(Bloomberg) — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. reported faster-than-expected 15% revenue growth after the server assembly partner to Nvidia Corp. rode sustained demand for AI infrastructure.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Hon Hai, also the world’s largest maker of Apple Inc. iPhones, reported NT$2.13 trillion ($64.6 billion) of revenue for the past three months. December revenue rose 42%, helping the company known as Foxconn beat analyst expectations. It also forecast “significant” sales growth for the first quarter, helping its shares rise as much as 3.6% in Taipei, their biggest intraday gain in about two weeks.
The company and other Taiwan AI hardware suppliers have enjoyed a boost from massive spending on servers for data centers by the biggest US tech firms like Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. But the lack of a compelling use case for AI so far has been making investors nervous about when the expansion might slow.
Goldman Sachs analysts revised up their 2024 earnings estimate by 1% based on higher-than-expected December revenue. They also raised revenue estimates for this year and the following two years, citing higher AI server revenue.
“The sequential revenue growth in Cloud supports our positive view on the next generation rack-level AI servers shipment ramp-up, and general servers and networking equipment demand recovery,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote.
Hon Hai expects revenue from its cloud business, which includes AI servers, to match sales from its iPhone-making division in 2025.
Still, Citi analyst Carrie Liu warned in a note that the stock could experience near-term drag based on a first-quarter outlook from the company that seemed less than market estimates.
The AI market is important for Hon Hai’s effort to diversify its business away from Apple, whose iPhones are seeing muted growth. Apple has historically accounted for over half of the Taiwanese company’s sales.
Hon Hai also aims to break into the electric vehicle market, though that venture has yet to have any meaningful effect on its earnings. The company reached out to Renault SA about a tie-up with Nissan Motor Co., which Renault owns 36% of. For now, that pursuit is on hold as Nissan and Honda Motor Co. negotiate a merger, Bloomberg News reported.
(Updates with stock move and analyst comments)
