Wistron raises $1.47B for AI-server components; shares drop

Wistron announced a sale of 25 million global depositary receipts to raise about $1.47 billion. The deal was priced at $58.88 per receipt, equivalent to about NT$186.24 per share, a 5.5% discount to the Sept. 7 close. The GDRs represent 250 million new ordinary shares and will dilute existing shareholders by roughly 7.29%. Wistron shares fell about 5% after the offering was disclosed.

The company said the proceeds will be used mainly to purchase raw materials and components priced in foreign currencies. Wistron builds AI servers for large customers, including Nvidia, and needs to buy expensive GPUs, memory, networking equipment and other parts in advance of customer payments as production scales.

Wistron reported strong recent results. Second-quarter revenue rose 64% year over year and net profit increased 128%. In July the company opened a $700 million facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where Nvidia GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra systems are being manufactured. The company has also approved additional expansion spending in Taiwan to meet customer orders.

Market participants cited the discounted pricing and shareholder dilution as reasons for the stock decline. New investors will obtain shares at roughly NT$186.24, below the most recent close. Banks covering Wistron noted near-term funding pressure while remaining positive on demand. JPMorgan described the company as having a “robust AI order outlook”, upgraded the stock to Overweight and set an NT$260 target. Morgan Stanley said it expects AI-server momentum to continue at least through the first half of 2027, pointed to existing customers and new cloud-service-provider business and platforms such as AMD’s MI400 series, and raised its price target to NT$275 from NT$210 while keeping an Overweight rating.

Industry research points to rising AI-server volumes and forecasts for higher global AI-server shipments in 2026. Higher shipment volumes can support component purchasing and factory expansion but also require more cash tied up in inventory and operations because components are bought before final customer payments are received.

Wistron described the offering as a measure to support supply purchases rather than a response to weakening demand. Analysts and investors will monitor quarterly results, order flow and margin and cash-conversion metrics to track how the expanded capacity and inventory investment affect per-share financial results.