2025-09-26 02:29Summary of Conference Call on PCB Industry Industry Overview - The conference call discusses the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) industry, highlighting the significant demand driven by advancements in AI and data centers, particularly due to NVIDIA's investment in OpenAI of 100 billion RMB, indicating a robust demand for GPU and ASIC chips, which in turn boosts PCB demand [1][2]. Key Insights and Arguments - NVIDIA's Product Evolution: NVIDIA's transition from the eight-card architecture to the GB200/GB300 series and now to the Ruby series has led to significant enhancements in PCB specifications, including increased layers and density, which raises the value of single-chip PCBs [1]. - Market Demand Projections: The global PCB market demand is expected to exceed 90 billion RMB by 2026, but supply-side capacity remains tight due to the heavy asset nature of the industry and long production cycles, with overseas production lagging behind expectations [1][8]. - Supply-Demand Dynamics: The PCB industry is anticipated to experience a relative shortage of capacity in the coming years, as companies like Huadian Technology and Shenghong Technology are accelerating expansion, but at a pace slower than the explosive demand growth [1][9]. - Investment Potential: Companies such as Huadian Technology, Shenghong Technology, and Pengding possess significant investment potential due to their client progress and capacity expansion. Additionally, upstream material suppliers like Shengyi Technology are gaining traction within the NVIDIA and Amazon supply chains, indicating strong future growth [1][10]. Additional Important Points - Role of PCBs in Data Centers: PCBs play a crucial role in data centers for carrying and transmitting signals, with specifications improving significantly with each chip iteration. The shift towards PCBs over traditional copper cables is driven by better heat dissipation and lower maintenance costs [3]. - Specific Requirements of NVIDIA's Series: The Ruby series introduces an orthogonal backplane solution, replacing some copper cable connections, which enhances assembly efficiency and significantly increases the value of single-chip PCBs to approximately 150,000 to 200,000 RMB [6]. - Material Upgrades: The PCB market's growth is also tied to advancements in upstream materials, particularly in copper-clad laminates (CCL) and copper foil, with companies like Shengyi Technology adapting production lines to meet demand surges [11][12]. - Future Supply-Demand Structure: The supply-demand structure in the PCB industry is expected to remain tight due to rapid demand growth and the heavy asset nature of the industry, which prolongs new factory setups and customer validation cycles [13]. - NVIDIA's Orthogonal Backplane Progress: The orthogonal backplane solution from NVIDIA is still in the validation phase, with expectations of adoption, indicating a potential upward valuation for the PCB segment [14].