logo
AI demand boosts iPhone maker Foxconn's second-quarter profit by 27%, beating forecasts

AI demand boosts iPhone maker Foxconn's second-quarter profit by 27%, beating forecasts

CNBC4 days ago
Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, reported Thursday that its second-quarter operating profit rose 27% year over year, as it leans into its artificial intelligence server business.
Here's how Foxconn did in the second quarter of 2025 compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:
The company's net profit for the second quarter came in at NT$44.36 billion, beating LSEG's SmartEstimates of NT$38.81 billion.
Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world's largest manufacturer of Apple's iPhones, and has been looking to replicate its success in consumer electronics in the world of AI.
The firm manufactures server racks designed for AI workloads and has become a key partner to American AI chip darling Nvidia.
On July 30, Foxconn announced that it was taking a stake in industrial motor maker TECO Electric & Machinery in a strategic partnership to build AI data centers.
The company has also shown its willingness to expand into new areas, including the assembly of electric vehicles and even the manufacturing of semiconductors.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariffs could impact Foxconn's outlook this year. In response to Trump's tariff threats, the company has already moved most of its final production of made-for-the-U.S. iPhones to India.
Foxconn reported Aug. 5 that its July revenue hit a record for the month, driven by strong demand for AI products. The firm said it expected the third quarter would see further revenue growth, but noted that the impact of "evolving global political and economic conditions" would be closely monitored.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Foxconn's Apple era fades as AI servers drive growth in Taiwan tech sector
Foxconn's Apple era fades as AI servers drive growth in Taiwan tech sector

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Foxconn's Apple era fades as AI servers drive growth in Taiwan tech sector

By Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's Foxconn, which rose to become a global tech manufacturing juggernaut by assembling millions of iPhones, can now say its main business is no longer Apple as it takes advantage of the AI-boom to diversify its income. Its revenue from making AI servers and other cloud and networking products, including for major customer Nvidia, surpassed smart consumer products such as iPhones for the first time in the second quarter, marking the culmination of a shift that began years ago and has swept through Taiwan's tech industry. Foxconn's heavy reliance on the smartphone business has long been viewed by investors as a significant risk, as demand growth for new iPhones has gradually weakened since they were first introduced nearly two decades ago, leaving the top iPhone assembler grappling with slowing sales momentum, analysts said. Wary of the risk, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu has been championing new businesses such as AI servers, electric vehicles and semiconductors since taking the top job in 2019. While its expansion into EVs and chips has yet to show a meaningful contribution to its topline, Foxconn's success in AI server manufacturing - the company is Nvidia's biggest server maker - is the result of its early bets before the technology was thrust into the limelight with the advent of ChatGPT in late 2022. Consumer electronics accounted for 35% of Foxconn's total revenue in the second quarter, while cloud and networking business represented 41%. In 2021, consumer electronics represented 54% of its revenue. The firm's prudent wagers years back helped it cultivate a now-prized relationship with the U.S. AI chip firm and other major AI players, analysts said. "The company has been in the business for years, meeting higher quality requirements, diversifying assembly and operations across sites, and pursuing vertical integration,' said Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities. Foxconn began producing reference designs for Nvidia's graphics cards around 2002 and started making general-purpose servers for cloud service providers' data centres as early as around 2009. Its AI server business with Nvidia is in many ways the culmination of that history, analysts said. Foxconn says it is now one of the world's largest suppliers of both general-purpose and AI servers, with a market share of nearly 40% in each. The company has also shown a willingness to commit investment to a project at an earlier stage than other companies, Kuo said, citing its past investments for Apple and similar moves for Nvidia. 'In long-term partnerships, Foxconn is more willing to take the initiative,' he said. Foxconn's plan to build factories in Houston, Texas — part of Nvidia's $500 billion U.S. investment plan — and in Mexico to produce AI servers for the U.S. client underscores this strategy, analysts said. Foxconn now expects its AI server revenue would grow more than 170% in the third quarter year-on-year. Foxconn and Nvidia declined to comment. Apple did not respond to request for comment. BROADER SHIFT The shift at Foxconn mirrors a broader trend in Taiwan's technology sector, where companies once centred on consumer electronics — such as Foxconn with iPhones, and Quanta Computer and Wistron Corp with notebooks — are now investing heavily in AI servers. Nvidia partner Wistron's revenue for January to July rose 92.7%, while Quanta's grew 65.6% in the same period. "The monthly sales jump for Taiwan ODMs in the first half of 2025 is evidence of this trend,' said Robert Cheng, head of Asia technology hardware research at BofA Global Research, referring to original design manufacturers like Foxconn that contract manufacture products for their clients. Their fast transition into AI servers is also the result of Taiwanese tech supply chain working closely with U.S. tech giants on data centre infrastructure work for a decade now, according to Chris Wei, industry consultant at Taiwan's Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute. He estimates Taiwan accounts for about 80% of global server shipments and more than 90% of AI servers. Cheng agrees. "We think this shift toward AI servers, whatever form it takes, is good for Taiwan's tech industry," he said, noting Taiwanese firms' ability to rapidly shift to cater to changing needs from their customers. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Donald Trump's Approval Rating Surges After Putin Summit
Donald Trump's Approval Rating Surges After Putin Summit

Newsweek

time28 minutes ago

  • Newsweek

Donald Trump's Approval Rating Surges After Putin Summit

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating surged after his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. According to polling by InsiderAdvantage, 54 percent of voters said they now approved of the president while 44 percent disapproved. Trump's net +10 percent approval rating is an increase from the publication's last poll in July, which gave him a net +2 percent approval rating—with 50 percent of respondents approving and 48 percent disapproving. Why It Matters Approval ratings are useful in providing a snapshot of the electorate's response to key policies and developments in Trump's presidency. During his presidency, Trump's popularity has fluctuated. Maintaining broad support will be important for the president and the Republican Party more widely, particularly when voters head to the polls for the November 2026 midterms. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump talk at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on August 15. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump talk at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on August 15. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson What To Know Trump hosted Putin in Alaska for a summit on Friday during which they spoke for two and a half hours to try to broker a ceasefire deal to end Russia's war with Ukraine. Critics have said Trump conceded too much to Putin and took umbrage with the talks ending without an agreement. Despite this, the new polling indicates the talks have boosted Trump's approval rating. InsiderAdvantage's survey was conducted between August 15 and 17. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.09 percentage points. The poll also suggests Trump is faring better than in other recent polls, which showed declining support for the president. According to a YouGov poll for British newspaper The Times, the proportion of people who disapproved of Trump's job performance increased from 52 percent in April to 57 percent in July. Newsweek analysis also found that Trump's approval rating was positive in 18 of the states he won in the 2024 election and negative in 13. What People Are Saying InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery said in his analysis: "Donald Trump now has an advantage among every age group other than the most senior of voters. He has improved his numbers among African-Americans and Hispanic-Latinos. White voters are at a near record 64 percent. Voters under 65 years of age now approve of his job performance by wide margins. Only the nation's oldest voters disapprove of his job performance, which is consistent with our prior surveys. Overall, his approval numbers are surging upwards post-summit." U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social after the summit: "The Fake News has been saying for three days that I suffered a 'major defeat' by allowing President Vladimir Putin of Russia to have a major Summit in the United States. Actually, he would have loved doing the meeting anywhere else but the U.S., and the Fake News knows this. It was a major point of contention! If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!" What Happens Next Trump's popularity is likely to continue oscillating throughout the remainder of his presidency. Meanwhile, he has discussed plans to secure a trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is also meeting with European leaders, including Zelensky, at the White House on Monday.

Foxconn's Apple era fades as AI servers drive growth in Taiwan tech sector
Foxconn's Apple era fades as AI servers drive growth in Taiwan tech sector

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Foxconn's Apple era fades as AI servers drive growth in Taiwan tech sector

By Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's Foxconn, which rose to become a global tech manufacturing juggernaut by assembling millions of iPhones, can now say its main business is no longer Apple as it takes advantage of the AI-boom to diversify its income. Its revenue from making AI servers and other cloud and networking products, including for major customer Nvidia, surpassed smart consumer products such as iPhones for the first time in the second quarter, marking the culmination of a shift that began years ago and has swept through Taiwan's tech industry. Foxconn's heavy reliance on the smartphone business has long been viewed by investors as a significant risk, as demand growth for new iPhones has gradually weakened since they were first introduced nearly two decades ago, leaving the top iPhone assembler grappling with slowing sales momentum, analysts said. Wary of the risk, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu has been championing new businesses such as AI servers, electric vehicles and semiconductors since taking the top job in 2019. While its expansion into EVs and chips has yet to show a meaningful contribution to its topline, Foxconn's success in AI server manufacturing - the company is Nvidia's biggest server maker - is the result of its early bets before the technology was thrust into the limelight with the advent of ChatGPT in late 2022. Consumer electronics accounted for 35% of Foxconn's total revenue in the second quarter, while cloud and networking business represented 41%. In 2021, consumer electronics represented 54% of its revenue. The firm's prudent wagers years back helped it cultivate a now-prized relationship with the U.S. AI chip firm and other major AI players, analysts said. "The company has been in the business for years, meeting higher quality requirements, diversifying assembly and operations across sites, and pursuing vertical integration,' said Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities. Foxconn began producing reference designs for Nvidia's graphics cards around 2002 and started making general-purpose servers for cloud service providers' data centres as early as around 2009. Its AI server business with Nvidia is in many ways the culmination of that history, analysts said. Foxconn says it is now one of the world's largest suppliers of both general-purpose and AI servers, with a market share of nearly 40% in each. The company has also shown a willingness to commit investment to a project at an earlier stage than other companies, Kuo said, citing its past investments for Apple and similar moves for Nvidia. 'In long-term partnerships, Foxconn is more willing to take the initiative,' he said. Foxconn's plan to build factories in Houston, Texas — part of Nvidia's $500 billion U.S. investment plan — and in Mexico to produce AI servers for the U.S. client underscores this strategy, analysts said. Foxconn now expects its AI server revenue would grow more than 170% in the third quarter year-on-year. Foxconn and Nvidia declined to comment. Apple did not respond to request for comment. BROADER SHIFT The shift at Foxconn mirrors a broader trend in Taiwan's technology sector, where companies once centred on consumer electronics — such as Foxconn with iPhones, and Quanta Computer and Wistron Corp with notebooks — are now investing heavily in AI servers. Nvidia partner Wistron's revenue for January to July rose 92.7%, while Quanta's grew 65.6% in the same period. "The monthly sales jump for Taiwan ODMs in the first half of 2025 is evidence of this trend,' said Robert Cheng, head of Asia technology hardware research at BofA Global Research, referring to original design manufacturers like Foxconn that contract manufacture products for their clients. Their fast transition into AI servers is also the result of Taiwanese tech supply chain working closely with U.S. tech giants on data centre infrastructure work for a decade now, according to Chris Wei, industry consultant at Taiwan's Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute. He estimates Taiwan accounts for about 80% of global server shipments and more than 90% of AI servers. Cheng agrees. "We think this shift toward AI servers, whatever form it takes, is good for Taiwan's tech industry," he said, noting Taiwanese firms' ability to rapidly shift to cater to changing needs from their customers. 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store