According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Xinda Securities released a research report stating that the demand in the PCB industry is rapidly recovering, and the development of AI is expected to become a core driving factor. The global PCB industry output value is expected to grow by 6.8% year-on-year to USD 73.6 billion in 2024, with the server/storage sector growing at a rate of 10%, increasing its share from 14.8% to 18.3%. With the improvement in PCB market demand, major PCB manufacturers are accelerating capacity expansion, especially in the mid-to-high-end market for AI computing power. Additionally, due to manufacturers actively expanding production, the demand for specialized equipment is driven, with high value in drilling, exposure, and testing.
<h2>The main points of Xinda Securities are as follows:</h2>
PCB demand is rapidly recovering, and AI development is expected to become a core driving factor
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are substrates used for assembling electronic components. From 2022 to 2023, the global PCB market was under pressure due to weak consumer electronics, with the industry output value declining by 14.9% year-on-year in 2023. With the recovery of consumer electronics, it is expected to grow by 5.9% year-on-year to USD 73.6 billion in 2024. This year, as consumer electronics recover and AI development drives the demand for high-value PCB products, the overall demand in the PCB market is showing an accelerated trend. Prismark expects the global output value of the PCB industry to grow by 6.8% for the whole year. With the rapid iteration of AI large models and smart hardware applications, the demand for computing power infrastructure has surged, driving significant growth in the demand for high-performance servers, GPUs, and advanced PCBs. AI-related fields are expected to become the core driving factor for future growth in the PCB market. According to Han's CNC's Hong Kong IPO materials and Prismark, the global PCB market size is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% from 2024 to 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.0% expected in the server/storage sector, and its share is expected to increase from 14.8% in 2024 to 18.3% in 2029.
PCB manufacturers are accelerating capital expenditure, focusing on AI-related capacity
With the improvement in PCB market demand, major PCB manufacturers are accelerating capacity expansion, especially in the investment in AI computing power and other mid-to-high-end markets.
<ol>
<li>
WUS announced in October 2024 the investment in a new project for the expansion of high-end printed circuit boards supporting artificial intelligence chips, with a total investment of approximately RMB 4.3 billion, planning an annual production of about 290,000 square meters of high-end printed circuit boards supporting artificial intelligence chips.
</li>
<li>
Shenghong Technology announced in July an increase of USD 250 million in its subsidiary in Thailand to build a factory and purchase equipment, responding to the urgent demand from core overseas customers for the company to expand overseas capacity.
</li>
<li>
Dongshan Precision announced in July the investment in the construction of a high-end printed circuit board project to meet the medium-to-long-term demand for high-end PCBs in emerging scenarios such as high-speed computing servers and artificial intelligence. The project investment amount is expected to be no more than USD 1 billion.
</li>
<li>
SYE announced in August the investment in a smart manufacturing project for high-multilayer computing power circuit boards, aiming to meet the demand in mid-to-high-end markets such as servers, high-multilayer network communication, and AI computing power, with a planned total investment of approximately RMB 1.9 billion and an annual production of 700,000 square meters of printed circuit boards. Previously, in December 2024, the company announced an investment of approximately RMB 1.4 billion to build a smart computing center for high-multilayer high-density interconnection circuit boards
The bank has selected eight companies as representatives: Pegatron Corporation, Dongshan Precision Manufacturing, Shenzhen South China Circuit, WUS, Shenghong Technology, SYE, Kinwong, and Chongda Technology. Their total capital expenditure in the first half of 2025 is expected to reach 12.468 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 80.2%.
</li>
</ol>
PCB-specific equipment benefits, high value in drilling, exposure, and testing
PCB manufacturers are actively expanding production, driving demand for specialized equipment. The main production processes for PCBs include exposure, lamination, drilling, electroplating, molding, and testing. According to Han's CNC's Hong Kong IPO materials, the global PCB-specific equipment market is expected to reach USD 7.085 billion in 2024, with drilling, exposure, testing, molding, electroplating, and lamination equipment accounting for USD 1.47 billion, USD 1.20 billion, USD 1.06 billion, USD 620 million, USD 510 million, and USD 420 million respectively, representing 20.7%, 17.0%, 15.0%, 8.7%, 7.2%, and 5.9%. It is expected that the global PCB-specific equipment market will reach USD 10.765 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% from 2024 to 2029

603228

301200

002463

688183

Cinda Securities released a research report indicating that the demand in the PCB industry is rapidly recovering, and it is expected that the global PCB output value will grow by 6.8% year-on-year to USD 73.6 billion in 2024, primarily driven by the development of AI. Manufacturers are accelerating capacity expansion, especially in AI computing power and high-end markets, leading to an increase in demand for specialized equipment such as drilling, exposure, and testing. From 2024 to 2029, the compound annual growth rate of the PCB market is expected to be 5.6%, with the growth rate in the server/storage sector reaching 10%

Cinda Securities: AI hardware demand is booming, focus on PCB specialized equipment