Taiwanese optical communications maker Applied Optoelectronic posted sharp profit growth in July, welcome news for investors, though its share price still ended the day slightly lower.

• Applied Optoelectronic's July revenue rose more than 30% year-on-year, with after-tax profit up about 66% and earnings per share of NT$0.92.
• Earnings per share for the first half came to NT$2.91, a record for the period, with growth driven by 800G high-speed optical communications products that entered volume production and shipment this year.
• Institutional investors expect shipment volumes to keep expanding in the second half, with full-year operations likely to outperform the first half.
• The share price opened higher but drifted lower, closing at NT$598, down 0.5%, suggesting the good news had already been partly priced in during the earlier rally.

Outlook: An investor conference on the 28th will address the second-half outlook, with market attention on whether shipment momentum for 800G products can be sustained.