General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (GIS, 業成), a touchpanel manufacturing arm of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), should see its revenue rise by as much as 40 percent this year, after Sharp Corp clinched a bigger order allocation from Apple Inc, KGI Securities Co (凱基證券) said.
Sharp is leveraging Hon Hai’s partnership with Apple after Hon Hai acquired a 66 percent stake in the Japanese firm for US$3.5 billion last year. Hon Hai is a major supplier of iPads and iPhones to Apple.
With Samsung Electronics cutting supply, Sharp is expected to fill between 30 and 40 percent of Apple’s LCD panel needs for the iPad this year, up from between 15 and 25 percent last year, KGI analyst Kuo Ming-chi (郭明錤) said in a client note on Thursday.
Moreover, Sharp will, for the first time, start supplying flat panels for Apple’s MacBook laptops, Kuo said in the report.
The Japanese panelmaker is expected to start shipments in the third quarter and deliver 2 million to 3 million units for the whole year, accounting for 15 to 20 percent of the total panels used in MacBooks, he said.
“GIS, which assembles display modules for Sharp, will be the biggest beneficiary of this development,” Kuo said.
GIS could see its revenue soar by between 25 and 40 percent this year to between NT$100 billion and NT$110 (US$3.2 billion and US$3.5 million), Kuo said.
KGI’s forecast was much higher than an estimate of NT$90 billion by most analysts. For example, Daiwa Capital Markets Inc analyst Kylie Huang (黃奎毓) expects GIS to make NT$83.5 billion in revenue this year on the back of rising orders and better average selling prices (ASP).
Kuo said he also expects GIS to start shipping 3D touch modules for OLED panels for iPhones in March.
The new 3D touch module carries a higher ASP, he said.
In addition, GIS has the chance to supply OLED modules to Sharp and therefore to Apple next year, if the US company launches mid-end iPhones equipped with less advanced OLED screens as it did before, Kuo said.
“As a result, we are bullish about GIS’ stock performance,” Kuo said.
Last year, the Miaoli-based GIS made NT$79.36 billion in revenue. The company generated about 30 to 40 percent of its revenue from touchpanels used in smartphones.
GIS shares surged 4.95 percent to NT$97.6 in Taipei trading yesterday, hitting their highest level in nine months.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
RSS