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Oct 29
AI, semiconductors drive foreign investor gains, weakening Taiwan dollar
Taiwan's AI and semiconductor stocks have delivered substantial gains for foreign investors, who have recently taken profits, converted the proceeds into US dollars, and repatriated them, driving the New Taiwan dollar lower.
Amazon's third quarter showed its cloud expansion translating into stronger operating profitability, while the cash demands of building AI infrastructure kept rising. The result sharpens the company's central operating challenge: sustaining rapid AWS growth while bringing new capacity into service and maintaining the economics of its much larger retail business.
Nidec Corporation has provided an update on its ongoing efforts to resolve the grounds for the disclaimer of opinion issued on its financial statements, missing its initial target to submit restated reports by October 28, 2026. Despite completing several remedial measures, the company continues to address additional verification procedures requested by its independent auditor.
Texas Instruments (TI) and NXP Semiconductors both reported 40% to 50% year-over-year growth in their industrial businesses during their latest earnings calls for the third quarter of 2026, citing AI data-center construction and robotics as key growth drivers. TI's industrial revenue reached its highest level in four years, while NXP's industrial and IoT business grew 39% year-over-year.
Silicon Motion Technology reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of about US$560 million, marking a record high for the fourth consecutive quarter. Revenue rose 24% quarter-over-quarter and surged 131% year-over-year, putting the company on track to achieve record full-year revenue in 2026, up more than 100% from 2025.
Chinese AI, robotics, and semiconductor stocks have suffered a steep sell-off in less than four months, casting a shadow over Beijing's push to achieve global technology leadership. According to Reuters, the Shanghai STAR 50 Index has fallen about 40% from its June peak, wiping out approximately US$480 billion in market value across AI and semiconductor components.
Flexible copper-clad laminate (FCCL) maker Taiflex Scientific announced on October 28 that its board had approved a memorandum of understanding with global e-paper leader E Ink Holdings (EIH) to jointly develop AI high-speed connectivity materials. The partnership combines E Ink's expertise in base-material development and manufacturing with Taiflex's circuit-board material capabilities and industry experience to address demand for high-performance materials, mass-production capacity, and stable supply.
Elite Material Co. (EMC), a copper-clad laminate (CCL) maker, reported record third-quarter 2026 revenue of NT$60.88 billion (US$1.875 billion), driven by strong demand for high-end materials used in AI products and fully loaded production capacity. Revenue rose 28.8% quarter-over-quarter and 142% year-over-year.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Kazakhstan highlights a widening contest over AI computing capacity, as Europe seeks alternatives to infrastructure concentrated in the US and Asia. Kazakhstan, with 21 million people, is developing data centers and pursuing Nvidia partnerships that could position it as a supplier to Europe.
Qisda President Cally Ko said future infrastructure supporting autonomous physical AI would evolve beyond simply providing connectivity and power to also deliver sensing, computing, and autonomous dispatching capabilities. She also disclosed that the company's commercial drones had already secured orders and entered production, while its quadruped robots were expected to be unveiled publicly in early 2027.
UMT's revenue increased 71% year-over-year in the first three quarters of 2026 as global demand for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite deployments lifted sales of millimeter-wave communications products. The Taiwan-based company said it would begin advancing manufacturing expansion plans in Taiwan, the US, and Vietnam from the fourth quarter of 2026 to support international customer demand and strengthen delivery flexibility.
ADATA Technology reported record results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2026, driven by strong demand for memory and storage products as global artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure expanded. Net income attributable to shareholders reached NT$12.61 billion (US$388.6 million) in the third quarter, up 616.4% year-over-year, while earnings per share (EPS) rose to NT$38.69. For the first nine months, EPS reached NT$101.47, and net income exceeded ADATA's combined profit over its previous 25 years.