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Business Wire
02-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Alpha & Omega Semiconductor Announced Resolution with the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AOS (Nasdaq: AOSL) today announced that it has reached a resolution with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to close its investigation of AOS's export control practices. Under the settlement agreement, AOS agrees to make a one-time payment of $4.25 million to resolve the allegations. This resolution does not impact AOS's ongoing business operations and brings to an end the U.S. government's five-year-plus investigation, which resulted in no criminal charges. AOS is pleased to bring this matter to a close with only limited administrative export control charges. Over the years, AOS has consistently demonstrated its commitment to complying with all applicable regulatory requirements, including export control regulations, and has significantly strengthened its procedures and policies to ensure ongoing compliance. AOS believes that the company's core values and culture of compliance will continue to support its strategic efforts to grow the customer base and expand product offerings. About Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited, or AOS, is a designer, developer, and global supplier of a broad range of discrete power devices, wide bandgap power devices, power management ICs, and modules, including a wide portfolio of Power MOSFET, SiC, IGBT, IPM, TVS, HV Gate Drivers, Power IC, and Digital Power products. AOS has developed extensive intellectual property and technical knowledge that encompasses the latest advancements in the power semiconductor industry, which enables us to introduce innovative products to address the increasingly complex power requirements of advanced electronics. AOS differentiates itself by integrating its Discrete and IC semiconductor process technology, product design, and advanced packaging know-how to develop high-performance power management solutions. AOS' portfolio of products targets high-volume applications, including personal computers, graphics cards, datacenters, AI servers, smartphones, consumer and industrial motor controls, TVs, lightings, automotive electronics, and power supply units for various equipment. For more information, please visit Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections of future performance based on management's judgment, beliefs, current trends, and anticipated product performance. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding impact of compliance process on AOS's business. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the state of semiconductor industry and seasonality of our markets; decline of PC markets; our lack of control over the joint venture in China; difficulties and challenges in executing our diversification strategy into different market segments; ordering pattern from distributors and seasonality; changes in regulatory environment, including tariff and trade policies; our ability to introduce or develop new and enhanced products that achieve market acceptance; government policies on our business operations in China; the actual product performance in volume production; the quality and reliability of our product, our ability to achieve design wins; the general business and economic conditions; our ability to maintain factory utilization at a desirable level; and other risks as described in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 filed by AOS with the SEC and other periodic reports we filed with the SEC. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and AOS undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Analyst reboots Amazon stock price target on AI growth
Goodness, what's a motherboard to do? Artificial intelligence continues to make its presence felt in just about everything humans do, from setting up appointments and planning itineraries to suggesting what music to listen to and what movies to watch. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter On the business side, AI is being increasingly integrated into such diverse sectors as healthcare, cybersecurity, finance, retail, and manufacturing. It takes a lot of hardware to run all this stuff, and that can put pressure on companies that make semiconductors, motherboards, and other vital components. The Covid-19 pandemic was a key factor in the 2020-2023 global chip shortage, disrupting supply chains and logistics, while a 13% increase in global demand for PCs sparked by a sudden shift to working from home added to demand. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce in September 2020 imposed restrictions on, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., which made it harder for China's largest chip maker to sell to companies with American ties. Bloomberg/Getty Images But by January 2023, Peter Voser, chairman of the chairman of Swedish-Swiss tech and engineering giant ABB told CNBC that the global semiconductor shortage was "being sorted out." Well, yes and no. "Semiconductor supply chains worked well in 2024, even as the industry grew by almost 20%," Deloitte said in its 2025 Global Semiconductor Industry Outlook. "At this time, there's no reason to believe 2025 supply chains will be less resilient, but as always, the risk is there." The study said, "the industry may be more vulnerable to supply chain disruptions than ever before", given how important generative AI chips are expected to be this year and beyond, and the relatively higher concentration of processor, memory, and packaging required for cutting-edge chips, "Although the industry is likely to become less concentrated geographically thanks to various chips acts-and initiatives like onshoring, reshoring, nearshoring, and friendshoring are all still in their early days-the industry remains highly vulnerable for the next year or two, at least," Deloitte said. Onshoring and reshoring involves bringing production back to a company's home country, while nearshoring relocates operations to a nearby country and friendshoring relocates production to countries that are considered allies. Deloitte added that the chip industry "can be notoriously cyclical." "The industry has flipped from growth to shrinkage nine times in the last 34 years," the firm said. "So, it may seem that the industry is seeing less extreme growth or shrinkage in the last 14 years, compared to 1990 to 2010, but the frequency of contractions seems to have increased." Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy addressed the issue in May during the e-commerce and entertainment giant's first-quarter earnings call. "Our AI business right now is a multi billion dollar annual run rate business," he said. "It's growing triple digit percentages year over year. And as fast as we actually put the capacity in, it's being consumed." Related: Amazon CEO makes a seemingly impossible promise "I think we could be helping more customers and driving more revenue for the business if we had more capacity," he added. Jassy said that "there are other parts of the supply chain that that are a little bit jammed up as well, motherboards and some other componentry." "But some of that is just because there is so much demand right now," he said. "But I do believe that the supply chain issues and the capacity issues will continue to get better as the year proceeds." Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Amazon on July 1 to $235 from $230 and kept an outperform rating on the shares. The firm noted that the growth of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud computing platform, decelerated sequentially in Q1 to +17% year-over-year, while AI contribution continues to grow triple digits year-over-year from a relatively smaller base compared with Azure, Microsoft's (MSFT) cloud-computing platform. Similar to their cloud service provider peers, Amazon remains supply constrained on not only chips, but also motherboards and other components, which has put a near-term cap on topline growth despite strong demand indications. The firm noted Jassy's comments about improving capacity throughout the year. Microsoft suffered a setback when its next-generation Maia AI chip, codenamed "Braga," which was originally planned for mass production in 2025, has been delayed until at least 2026. When the Braga chip goes into production, it is expected to fall well short of the performance of Nvidia's (NVDA) Blackwell chip, Reuters reported. Related: Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Asahi Shimbun
07-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan-U.S. tariff talks still draw a blank at fifth meeting
Ryosei Akazawa, right, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, meets with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, D.C., on June 5. (provided by U.S. Department of Commerce) WASHINGTON--Japan and the United States failed to find common ground in their fifth round of talks on Washington's high tariff policy, according to Japan's top negotiator Ryosei Akazawa. 'We confirmed once again the position of Japan and the U.S., and further progress was made in discussions toward the realization of an agreement,' said Akazawa, minister in charge of economic revitalization, after meeting with U.S. Cabinet members here on June 6. 'But we have not found any point of agreement.' Akazawa was visiting the United States for the third consecutive week. This time around, he met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for 45 minutes and then with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for 1 hour and 50 minutes. Akazawa also met with Lutnick for 1 hour and 50 minutes the day before. After the latest talks, Akazawa told reporters that he had again called strongly for the elimination of the Trump administration's tariff policy. He said the discussions focused on trade expansion, nontariff measures, and economic and security cooperation. Akazawa added that both sides confirmed they 'will coordinate vigorously to reach an agreement that is beneficial to both the U.S. and Japan.' Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump are scheduled to hold face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada on June 15-17. 'The timing of the summit was much on our minds during the negotiations,' Akazawa said, He said the two leaders will be given an update on the progress of the talks before their summit meeting. His remarks were seen as an indication that the G-7 summit is being considered for an announcement on a de facto agreement. Akazawa noted that the Japanese economy continues to take a battering from Trump's tariffs. He added, 'If the tariff measures can be reviewed, we have no intention of waiting until the summit.' In reality, however, with only a little more than a week to go before the talks are held, it remains to be seen how both parties can get closer. (This article was written by Chinami Tajika, and correspondent Ken Sakakibara.)
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First Post
06-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
US suspends licenses to ship nuclear plant parts to China amid trade tensions
The United States has suspended licenses allowing companies to export nuclear power plant equipment to China. The move, taken by the US Department of Commerce, marks a sharp escalation in the ongoing trade and technology war between the two superpowers. read more The U.S. in recent days suspended licenses for nuclear equipment suppliers to sell to China's power plants, according to four people familiar with the matter, as the two countries engage in a damaging trade war. The suspensions were issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the people said, and affect export licenses for parts and equipment used with nuclear power plants. Nuclear equipment suppliers are among a wide range of companies whose sales have been restricted over the past two weeks as the U.S.-China trade war shifted from negotiating tariffs to throttling each other's supply chains. It is unclear whether a Thursday call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would affect the suspensions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The U.S. and China agreed on May 12 to roll back triple digit, tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, but the truce between the two biggest economies quickly went south, with the U.S. claiming China reneged on terms related to rare earth elements, and China accusing the U.S. of 'abusing export control measures' by warning that using Huawei Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violated U.S. export controls. After Thursday's call, further talks on key issues were expected. The U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on the nuclear equipment restrictions. On May 28, a spokesperson said the department was reviewing exports of strategic significance to China. 'In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending,' the spokesperson said in a statement. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. nuclear equipment suppliers include Westinghouse and Emerson. Westinghouse, whose technology is used in over 400 nuclear reactors around the world, and Emerson, which provides measurement and other tools for the nuclear industry, did not respond to requests for comment. The suspensions affect business worth hundreds of millions of dollars, two of the sources said. They also coincide with Chinese restrictions on critical metals threatening supply chains for manufacturers worldwide, especially America's Big Three automakers. Reuters could not determine whether the new restrictions were tied to the trade war, or if and how quickly they might be reinstated. Department of Commerce export licenses typically run for four years and include authorized quantities and values. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But many new restrictions on exports to China have been imposed in the last two weeks, according to sources, and include license requirements for a hydraulic fluids supplier for sales to China. Other license suspensions went to GE Aerospace for jet engines for China's COMAC aircraft, sources said. The U.S. also now requires licenses to ship ethane to China, as Reuters reported first last week. Houston-based Enterprise Product Partners said Wednesday that its emergency requests to complete three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totaling some 2.2 million barrels, had not been granted. Reuters could not determine whether the new restrictions were tied to the trade war, or if and how quickly they might be reinstated. Department of Commerce export licenses typically run for four years and include authorized quantities and values. But many new restrictions on exports to China have been imposed in the last two weeks, according to sources, and include license requirements for a hydraulic fluids supplier for sales to China. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Other license suspensions went to GE Aerospace for jet engines for China's COMAC aircraft, sources said. The U.S. also now requires licenses to ship ethane to China, as Reuters reported first last week. Houston-based Enterprise Product Partners (EPD.N), opens new tab said Wednesday that its emergency requests to complete three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totalling some 2.2 million barrels, had not been granted.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-US suspends licenses to ship nuclear plant parts to China, sources say
By Karen Freifeld and Fanny Potkin (Reuters) -The U.S. in recent days suspended licenses for nuclear equipment suppliers to sell to China's power plants, according to four people familiar with the matter, as the two countries engage in a damaging trade war. The suspensions were issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the people said, and affect export licenses for parts and equipment used with nuclear power plants. Nuclear equipment suppliers are among a wide range of companies whose sales have been restricted over the past two weeks as the U.S.-China trade war shifted from negotiating tariffs to throttling each other's supply chains. It is unclear whether a Thursday call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would affect the suspensions. The U.S. and China agreed on May 12 to roll back triple digit, tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, but the truce between the two biggest economies quickly went south, with the U.S. claiming China reneged on terms related to rare earth elements, and China accusing the U.S. of "abusing export control measures" by warning that using Huawei Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violated U.S. export controls. After Thursday's call, further talks on key issues were expected. The U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on the nuclear equipment restrictions. On May 28, a spokesperson said the department was reviewing exports of strategic significance to China. "In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending," the spokesperson said in a statement. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. nuclear equipment suppliers include Westinghouse and Emerson. Westinghouse, whose technology is used in over 400 nuclear reactors around the world, and Emerson, which provides measurement and other tools for the nuclear industry, did not respond to requests for comment. The suspensions affect business worth hundreds of millions of dollars, two of the sources said. They also coincide with Chinese restrictions on critical metals threatening supply chains for manufacturers worldwide, especially America's Big Three automakers. Reuters could not determine whether the new restrictions were tied to the trade war, or if and how quickly they might be reinstated. Department of Commerce export licenses typically run for four years and include authorized quantities and values. But many new restrictions on exports to China have been imposed in the last two weeks, according to sources, and include license requirements for a hydraulic fluids supplier for sales to China. Other license suspensions went to GE Aerospace for jet engines for China's COMAC aircraft, sources said. The U.S. also now requires licenses to ship ethane to China, as Reuters reported first last week. Houston-based Enterprise Product Partners said Wednesday that its emergency requests to complete three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totaling some 2.2 million barrels, had not been granted. Enterprise said a May 23 requirement for a license to sell butane to China, in addition to the ethane, was subsequently withdrawn. Dallas-based Energy Transfer said it was notified on Tuesday about the new ethane licensing requirement, and planned to apply and file for an emergency authorization. Other sectors that have been hit with new restrictions include companies that sell electronic design automation software such as Cadence Design Systems.
