According to Huafu Securities' research report, the PCB industry is expected to experience an overall supply-demand tight balance from 2025 to 2026, with structural shortages being particularly pronounced. On one hand, new global high-end PCB capacity additions are failing to keep pace with the demands from AI and high-frequency, high-speed markets. Mainstream PCB companies face capacity constraints due to natural expansion cycles, overseas labor shortages, and infrastructure bottlenecks, leading to limited short-term capacity releases. This lag in supply availability is creating a significant supply-demand gap, forcing incremental demand to seek capacity through a more diversified supply chain. The core investment theme centers on high-end PCB and material leaders: focus on leading PCB companies with high value content, advanced progress in AI-related business, and aggressive capacity expansion plans. Investors should capitalize on the benefits of supply shortages and material price increases: by 2026, both industry-wide capacity and materials are projected to be in a tight supply situation, which is expected to drive continued price increases for related companies' products and enhance their profitability. Huafu Securities' main views are as follows:

The smartphone industry is forecasted for a moderate recovery in 2026, with structural innovations expected to generate incremental demand. As of Q3 2025, Samsung's global smartphone shipments reached 60.6 million units in Q1-Q3 2025, capturing a 19% market share and maintaining its global leadership position. Apple's Q3 2025 shipments were 56.5 million units, a 4% year-on-year increase, securing the second position in market share; followed by Xiaomi, Transsion, and Vivo. Citing an IDC report, global smartphone shipments are projected to reach 1.24 billion units in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.5% from 2024 to 2029, indicating a trend of mild growth. Looking ahead to 2026, the firm remains optimistic about the innovative demand driven by structured upgrades in smartphones, including the increasing penetration of periscope lenses becoming standard in high-end Android and Apple devices.

The edge-side SoC industry will fully enter a new "ALL IN AI" phase in 2026. The NPU's core architectural status will be firmly established, driving a redesign of logic frameworks, while in-memory computing architectures become key to deploying large models at the edge. The industry's core evolution will focus on the deep physical-level integration of ISP and NPU, realizing a new paradigm of "sensing as inference." In related sectors, AI glasses are evolving towards becoming "first-person perspective computing centers," with dual-chip architectures becoming mainstream in mid-to-high-end segments. The robotics sector, driven by embodied intelligence, is shifting towards edge-side self-supervised learning. Integrated "One-Chip" solutions for smart cockpits and driving are accelerating their adoption. Domestic manufacturers, leveraging technological breakthroughs and localization advantages, are expected to increase their market share and reshape the competitive landscape. Recommended companies to watch include: Rockchip, Allwinner Technology, Telink Semiconductor, Bestechnic, Allwinner Technology, Espressif Systems, Bluegiga Tech, Actions Semiconductor, ASR Microelectronics, BIWIN Storage, and GigaDevice.

The semiconductor sector emphasizes both advanced and mature process nodes, with semiconductor equipment coverage expanding through internal growth and mergers & acquisitions. As demand for domestic computing power continues to rise, so does the need for advanced process capacity. The advanced process manufacturing capacity of companies like SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and ChangXin Memory Technologies is expected to increase steadily. Mature process technologies showcase distinct strengths across different manufacturers, revealing investment opportunities in specialized processes. Companies such as Silan Integration, Jinghe Integrated Circuit, and Sai Microelectronics demonstrate significant advantages in their respective niche areas. Internal growth and external M&A activities are enhancing the coverage of semiconductor equipment. The semiconductor manufacturing process is lengthy and involves numerous steps and a wide variety of equipment types. Semiconductor equipment suppliers typically broaden their product portfolios for similar equipment types through internal development. Concurrently, they expand into other equipment categories via acquisitions; for instance, NAURA Technology Group recently added coater/developer equipment through its acquisition of Kingsemi, and acquired Chengdu Guotai Vacuum to strengthen its position in high-end optical coating equipment. AMEC plans to acquire Hangzhou Zhonggui to enter the CMP market, further advancing its strategy towards becoming a "conglomerate" and "platform." Recommended companies to watch include: NAURA Technology Group, AMEC, Piotech, Kingsemi, and Jinhaitong.

2026 is poised to be a year of significant volume growth for domestic computing power, an upward cycle for memory, and a recovery for analog chips. The domestic computing power industry chain began to mature in 2025, and 2026 may see a substantial volume increase for domestic computing chips (the anticipated entry of H200 into the domestic market in 2026 could influence this development). Investment opportunities in 2026 are recommended in domestic AI computing chips from companies like Cambricon, Hygon Information, Moore Threads, and MetaX. The global memory chip market entered an upcycle in the first half of 2025, with prices continuing to climb. Micron's CEO has hinted that this "memory chip supercycle" could last until 2027, further indicating surging demand driven by the global AI deployment boom and long-term supply constraints. It is advisable to monitor companies involved in the HBM supply chain (such as Yoke Technology, Huahai Chengke, Anji Technology,联瑞新材, Huahai Qingke, Piotech, Changchuan Technology,精智达, Mayer Holdings, Kingsemi, etc.), module manufacturers (like德明利, Jiangbolong, BIWIN Storage,香农芯创, etc.), and technology chain participants (including GigaDevice, Ingenic Semiconductor,澜起科技,恒烁股份, and东芯股份). Analog chips are currently at a cyclical low, but a recovery may accelerate. Targeting emerging applications such as artificial intelligence, automotive electrification, advancements in communication technology, and upgrades in photovoltaic technology, domestic manufacturers are developing across multiple dimensions—including product performance, process synergy, design methodology, and packaging—gradually penetrating higher-end segments. In cloud AI deployments, computing infrastructure like AI servers and AI data centers (AIDC) face severe energy consumption challenges, driving increased demand and performance requirements for analog ICs such as power management chips. Recommended companies to watch in this space include SG Micro,纳芯微, 3Peak, Aiwin Electronics, Southchip Semiconductor, and Joulwatt.

Risk warnings include macroeconomic volatility, rising labor costs, intensifying competition, and geopolitical risks.