IBM lowered its full-year revenue growth target after a second-quarter miss, saying clients shifted spending toward scarce hardware and away from software deals. Management framed the weakness as delayed demand rather than lost business, while reaffirming free cash flow growth, margin expansion plans, and confidence in the company's long-term software and mainframe franchises.
Specialty chemicals maker Johnson Fine Chemical has won approval from the Taiwan Stock Exchange for its listing plan and is now targeting an IPO as soon as late 2026 to early 2027. In recent years, the company has used specialty amine curing agents to break into the AI server and high-end tech hardware supply chains, meeting the demanding requirements of next-generation high-frequency, high-speed copper-clad laminates (CCL) for heat resistance, dimensional stability, low water absorption, and long-term reliability.
Power management IC (PMIC) maker Fortune Advanced Technology is set to list on the Emerging Stock Board on July 22, with an eye on growing demand for high-voltage power management in AI data centers driving the need for e-fuses and smart power management solutions. In addition, shipments of higher-margin products are also lifting revenue for the company, as it seeks opportunities in importing substitute protective components.
Oracle's US$165 billion data center project in New Mexico is running into higher-than-expected costs due to local concerns about its energy requirements. This case is one of several showing how the build-out of AI infrastructure in the US has become a politically charged issue at the local level due to worries over electricity needs and other issues.
Samsung Electronics is cutting over 800 jobs in the US from its smartphone, display, and consumer electronics business units. The division, part of Samsung Group, is facing a challenging market this year, in contrast to the soaring performance of its chip unit.
Apple has filed a sharp antitrust-style complaint against OpenAI, turning a once-celebrated AI partnership into a legal clash over strategy, supply chains, and future hardware control. Behind the lawsuit lies a broader contest over who will shape the next wave of AI devices, and whether the Trump administration's "America First" agenda can help both sides find common ground.
Vietnam has opened direct access to green electricity for companies, easing a major obstacle for Foxconn and its suppliers as global electronics makers shift production away from China. The change could help global supply chains expand in Vietnam while also increasing pressure on the country's power system, renewable capacity, and environmental management.
Apple's MacBook Neo is selling briskly, lifting the company's notebook brand shipments by more than 10% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, but supply shortages are emerging as a major risk. Supply-chain sources had expected MacBook Neo shipments to reach 10 million units in 2026, but a key component bottleneck could weigh on sales.
Apple supplier Lingyi iTech is seeking to expand further into AI infrastructure, announcing plans to invest up to CNY4 billion (US$589.9 million) to acquire control of the assets and operations of bankrupt optical fiber manufacturer Futong Group Communication Technology (Futong Jiashan) through a restructuring process.
