The combination of implemented price hike notices and the sustained surge in AI computing power demand has emerged as the primary catalyst driving the latest rally in the copper clad laminate (CCL) sector.
Wind data reveals that as of the close on September 15, the CCL index stood at 15,941.94 points, up 2.31% for the day with a trading turnover of 53.946 billion yuan. Over the recent five trading sessions, the index has accumulated a gain of 13.41%, signaling a marked resurgence in sector momentum.
The ongoing price increases remain the core driver behind the sector's upward trajectory. On August 28, industry leader Kingboard Laminates issued its seventh price adjustment notice of the year to customers, announcing a uniform 10% price hike on all FR-4 CCL products regardless of thickness, along with differentiated adjustments for PP semi-cured films — a 10% increase for thicker fabrics (7628 and above) and a 20% increase for thinner fabrics (below 7628). Since March, the company has maintained a near-monthly cadence of price increases, with the cumulative compounded gain for FR-4 CCL products above 1.3mm thickness already surpassing 100% this year.
In its latest research report, China Merchants Securities noted that the current CCL price rally has been running for four to five quarters, with price pass-through to printed circuit boards (PCB) now fully established. Based on industry chain surveys, the brokerage forecasts that the monthly CCL price increases will conservatively persist until June 2027, with an optimistic scenario extending through the end of 2027. The fundamental distinction between this cycle and historical ones lies in the hard constraints on the supply side, meaning the primary driver of price increases is supply rather than demand.
Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Suboan Bank, told reporters that the core driver of this round of price increases is the resonance between supply-side hard constraints and genuine demand upgrades, with the supply-side logic being more critical. The shortage of key upstream materials means that effective CCL production capacity cannot be rapidly expanded, making price increase expectations easy to form. However, without downstream order support, price hikes would remain short-term sentiment that cannot be sustained. Conversely, if there were only orders without supply bottlenecks, manufacturers' capacity expansion would quickly suppress prices, and profits would struggle to remain in the midstream. The uniqueness of this cycle lies in the fact that AI computing power is driving the upgrade of CCL toward high-speed and high-frequency specifications, with lengthy certification cycles, slow yield ramp-up, and constraints on core materials and equipment, making high-end supply rigidity far stronger than in typical cycles. Meanwhile, downstream PCB and server production schedules have genuinely improved, with inventory-building demand providing support. Essentially, this is a case of "real order pull under supply-side hard constraints," where price increase expectations are the result and amplifier, not the sole driver. To assess sustainability, the key is whether orders can absorb the price increases and whether supply bottlenecks will ease.
Capital flows are also exhibiting clear differentiation. Wind data shows that as of the close on September 15, Huazheng New Materials led with net main capital inflows of 1.402 billion yuan, followed by Goworld Electronics with 936 million yuan and Shengyi Technology with 463 million yuan. Meanwhile, Jinan Guojie saw main capital outflows of 322 million yuan on the day. Over the past month, Goworld Electronics led gains with 56.21%, while Huazheng New Materials and Jinan Guojie rose 50.15% and 23.90% respectively. Notably, industry leader Shengyi Technology gained only 4.92% over the past month, significantly lagging the more flexible targets. Capital is clearly concentrating toward targets with "high elasticity and high-end positioning," with divergent fund preferences emerging between upstream material suppliers and midstream board manufacturers.
Robust earnings growth further validates the sector's prosperity logic. Based on the 2026 semi-annual reports, the CCL sector continued its strong performance trajectory. Shengyi Technology achieved first-half operating revenue of 19.026 billion yuan, up 50.05% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching 3.287 billion yuan, a surge of 130.42%. In the second quarter alone, the company posted quarterly revenue of 10.884 billion yuan and attributable net profit of 2.129 billion yuan, with a single-quarter gross margin of 32.63%. Nanya New Material Technology recorded first-half revenue of 4.224 billion yuan, up 83.23% year-on-year, with attributable net profit of 461 million yuan, soaring 428.80%. Huazheng New Materials reported first-half revenue of 2.960 billion yuan, up 41.28%, with attributable net profit of 173 million yuan, jumping 305.28%. Jinan Guojie achieved first-half revenue of 3.399 billion yuan, up 65.74%, with attributable net profit of 766 million yuan, skyrocketing 986.66%. Overall, AI computing demand is driving both volume and price increases for high-speed CCL products, fully releasing the sector's earnings elasticity.
In terms of institutional ratings, Wind data shows that Shengyi Technology has received 12 buy ratings, Shennan Circuits has secured 11 buy ratings, and Nanya New Material Technology has garnered 5 buy ratings.
Looking ahead, Liu Youhua, research director at Paipaiwang Wealth, stated that two key areas warrant close attention: first, the pace of AI server capital expenditure and downstream order fulfillment; and second, the pace of supply release for upstream core materials.