TAIPEI, March 16 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said on Monday it expected strong revenue growth in the first quarter and the whole of this year, even as it posted a fall of 2% in quarterly profit, lagging estimates.
The technology giant, Nvidia’s biggest server maker and Apple’s top iPhone assembler, did not give a reason in its statement for the fall in profit, which came despite robust global demand for AI products.
Foxconn’s guidance for both the first quarter and full year revenue are for “strong growth”, the highest outlook the company can give, as it does not provide a numeric outlook.
It is the first time the company has provided an outlook for the full year 2026, and said growth would be driven by sustained strong demand for AI servers.
Net profit for the period from October to December was T$45.21 billion ($1.42 billion), versus an LSEG consensus estimate of T$63.86 billion.
The electronics giant said it also expected first-quarter revenue for smart consumer electronics to see significant growth year-on-year.
Foxconn will hold its earnings call later on Monday in Taipei, where it is also expected to update its outlook for the year.
Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, reported in January record fourth-quarter revenue on strong demand for AI products.
Most of the iPhones Foxconn makes for Apple are assembled in China, but it now produces the bulk of those sold in the United States in India. The company is also building factories in Mexico and Texas to make AI servers for Nvidia.
Foxconn has also been looking to expand its footprint in electric vehicles, which the company sees as a major generator of future growth, though that has not always gone smoothly.
In August, Foxconn said it had struck a deal to sell a former car factory at Lordstown, Ohio, for $375 million, including its machinery that it bought in 2022 to make EVs.
Foxconn’s shares have dropped 6% so far this year, underperforming a gain of 15% in Taiwan benchmark’s index.
Its shares closed up 0.9% on Monday ahead of the results.
($1=32.0940 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee, Faith Hung and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Kevin Buckland and Clarence Fernandez)
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