, fibre broadband, submarine cable capacity and enterprise data centres. Management reports through four segments (Consumer, Enterprise, International and Others), and the shape of the business has shifted over the past decade from voice minutes toward broadband speed tiers, 5G plans, internet data centre capacity, cloud and cybersecurity contracts, and information and communication technology projects for government and corporate customers. Employment sits near ~32,600 people, and July 2026 revenue of NT$19.88B was a record for that month.
What does Tradeweb Markets (TW) do?
Tradeweb Markets operates electronic marketplaces that connect institutional, wholesale, and retail participants across rates, credit, equities, and money markets. The platform handles U.S. Treasuries, corporate and municipal bonds, interest rate swaps, ETFs, repo, and commercial paper, and it earns money largely through transaction and subscription fees that scale with trading volume. Roughly 90 percent-plus of revenue is recurring or volume-linked, and the business benefits from network effects: more liquidity draws more participants, which deepens liquidity further.
CHT vs TW: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- CHT drivers: Fibre and 5G ARPU migration; Enterprise ICT, data centres and cloud.
- TW drivers: Structural electronification of fixed income; International and asset-class expansion.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Currency is the risk most US holders underestimate: earnings, dividends and the underlying share price are all in New Taiwan dollars, so a weaker TWD reduces dollar returns regardless of operating performance. For TW, tradeweb's premium valuation (a trailing P/E around 26) leaves limited margin for error if volume growth or fee capture disappoints.
CHT or TW: which should you pick?
CHT vs TW: the full fundamentals
CHT. Pricing near ~26x earnings for ~2.7% revenue growth looks expensive against US carriers, which trade closer to the high single digits or low teens, and the premium reflects Chunghwa's net cash position, ~20% operating margin and near-utility earnings stability rather than any growth expectation. Screeners frequently show a payout ratio above 800% for CHT; that figure is a units artifact from comparing a USD dividend against a TWD earnings per share, and the real payout sits near or slightly above 100% of reported EPS while remaining covered by free cash flow of roughly ~$1.67B. Anyone comparing CHT to a domestic telecom should adjust for the fact that its P/E, yield and price all embed a currency translation that has nothing to do with the operating business.
TW. Tradeweb trades at a growth-stock multiple relative to most financial exchanges, reflecting its double-digit organic growth, high margins, and strong cash conversion. Free cash flow topped $1 billion on a trailing basis, funding a rising dividend. Analyst price targets have ranged widely (roughly $111 on the low end to about $203 on the high end), underscoring disagreement about how much future electronification is already priced in.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CHT shows revenue (ttm) ~$7.70B (~NT$236B for FY2025), net income (ttm) ~$1.24B, ~16.1% net margin, eps (ttm, per ads) ~$1.60 (~NT$4.98 per ordinary share), market cap ~$32.8B, ~775M ADS outstanding; TW shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.2B, q1 2026 revenue ~$617.8M (up ~21% YoY), net income (ttm) ~$869M, adjusted ebitda margin ~55%.
The bottom line: CHT vs TW
CHT and TW are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CHT and TW exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how CHT or TW fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Chunghwa Telecom with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CHT fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between CHT and TW?
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Chunghwa Telecom runs the physical communications backbone of Taiwan. Tradeweb Markets operates electronic marketplaces that connect institutional, wholesale, and retail participants across rates, credit, equities, and money markets. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is CHT or TW the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, CHT or TW?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), CHT trades at 27.00x and TW at 21.84x, so TW is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both CHT and TW?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of CHT vs TW?
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CHT: Currency is the risk most US holders underestimate: earnings, dividends and the underlying share price are all in New Taiwan dollars, so a weaker TWD reduces dollar returns regardless of operating performance. Geopolitical exposure is concentrated and unhedgeable, because effectively all of the network, the customer base and the revenue sit on a single island whose political status is contested by the People's Republic of China; a military or blockade scenario would impair the assets themselves, and the 2021 NYSE delisting of China Telecom is a reminder that US listings of Asian telecoms can be terminated by policy rather than by economics, even though nothing comparable is pending for Chunghwa. Taiwan's National Communications Commission regulates tariffs and merger conditions, which caps pricing power in a consolidated market. Taxation is a second drag: Taiwan withholds ~21% on dividends to non-resident holders, Taiwan and the United States have no conventional bilateral income tax treaty (legislation providing treaty-like relief has been under consideration in Congress rather than long settled), and US holders have generally relied on the foreign tax credit instead of a reduced treaty rate. Finally, roughly a third government ownership means state policy objectives, including universal service and national digital programmes, can influence capital allocation in ways that a purely commercial board would not choose. TW: Tradeweb's premium valuation (a trailing P/E around 26) leaves limited margin for error if volume growth or fee capture disappoints. Much of its transaction revenue is volume-linked, so a stretch of low volatility or subdued issuance could slow growth and pressure the multiple. Competition is intense: MarketAxess leads electronic corporate credit, while Bloomberg, ICE, CME, LSEG, and newer venues like Trumid all contest specific products, creating ongoing fee pressure in rates and credit. The business is heavily regulated (CFTC in the U.S., MiFID II in Europe), adding compliance cost and policy risk. Longer term, some investors flag potential disruption from tokenization of real-world assets and from new entrants with cheaper technology.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CHT or TW; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.