AI server upgrade wave accelerates, HSBC optimistic about a new round of price increases for PCB/CCL!

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As the wave of upgrades in artificial intelligence servers accelerates, their core components—printed circuit boards (PCB) and copper-clad laminates (CCL)—are undergoing profound technological and specification upgrades.

HSBC's report on the 6th states that this trend will not only greatly increase the shipment volume and average selling price of related products but is also likely to usher in a new price hike cycle driven by high-end demand and cost transmission.

The report states that NVIDIA's next-generation Rubin platform will be the key catalyst igniting this round of upgrades. The new platform's higher data transmission rate requirements will drive the industry towards more expensive and complex M9-grade CCL materials and higher-layer PCB boards, thereby significantly increasing the value content of PCB/CCL in server cabinets.

Meanwhile, the accelerated investment in self-developed AI chips (ASIC) by cloud service giants such as Google and AWS is injecting strong momentum into the high-end PCB market. HSBC says with these two major sources of demand, combined with rising costs of raw materials such as copper and fiberglass, CCL manufacturers now have the ability to pass costs on to customers, and the price hike trend is beginning to emerge.

Driven by AI chip upgrades, PCB/CCL see simultaneous growth in volume and price

HSBC's report analyzes that this round of PCB/CCL industry growth is mainly driven by two engines: NVIDIA's new platform and the ASIC chips of major cloud service providers (CSPs).

Firstly, NVIDIA's Rubin platform, expected to go into mass production in the second half of 2026, will trigger a leap in PCB/CCL value on three levels. First, new structures will be introduced, such as the CPX chip for handling long-text AI inference “prefill” stages and backplanes for cable-free high-speed interconnects, directly increasing the number of PCB boards used. Second, material specifications will fully upgrade to M9-grade CCL, which uses HVLP4 copper foil and special fiberglass and has a higher cost. HSBC estimates that the price of M9-grade CCL is about 2.5 times that of M8. Third, the PCB layer count and size will increase significantly to support more complex circuit systems.

Secondly, the ASIC market is rapidly becoming another key catalyst. According to TrendForce data, the eight major cloud service providers are expected to have a total capital expenditure exceeding $420 billion in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 61%. These giants are accelerating the iteration of self-developed chips, such as Google's TPU v8 series and AWS's Trainium 3, which will drive mainstream ASIC server PCB layers from the current 24 to more than 30 in the next one to two years, bringing considerable incremental demand to the supply chain.

According to Wallstreetcn's previous article, Citi believes that, benefiting from the trend of wireless rack design and CoWoP technology, the AI-PCB super cycle is accelerating, and supply shortages are expected to continue after 2026.

Smooth cost transmission, CCL price hike cycle begins

While demand-side specifications are upgrading, CCL industry pricing is also becoming increasingly favorable. HSBC states that, due to tight capacity for high-frequency, high-speed CCL, and manufacturers allocating more resources to high-end products, supply for mid-to-low-end CCL is also tightening.

Rising raw material costs provide a foundation for price transmission. HSBC's CCL cost index shows that, in the past six months, driven by copper and fiberglass prices rising by 27% and 72% respectively, the weighted average CCL cost index has increased by 40%. Due to the relatively concentrated structure of the CCL industry, especially in the high-end market where prices are less sensitive, manufacturers can usually pass cost increases on to downstream PCB customers.

The report states that Shengyi Technology, as the main supplier of M8-grade CCL for NVIDIA GB200/GB300 platforms, is expected to maintain its leading position in Rubin platform's M9-grade CCL supply. Its subsidiary, Shengyi Electronics, is a core PCB supplier to top clients such as AWS and Huawei and is benefiting from the surge in AI data center orders.

Meanwhile, Shennan Circuits has become a core supplier of high value-added AI PCB, such as AI accelerator cards, optical module PCBs, and switch PCBs, to clients including Huawei and Google. Also, the upswing in global storage chips is favorable for its IC substrate business.

HSBC believes that Han’s Laser’s M9-grade CCL material, due to its higher hardness, poses stricter requirements on drilling equipment, making equipment costs rise significantly. As downstream PCB manufacturers expand production, demand for high-end drilling equipment surges. Han’s Laser subsidiary has planned to increase equipment production capacity to meet strong demand. Additionally, strong shipment expectations for the iPhone 17 series will also boost its consumer electronics equipment business.

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