The PCB sector is surging, with supply chain companies seizing development opportunities amid tight supply-demand dynamics.

Since June 18th, the PCB concept has gained strong momentum under the stimulation of AI demand, with the cumulative increase of the sector reaching 14.98%.

On July 3rd, the A-share PCB concept rose again. Constituent stocks such as Yihao Building Materials, Zhongyi Technology, Bomin Electronics, Founder Technology, Jinguo Technology, Zhongjing Electronics, Pengding Holdings, and Dawei Co., Ltd. hit the daily limit.

Multiple securities institutions said that with the explosion of AI demand, the current supply of the corresponding industrial chain is in a tight state. In addition to the scarce and tight production capacity of high - multilayer and high - order HDI, the supply of high - end materials upstream of the industrial chain is also scarce. Attention should be paid to the explosion opportunities of the PCB industrial chain in the large AI cycle.

Accelerated Industry Development

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is the support for electronic components and the carrier for electrical connections, and is known as the "mother of electronic products". Its core function is to achieve electrical connections between electronic components by arranging conductive circuits on an insulating substrate. It is an irreplaceable basic component for all types of electronic devices.

The upstream of the PCB industrial chain includes raw materials such as copper foil, glass fiber cloth, and epoxy resin, among which copper foil accounts for about 30% (cost side); the mid - stream consists of PCB manufacturing enterprises; the downstream covers fields such as AI, consumer electronics, communications, automobiles, industrial control, aerospace, etc.

Therefore, the continuous development of downstream industries constantly stimulates the PCB industry, making its strong rise inevitable.

Firstly, the rapid development of the global technology industry, especially the rise of emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, 5G communication, and new energy vehicles, has led to an explosive growth in the demand for PCBs. Taking 5G base stations as an example, a single base station needs to consume more than 100 square meters of multilayer PCB boards, and the value of PCBs in a new energy vehicle can be 3 - 5 times that of a traditional fuel - powered vehicle, highlighting its core position in high - end manufacturing.

Secondly, the industry's own technological innovation and upgrading have also injected strong impetus into the development of the sector. With the continuous progress of PCB manufacturing technology, such as the wide application of high - density interconnect (HDI) technology and multilayer board manufacturing technology, the performance and quality of products have been significantly improved, further expanding the market space.

In addition to PCB manufacturing enterprises, upstream raw material suppliers will also benefit. The production of PCBs cannot do without raw materials such as copper foil, glass fiber cloth, and epoxy resin; equipment manufacturing enterprises will also face development opportunities. A large number of professional equipment is required in the PCB manufacturing process, such as drilling machines, exposure machines, and etching machines.

Accelerated Domestic Substitution

According to Prismark data, the global PCB market size reached $87.6 billion in 2024 and is expected to exceed $90 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of about 5.2%. As the world's largest PCB producer, China accounts for more than 60% of the global production capacity.

Currently, enterprises such as Shennan Circuits, Hudian Co., Ltd., and Pengding Holdings have ranked among the top ten global PCB manufacturers. The industry competition presents a pattern of "foreign capital leading the high - end market and domestic competition in the mid - and low - end markets". On the one hand, domestic PCB enterprises are accelerating their overseas layout. Pengding Holdings and Shennan Circuits have set up production bases in Southeast Asia to avoid trade barriers; on the other hand, in high - end fields such as semiconductor packaging substrates, the market share of domestic enterprises is less than 10%. With the technological breakthroughs of packaging and testing factories such as Changdian Technology and Tongfu Microelectronics, domestic PCB manufacturers are expected to achieve import substitution. It is estimated that the localization rate of high - end PCBs will increase to 20% from 2025 to 2030.

Among them, the PCB business of Yihao New Materials is its core business. Relying on the advantages of its vertical integrated industrial chain, the company has occupied a certain market position in fields such as aluminum - based PCBs and Mini LED. In 2024, the company's PCB production volume was 2.358 million square meters, a year - on - year increase of 21.96%, and the sales volume was 2.3312 million square meters, a year - on - year increase of 22.21%, showing a good growth trend.

In the field of automotive electronics, the company's products are used in in - vehicle displays, lamp modules, etc.; in the field of Mini LED displays, Mini LED PCB products have been mass - produced for TCL and Hisense TVs.

The main products of Zhongyi Technology are lithium - ion battery copper foil and standard copper foil. Among them, standard copper foil, which is the core product of the PCB business, is mainly used in the field of printed circuit boards (PCBs).

The company adheres to technological innovation and has a number of core technologies related to the production of electrolytic copper foil, such as the design and optimization technology of electrolytic copper foil automated production lines. These technologies cover the entire production process of copper dissolution and solution preparation, foil production, post - treatment, and slitting. In terms of standard copper foil, the company's product specifications range from 10μm to 175μm, and it is gradually extending to the high - end standard copper foil field. It can already produce electronic circuit copper foil products for high - frequency and high - speed applications, HDI applications, etc. used in high - end graphics cards and AI servers.

Bomin Electronics' PCB business mainly focuses on the production of high - end printed circuit boards and provides one - stop services around the upstream - downstream integrated model of "PCB + components + solutions". Its characteristic products mainly include HDI boards, high - multilayer boards, microwave high - frequency boards, thick copper boards, metal - based/core boards, flexible boards, rigid - flexible boards, ceramic substrates, and passive components.

Currently, the "Bomin Electronics New - Generation Electronic Information Industry Investment and Expansion Project" under construction by the company plans to have a total investment of about 3 billion yuan and is expected to be fully completed and put into production in 2026. By then, it can produce 3.6 million square meters of high - end printed circuit boards annually.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Lanfu Financial Network" and is published by 36Kr with authorization.