Tower Semiconductor forecasts third-quarter revenue above estimates on AI chip demand

Aug. 4 (Reuters) - Tower Semiconductor forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as strong spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure boosts demand for its specialty chips.

The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $520 million, plus or minus 5%, above analysts' estimate of $490 million.

Tower Semiconductor makes specialty chips for other companies, serving industries including automotive, industrial, consumer electronics and communications.

• Silicon photonics is one of Tower's fastest-growing businesses, benefiting from rising AI infrastructure spending by major technology companies.
• Silicon photonics uses light instead of electrical signals to move data faster and more efficiently across data-center networks.
• The company posted second-quarter revenue of $460 million, above analysts' average estimate of $454.7 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• Adjusted earnings per share came in at 79 cents, above analysts' estimate of 76 cents.

Last month, Tower said it would invest about to expand chip manufacturing in Japan, backed by about in government grants, to meet growing AI-related demand.