ZHESHANG SECURITIES·2026-01-04 13:04Group 1 - The semiconductor equipment index has significantly outperformed the market since the beginning of 2025, with a cumulative increase of 62.3% compared to the Shanghai Composite Index's 42.0% [3][13] - The semiconductor industry is experiencing high prosperity, with the global semiconductor market expected to reach a historical high of $760.7 billion in 2026, driven by AI [3][36] - The domestic semiconductor equipment market is seeing a strong recovery in wafer fab capacity utilization and expansion willingness, supported by the AI-driven storage supercycle [3][36] Group 2 - Four key investment directions are recommended: 1. Focus on etching and thin film equipment leaders driven by AI storage supercycle [3] 2. Domestic lithography machine production is expected to achieve mass production in 2026, boosting subsystem and component companies [3] 3. ALD equipment is entering a golden development period, especially in advanced logic and storage fields [3] 4. Advanced packaging continues to follow Moore's Law, providing significant opportunities for domestic equipment manufacturers [3] Group 3 - Investment suggestions include leading companies such as North China Innovation, Zhongwei Company, and TuoJing Technology, as well as high-elasticity targets like XinYuanWei and HuaHaiQingKe [3] - The overall revenue of the semiconductor equipment industry is projected to grow by 36% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, with leading companies maintaining high growth rates [15] - The overall net profit of the semiconductor equipment industry is expected to increase by 22% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, with significant profit acceleration from companies like Shengmei and TuoJing [15][24] Group 4 - The semiconductor industry is expected to continue its growth trajectory, with AI as the core engine driving the market [36] - The global semiconductor market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% from 2004 to 2024, with a significant recovery and expansion phase starting from 2023 [36] - The capital expenditure of the top eight cloud service providers is expected to increase by 40% in 2026, reaching $600 billion, further supporting the semiconductor market growth [36]