#TrumpTariffs TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn (HNHAF, 2317.TW), the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, said on Wednesday that its quarterly profit rose 91%, surpassing expectations, thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence servers, although the outlook was overshadowed by tariff uncertainty.
The net profit between January and March for Apple’s (AAPL) main iPhone assembler and Nvidia's (NVDA) server manufacturer was NT$42.12 billion (US$1.39 billion), compared to an average of NT$37.8 billion according to estimates from 13 analysts compiled by LSEG.
Foxconn, formerly Hon Hai Precision Industry, said last month that revenues from January to March rose 24.2% to a record for that quarter, thanks to strong AI server sales.
President Young Liu said in a conference call about earnings that U.S. tariffs will bring more challenges and that his outlook for the entire year was more cautious than before.
A U.S.-China trade dispute could cloud Foxconn's prospects for this year, as it has a significant manufacturing presence in China, although Washington and Beijing agreed on Monday to reduce tariffs for at least 90 days.
The enthusiasm for the temporary truce was tempered by caution, as a more permanent trade agreement is needed, while higher tariffs in general could still weigh on the global economy.
Most of the iPhones that Foxconn manufactures for Apple are assembled in China. Foxconn is also building a large manufacturing plant in Mexico—another target of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs—to produce artificial intelligence servers for Nvidia.
In an earnings report, Foxconn said it should see significant year-on-year growth in the second quarter, with high double-digit year-on-year growth for AI servers and an acceleration in production volume increase.