Apple supplier Foxconn’s quarterly profit jumps 6% on AI boom

By Yimou Lee and Faith Hung

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Apple supplier Foxconn beat expectations on Wednesday, reporting a 6 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by a surge in demand for AI servers, while the company reiterated a forecast for a significant increase in full-year revenue.

The world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer expects strong demand for AI-powered servers to continue to drive its growth.

“In fact, our company’s visibility is slightly better than in May,” Foxconn spokesman James Wu said on a conference call on financial results, without providing details.

Foxconn said it will begin shipping AI semiconductor leader Nvidia’s GB200 chip in the fourth quarter, with volumes set to increase in early 2025.

Wu emphasized Foxconn’s leading position in the AI server market, saying its capabilities and technology will not be easily surpassed by competitors.

“This won’t change in the short term,” he said.

The Taiwanese company said its net profit for the April-June quarter rose to T$35.05 billion ($1.09 billion) from T$33 billion in the same period last year.

This amount beat analysts’ average forecast of T$34.29 billion.

It was the company’s fourth consecutive quarterly profit increase.

Foxconn said AI servers accounted for more than 40% of its server business in the second quarter, with its next-generation AI computing solution delivering “strong growth.”

The company expected third-quarter revenue to rise significantly from a year earlier, although revenue from sales of smart computer electronics, including smartphones, was likely to remain flat.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, expects its business to gradually recover in the second half of the year as many electronics suppliers including Apple typically release new products before the end of the year and the holiday season.

Ahead of the earnings announcement, Taipei-based KGI Securities revised upward its sales forecast for Foxconn this year, saying strong demand for new iPhones and AI servers could drive a better-than-expected outlook in the second half.

Foxconn shares ended the session up 2.5% ahead of the results announcement.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Faith Hung; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kim Coghill and Bernadette Baum)