Guojin Securities: AI copper-clad plates/PCBs have excellent results in the third quarter and are expected to continue in Q4

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Guojin Securities released a research report stating that it is recommended to focus on the three main lines of AI computing power hardware, autonomous control of semiconductors, and end-side AI innovation. In terms of AI computing power, as next-generation GPUs and ASICs from North American cloud vendors continue to grow rapidly, demand for AI servers, high-speed switches, etc. is expected to grow rapidly. In terms of semiconductors, domestic advanced logic and storage production lines continue to expand, domestic substitution of equipment, components and materials continues to advance, while upward storage cycles and the volume of domestic AI computing power chips drive profit improvement in the design sector. On the AI side, it is recommended to focus on core companies in the autonomous and controllable industry chain; on the AI side, focus on Apple's new product cycle, AI smart glasses, and AIPC and AIPC New demands from other AIoT hardware innovations.

Guojin Securities's main views are as follows:

The electronics industry maintained relatively rapid growth in the first three quarters, and profit flexibility in Q3 was further unleashed

The electronics industry achieved revenue of 4270.089 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, an increase of 37.25%, and net profit to mother of 411.672 billion yuan, an increase of 88.00%. Among them, 2026Q3 achieved revenue of 1820.367 billion yuan, about +46.7% year on year and +33.56% month on month; net profit to mother was 237.91 billion yuan, about +80.5% year on year, and +111.86% month on month. Demand for AI cloud computing power infrastructure continued to grow in the first three quarters, and domestic semiconductor autonomy and control accelerated, compounding the demand improvements brought about by end-side AI and the new consumer electronics product cycle, driving sector revenue and profits to maintain relatively rapid growth. The gross margin of the electronics industry in the first three quarters of 2026 was 21.9%, net margin was 11.2%; 26Q3 gross margin was 22.6%, and net margin was 11.8%.

Demand for AI computing power continues to be high, and AI copper-clad boards/PCBs performed well in the third quarter

The PCB industry achieved revenue of 332,460 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, an increase of 45.09%, and net profit to mother of 45.832 billion yuan, an increase of 108.42%. In 2026Q3, revenue was 146.339 billion yuan, up 85.40% and 41.27%; net profit to mother was 24.094 billion yuan, up 196.00%, and 75.56%. Driven by the continued growth in demand for AI servers, switches and high-speed connectivity, demand for high-multi-layer boards, high-grade HDI and low-loss materials is rapidly increasing, and the amount of PCBs used and value in single cabinets continues to increase, and high-end production capacity of leading manufacturers maintains high operating rates.

storage

The cycle continued to rise, with significant improvements in revenue and profit. The storage industry achieved revenue of 490.152 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, an increase of 393.40% over the same period, and net profit to mother of 183,518 billion yuan, which significantly reversed losses compared with a loss of 1,489 billion yuan in the same period last year. Among them, 2026Q3 achieved revenue of 208.163 billion yuan, an increase of 398.25%, and a year-on-year increase of 17.27%; net profit to mother was 69.658 billion yuan, which significantly reversed losses over the previous year. The expansion of AI computing power clusters continues to drive demand for high-end storage such as HBM and enterprise-grade SSDs. Original storage manufacturers continue to lean production capacity towards high value-added products such as HBM. The supply of traditional DRAM and NAND remains tight, and storage prices remain high.

semiconductor equipment

Domestic substitution continues to advance, and profits have maintained a relatively rapid growth rate. The semiconductor equipment industry achieved revenue of 88.063 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, an increase of 24.62% over the same period, and net profit to mother of 19.131 billion yuan, an increase of 63.57%. In 2026Q3, we achieved revenue of 32.69 billion yuan, about +21.8% year on year and +9.42% month on month; net profit to mother was 7.467 billion yuan, about +52.0% year on year, and +3.44% month on month. Domestic fabrics' capital expenditure remains high, advanced logic and storage production line expansion continues to advance, equipment value increases due to upgrades in stacking technology, and domestic equipment manufacturers continue to benefit from the expansion of production capacity and the increase in localization rates.

semiconductor design

AI computing power resonates with storage cycles, and profit flexibility continues to be unleashed. The semiconductor design sector achieved revenue of 129.443 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, an increase of 41.58%, and net profit to mother of 31,714 billion yuan, an increase of 129.73%. Among them, 2026Q3 achieved revenue of 49.720 billion yuan, an increase of 49.35%, an increase of 10.02%; net profit to mother of 12.492 billion yuan, an increase of 140.73%. Increased demand for AI computing power is driving the continuous release of high-performance computing chips and supporting chips, and rising storage prices are driving profits for related design companies; end-side AI hardware upgrades continue to drive demand for high-performance SoCs, high-capacity storage, and CIS chips.

consumer electronics

End-side AI continues to penetrate, and the new product cycle supports demand. The consumer electronics industry achieved revenue of 1974.935 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, an increase of 33.98%, and net profit to mother of 82.353 billion yuan, an increase of 36.77%. Among them, 2026Q3 achieved revenue of 790.432 billion yuan, an increase of 33.06%, and net profit to mother of 32.573 billion yuan, an increase of 18.19%. End-side AI continues to drive software and hardware upgrades for smartphones, AIPC, and wearable devices; some leading consumer electronics companies are accelerating their expansion into emerging fields such as AI servers, liquid cooling and cooling, high-speed connectivity, and precision structural components, and the original precision manufacturing and supply chain capabilities are gradually being reused in computing power hardware.

Risk Alerts

Risk of terminal demand falling short of expectations; risk of AI technology iteration and commercialization falling short of expectations; risk of further escalation of external sanctions; risk of rising upstream raw material prices and lower cost transmission than expected.