PCB/CCL Update: Continued Trend of Divergent Earnings by AI/Non-AI Players

Research evidence excerpt

PCB/CCL Update: Continued Trend of Divergent Earnings by AI/Non-AI Players

China (PRC) | Technology EquityJulyResearch10, 2026

Chart 1 - 7628 and FR-4 Price TrendPCB/CCL Update: Continued Trend of

Divergent Earnings by AI/Non-AI Players 240

200 221

We expect AI PCB players to continue outperforming non-AI players, which 160

are facing surging materials costs (7628/FR-4 price already more than

100double since end-3Q25) and sluggish demand, while high-end materials' 120

80price hikes have been disciplined (+10-40% YTD on >=M4 CCL). Some

Sep-25 Dec-25 Mar-26 Jun-26

preliminary Q2 result supporting this trend is stronger profit growth by 7628 (Fiberglass Cloth) FR-4 (CCL)

Source: SCI99, Company data, Jefferies estimatesFounder/Delton. Price pass-through likely continues to be smooth for AI . Note: FR-4's price applies to Kingboard only instead of the

PCB despite potential further cost hikes. whole industry

Table 1 - China PCB Earnings Summary

Earnings performance gap likely to widen between AI/non-AI PCB players...While the (Condensed)

demand for high-end PCB driven by AI infrastructure buildout remains robust, we observe Company Mkt Cap (Rmbbn) Net1Q26Profit (YoY)2Q26

persistent pressures on conventional (i.e., non-AI) PCB makers from 1) surging cost for Founder 55 195% 260%

upstream materials due to capacity displacement (vendors keep switching their capacity to SYE 103 122%

Fastprint 70 100%

high-end products which generally consume more capacity, leading to supply shortage for Jove 31 89%

conventional materials); 2) sluggish end-market demand to constrain price pass-through. Shennan 290 73%

Delton 83 63% 108%

For example, 7628 series as a typical E-glass cloth has already seen ~1.2x price hike WUS 249 63%

since end-3Q25.