Taiwanese display manufacturer Innolux has sustained its profitability into the first quarter of 2025, achieving four consecutive quarters of positive earnings after recovering from losses in the second quarter of 2024. Despite this overall financial improvement, the company's core operations have faced challenges, having recorded losses for three straight quarters.

As the global display industry gathers for Display Week 2025, one of its most prominent voices is calling for a redefinition of what screens can be. Dr. Frank Ko, CEO and President of AUO, took center stage at the SID's annual summit, delivering a keynote titled "Redefining Displays: Inspiring New Possibilities." His message was clear: in an age driven by AI, displays are no longer mere windows—they are evolving into gateways to the intelligent, immersive worlds of tomorrow.

Innolux Corporation reappointed Jim Hung as chairman and CEO at its May 7 shareholders' meeting, while promoting Executive Vice President Jeffrey Yang to general manager. Former General Manager Zhu-Xiang Yang will now focus exclusively on leading subsidiary InnoCare Optoelectronics and serving as an Innolux director.

Taiwanese panel giant Innolux has initiated an operational handover in response to the company's pace of transformation and mid- to long-term succession planning, promoting executive vice president Hung-wen Yang to president, fully responsible for operational management.

China, having solidified its dominance in the LCD panel market, is now intensifying its push into organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. A government-driven "trade-in" program has sparked a surge in the domestic smartphone market, with Chinese manufacturers rapidly expanding into the foldable device sector. This strategic focus has significantly accelerated OLED panel production.

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) confirmed plans on May 15 to lay off over 1,000 employees in Japan as part of a large-scale restructuring, according to reports from Nikkei Asia and Asahi Shimbun. With approximately 2,700 domestic employees as of March 2025, the move could slash the company's Japanese workforce by nearly half and reduce its global headcount—currently around 4,100—by nearly one-third.

Chinese panel manufacturers BOE Technology and TCL China Star Optoelectronics (TCL CSOT) have reportedly begun scaling back their LCD panel production in response to the tariff policies imposed by the Trump administration since January 2025, which have effectively blocked their export channels to the US. Despite strategic efforts to expand into alternative markets across Europe and Asia, these companies face significant challenges securing new customers in the short term. Compounding their difficulties, the Chinese government has reduced subsidies, leaving production cuts as their only viable recourse.

LG Display (LGD) is set to participate in the Society for Information Display's (SID) Display Week 2025 with a major focus on next-generation automotive displays. Highlights include a 50% stretchable display, the world's largest 57-inch full cockpit width point-to-point (P2P) panel, and an 18-inch slidable OLED.

AUO is showcasing cutting-edge microLED display technology integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) at Display Week 2025, the global industry event hosted by the Society for Information Display.

Innolux Corporation's automotive display subsidiary CarUX plans to list on the US stock market, marking the Taiwanese display manufacturer's first overseas public offering.

Sharp plans to sell its Kameyama No. 2 factory in Japan's Mie Prefecture to its parent company, Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), as the company continues to scale back its once-dominant liquid crystal display business, according to a May 12 report by Nikkei.

Display driver IC giant Novatek held an investor conference on May 7 and shared its outlook for the market. Novatek vice chairman and president Steve Wang announced that revenue in the first quarter of 2025 grew compared to the previous quarter and increased year-over-year. This growth was mainly driven by China's provincial subsidies for device upgrades and early tariff-driven stockpiling, which led consumer applications to outperform past periods and pushed revenue toward the upper end of guidance. Gross margin also reached the high end of forecasts, primarily due to effective cost control in wafer fabrication.

Touch panel maker TPK Holding Co. reported consolidated revenue of NT$13.7 billion (US$453 million) for the first quarter of 2025, down 13.5% quarter-over-quarter and 10.6% year-over-year due to seasonal fluctuations.

Powertip Image (PTIC), a subsidiary of STN LCD panel manufacturer Powertip Technology, achieved a revenue milestone in April 2025 by surpassing NT$100 million (approx. US$3.3 million), marking the highest April revenue on record. The company's cumulative revenue for the first four months of 2025 reached NT$356 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 28.22%.

A combination of rising US tariffs, reduced benefits from China's "trade-in" subsidy program, and mounting inventory challenges has prompted Chinese panel makers to scale back production during the five-day May Day holiday. This measure aims to support prices, which have remained relatively flat since the end of April, preventing a sharp drop amid slowing purchasing activity from television brands.

Micro LED technology is gaining momentum as the next big leap in display innovation. Driven by the global AI surge, China's intensifying "hundred-glasses war" in smart eyewear has pushed micro-displays into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Micro LED is emerging as a potential game-changer in silicon photonics, offering high-speed optical communication capabilities. Long-anticipated uses in large-format TVs and automotive displays are finally moving toward mass production, signaling a broad and accelerating wave of commercialization across multiple industries.

E-paper vendor E Ink has disclosed that its facilities in Taiwan and China have achieved UL 2799 "Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL)" certification, demonstrating its commitment to protecting the environment.

A surging New Taiwan dollar (NT$) is squeezing Taiwan's display panel makers, cutting into revenues and shrinking profit margins. In response, leading manufacturers and upstream suppliers are ramping up hedging strategies and real-time operational adjustments to weather the currency headwinds.

Compared to TVs, IT panels are more affected by tariffs. As a result, during the tariff exemption period, LCD monitor brands have continued strong inventory buildup and accepted slight panel price increases. For notebook panels, although demand remains steady, supply capacity is relatively ample, keeping market supply and demand balanced and prices stable.

LG Display (LGD) has become the first company worldwide to achieve product validation for a blue phosphorescent OLED panel, advancing a long-elusive milestone in the development of the so-called "dream OLED."

With panel supply-demand conditions improving and demand for larger displays accelerating, TCL Technology's semiconductor display business is staging a strong comeback. According to its 2024 annual report and 2025 first-quarter results released on April 29, TCL posted record-high figures in its display segment, with robust revenue and profit growth underscoring its strengthened position in a recovering industry.

As the global supply chain continues to reel from the tariff war ignited by US President Donald Trump, Paul SL Peng, chairman of AUO, offers a measured analysis of the situation. He observes that, as panels are classified as components, tariffs have a relatively muted direct impact on AUO's business, with the brunt of the cost ultimately borne by importers and end customers. After a comprehensive review, Peng estimates that in 2025, only 10-15% of AUO's revenue will be exposed to the US market, with the actual financial impact from tariffs unlikely to exceed US$200 million. Consequently, the direct effect on AUO's bottom line remains limited.

Taiwan-based panel maker Emerging Display Technologies (EDT) and Japan's Nippon Seiki signed a joint venture agreement on April 25, 2025, to establish EDT-India Private Limited, focusing on automotive TFT LCD module production. Located in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, the new plant aims to start mass production by 2027.

The US government has called on the display industry to establish production domestically. However, Taiwan's leading panel manufacturers have expressed no interest in relocating. In contrast, Japan Display (JDI) is actively planning a new OLED display factory in the US through collaboration with OLEDWorks, potentially becoming the only production site outside Asia utilizing the latest OLED technology.