PCB Industry K-Shaped Divergence in 2026: High-End Computing Power PCB Boom and Low-End Overcapacity

In 2026, the printed circuit board industry is presenting a clearly distinct picture. This is not a general rise, but a dramatic K-shaped divergence. From upstream copper-clad laminate and production equipment in the industry chain, to midstream high-order PCB manufacturing, and then to downstream computing power, automotive, and other application terminals, prosperity across the entire chain shows obvious differentiation. Scarcity of high-end capacity and overcapacity of low-end capacity have become the most distinctive features of the current industry. High-end PCB orders in the AI computing power and automotive electronics tracks are full, and capacity is fully saturated. In contrast, low-end PCB in the traditional consumer electronics field is deeply mired in overcapacity and intensified price competition.

I. High-End Computing Power PCB: Orders Scheduled to 2027, Capacity Utilization Reaches Historical Peak

The explosive growth of AI computing power demand is the core engine driving the surge in high-end PCB demand. IDC predicts that global AI server shipments are expected to exceed 2 million units in 2026, driving high-end PCB demand growth of more than 110 percent. The PCB value of a single AI server is nearly 10 times that of an ordinary server. According to statistics from Soochow Securities, the global AI server PCB market size will increase from 3 billion US dollars in 2024 to more than 20 billion US dollars in 2027, corresponding to year-on-year growth rates of more than 100 percent and 70 percent in 2026 and 2027 respectively.

Order-level data is more intuitive. Recent industry chain surveys show that high-end PCB orders for AI servers and 800G and 1.6T optical modules from leading manufacturers have been scheduled to the fourth quarter of 2026. Some core customers, in order to ensure supply chain security, even require locking capacity for the next 6 to 12 months. Leading manufacturers such as Shennan Circuits, Wus Printed Circuit, and Victory Giant Technology have high-end production lines at 100 percent full capacity, with orders scheduled to the end of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027. Delivery times for some customized boards above 70 layers have been extended to 18 to 20 weeks. Global effective capacity can only meet 75 to 80 percent of demand.

Price levels also show obvious upward momentum. Since the second quarter of 2026, the month-on-month price increase for high-end PCB has expanded to 10 to 20 percent. Shennan Circuits stated in a recent institutional survey that the company’s comprehensive capacity utilization rate is at a high level. Its PCB business benefits from the growth in demand for AI computing power infrastructure hardware-related products, and factory capacity utilization remains high. Victory Giant Technology also stated that the company currently has full orders on hand, and the capacity utilization rate of its Huizhou factory remains at a relatively high level. At present, the capacity utilization rates of several core domestic AI PCB suppliers have reached historical peaks.

II. Automotive Electronics PCB: The Second Growth Curve, Long-Term Agreements Lock Capacity

If AI computing power is the first growth pole of the PCB industry, automotive electronics constitutes a steady second growth curve. In 2026, China’s automotive PCB market is expected to reach 145.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. The PCB value per new energy vehicle reaches 3,000 to 5,000 yuan, three times that of traditional fuel vehicles, and high-level intelligent driving models can exceed 6,000 yuan.

At the technical specification level, core components such as 800V high-voltage platforms, domain controllers, and millimeter-wave radar place higher requirements on PCB, including high-frequency and high-speed, thick copper of 2 to 10 ounces, and rigid-flex. Leading manufacturers have obtained long-term agreement orders from Tesla, BYD, and new force automakers, with capacity lock-in rates above 80 percent. Shiyun Circuit, as Tesla’s largest global PCB supplier, has a procurement share of more than 40 percent. In 2025, its automotive electronics business revenue exceeded 3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.8 percent. Wus Printed Circuit’s high-order HDI orders for Tesla FSD domain controllers reached 500 to 600 million yuan.

The automotive-grade IATF16949 certification cycle is long, and new entrants find it difficult to enter the supply chains of leading automakers in the short term. This further strengthens the competitive barriers of industry leaders.

III. Low-End Consumer PCB: Overcapacity, Intensified Price Wars, and Profit Pressure

In sharp contrast to the hot high-end track, the low-end consumer electronics PCB market is facing the dilemma of relative overcapacity. Because of low technical thresholds and fierce homogeneous competition, a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling to survive in this red ocean market.

The divergence in capacity utilization data is shocking. The capacity utilization rate of low-end and mid-range PCB is only 60 to 70 percent, while the capacity utilization rate of high-end AI high-multilayer boards, IC substrates, and automotive PCB has long remained above 90 percent. According to TrendForce forecasts, the PCB industry will officially enter the stage of technology content driving value in 2026. Low-end and mid-range capacity with low technical barriers and serious homogenization will most likely face overcapacity risks later.

The gap in profitability is even more disparate. High-frequency and high-speed boards for AI servers, backplanes above 20 layers, FCBGA packaging substrates, and high-power PCB for new energy vehicles generally maintain gross margins above 30 percent. In contrast, ordinary PCB for traditional consumer electronics has long hovered around 15 percent gross margin. In the second quarter of 2026, the average gross margin of domestic high-end PCB enterprises increased by 4 to 6 percentage points year-on-year, forming a sharp contrast with low-end PCB manufacturers that continue to lose money. Bomin Electronics faces the dilemma of profit growth far lower than revenue growth, and Tianjin Pulin’s net profit attributable to the parent company fell by more than 30 percent year-on-year.

Attracted by the high premium of high-end orders, leading manufacturers have prioritized high-end orders and compressed low-end and mid-range consumer electronics PCB capacity. This further intensifies the supply and demand mismatch in the low-end and mid-range market, forming an industry pattern of high-end shortage and price increases, and low-end passive price following.

IV. Capital Flow and Industry Pattern Reshaping

The most intuitive manifestation of K-shaped divergence lies in the divergence of capital expenditure flows. According to incomplete statistics, as of March 2026, the total amount of new high-end capacity investment plans announced by leading domestic PCB enterprises has exceeded 40 billion yuan. By May 2026, the total investment plans announced by only three leading enterprises, Victory Giant Technology, Wus Printed Circuit, and Zhen Ding Technology, had exceeded 40 billion yuan.

The direction of expansion is highly focused on AI servers, high-frequency and high-speed, packaging substrates, and high-end automotive PCB. Low-end capacity expansion has almost completely stalled. Victory Giant Technology launched the largest expansion plan in the industry, with a total investment in 2026 not exceeding 20 billion yuan, of which about 74 percent of funds, about 14.8 billion yuan, will be precisely invested in capacity expansion and high-end production line upgrades. Wus Printed Circuit has successively launched large investment plans. Its wholly-owned subsidiary plans to invest 5.5 billion yuan to build a high-layer, high-frequency and high-speed, high-density interconnect PCB production project, and added 3.3 billion yuan in investment in February 2026. Zhen Ding Technology plans to invest 11 billion yuan to build a high-end PCB base, focusing on three major fields: high-order HDI, SLP, and automotive PCB. Shennan Circuits plans to raise no more than 4.882 billion yuan for AI computing power electronic circuit product projects.

At the same time, the large-scale construction of high-end capacity is accelerating the clearing of low-end capacity. In the future, the PCB industry will comprehensively transform from scale competition to technology competition. Enterprises will no longer pursue large and comprehensive capacity layouts, but focus on high-end technology tracks such as high-multilayer boards, high-frequency and high-speed, IC substrates, and high-order HDI.

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