TAIPEI, Nov 12 — Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn on Thursday reported a record net profit for the third quarter, as the global buildout of data centres fuels demand for the AI servers needed to operate them.

The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer has gone beyond making low-margin iPhones to producing AI servers for US tech titan Nvidia, as well as electric vehicles and robots.

Its shares and those of other tech firms plunged last week after the Democrats’ sweep of Congress in the US midterms would allow them to ramp up AI regulation and slow the data centre expansion.

Foxconn partner Nvidia has also weighed on sentiment, with US media reporting the company’s board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang after revelations of his extramarital affairs, including with an alleged Chinese spy.