Foxconn: increase in revenue in the first quarter, but warning about geopolitics

The Taiwanese company Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, announced a 29.7% year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence products, though it warned of global political volatility.

Revenue for Nvidia’s largest server manufacturer and Apple’s largest iPhone assembler soared to 2.13 trillion Taiwan dollars ($66.60 billion), according to Foxconn’s statement on Sunday.

The revenue figure is slightly lower than LSEG’s SmartEstimate of 2.148 trillion Taiwan dollars, which gives more weight to analysts’ forecasts.

Strong demand for AI products led to significant revenue growth in Foxconn’s ‘cloud’ and network products division. The smart consumer electronics, including iPhones, saw ‘significant’ growth thanks to the launch of new products, the company said.

March revenue alone increased by 45.6% year-on-year to reach 803.7 billion Taiwan dollars, a record for that month.

Operations are expected to increase both quarterly and annually in the second quarter, with AI components showing a continuous growth trend, the company stated.

However, Foxconn cautioned about monitoring the impact of global political and economic volatility without providing further details. Last month, President Young Liu stated that the biggest external challenge for the company this year is the global economic and political situation, particularly the Middle East conflict.

Foxconn, formerly known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, does not provide specific forecasts. It will present its full results for the first quarter on May 14.

Foxconn’s shares have dropped by 16% this year, lower than the 12% increase in the Taiwanese market index. The stock closed down by 2% on Thursday before the revenue data release, aligning with the benchmark index.

The Taiwanese financial markets were closed on Friday for holidays and will resume on Tuesday.

(Note: Foxconn is known for being a major supplier for tech giants like Apple and Nvidia. The company’s financial performance is closely watched in the tech industry.)