The computing power industry chain has experienced another surge as the "AI disruption theory" gains momentum, with key players in infrastructure seeing strong performance. On February 26, concepts such as PCBs, CPO, liquid cooling servers, and computing chips collectively strengthened. Companies like Shennan Circuits, Han's Laser, Guanghe Technology, and Chuanneng Co. hit the daily limit up, while Gaolan Co. surged by the 20% limit. Meanwhile, the STAR 50 Index initially fell over 1% during the session but gradually recovered in the afternoon, closing up 0.85%.
However, significant divergence has emerged within the computing power sector this year. Former leading optical module companies, such as Xinsheng and Zhongji Xuchuang, have declined by 10.44% and 6.19% year-to-date, respectively. In contrast, CPO-concept stock Tianfu Communication has surged 78.31%, while PCB-focused firms like Mingyang Circuit and Han's Laser have risen 91.29% and 69.26%, respectively.
Chip giant earnings have validated the expansion in computing power demand. On February 25 local time, NVIDIA released its Q4 FY2026 financial results, reporting revenue of $681.3 billion and earnings per share of $1.62, both exceeding Wall Street expectations. The company also provided stronger-than-expected guidance, projecting Q1 FY2027 revenue of $780 billion (±2%), though this forecast excludes data center revenue from China.
The better-than-expected earnings attracted widespread market attention. On February 26, the computing power industry chain—including PCBs, CPO, liquid cooling servers, and computing chips—collectively strengthened. Shennan Circuits, Hudian Co., Han's Laser, and Guanghe Technology hit the daily limit up, while Gaolan Co. surged by the 20% limit.
Heavily invested funds also saw gains. The Bosera 5G ETF rose 3.41% on the same day, while communication ETFs managed by Harvest, Yinhua, and GF Securities increased by over 2.5%. Funds with significant AI computing power holdings, such as GF Lixin A, Ping An Dingyue, and Debang New Industry, rose more than 5%.
Galaxy Fund Management noted that the overseas chipmaker's Q4 revenue beat expectations, and its guidance for the next quarter significantly exceeded market consensus, confirming the expansion in computing power demand. Combined with rising prices for optical fibers and cables since the beginning of the year, these factors have driven strong performance in the communications sector. Additionally, AI computing power demand is spreading across the entire semiconductor industry chain. Price increases, which began with memory chips, have extended to passive components like MLCCs. Driven by AI and automotive demand, along with rising raw material costs, multiple rounds of price hikes have occurred from the second half of 2025 to February 2026, with increases generally ranging from 5% to 30%, boosting the electronics sector.
ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management also highlighted that the chip giant's strong performance reflects the high growth momentum across the AI computing power industry chain. As AI large models continue to solidify their product capabilities, capital expenditure constraints related to computing power are being relaxed. The market interprets high AI capital spending as a positive signal for seizing AI opportunities. Currently, a virtuous cycle is forming between "computing power applications and infrastructure investment," and computing power investment is expected to remain robust over the next two years, benefiting related segments such as optical modules, PCBs, liquid cooling, and power supplies.
Notably, funds have recently intensified research on computing power concept stocks, showing heightened interest in data centers, PCBs, and optical switches. For example, on February 25, funds including Fullgoal Fund, UBS Fund, and Tianhong Fund conducted research on Shunhao Co., focusing on the company's layout in space-based computing power during the Q&A session. Shunhao Co. stated that its 27.8174%-owned subsidiary, Orbit Chenguang, is actively responding to the "Computing Power Star Network" initiative led by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The construction of space data centers is planned for 2025–2027, aiming to overcome key technologies such as energy and heat dissipation, develop experimental satellites, and build the first-phase computing power constellation.
In another instance, Han's Laser recently attracted participation from major asset managers, including E Fund, Southern Fund, Huatai-PineBridge, and GF Fund, in its institutional research. The company's controlling subsidiary, Han's CNC, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main Board on February 6, achieving a dual A+H capital platform layout. The company indicated that terminal demand for AI computing power data center servers, switches, and high-speed optical modules remains strong, and the PCB industry is entering a new golden development period. Industry research firm Prismark estimates that PCB industry revenue and output will grow by 15.4% and 9.1% in 2025, respectively, with high-multilayer boards and HDI boards related to AI servers and switches showing the strongest growth. The compound annual growth rate for capacity from 2024 to 2029 is projected at 22.1% and 17.7%, respectively.
Additionally, asset managers such as Huashang Fund,浦银安盛 Fund, Xingquan Fund, and Fullgoal Fund participated in research on Tengjing Technology, focusing on the progress of its OCS all-optical switch business. The company stated that, based on technical solutions from major domestic and international OCS equipment manufacturers, it can provide multiple precision optical components, including two-dimensional collimator arrays and large-size pure YVO4 crystals. Large-size pure YVO4 crystals and two-dimensional collimator arrays have already secured significant customer orders.
PCBs and CPO have become focal points. However, significant divergence has emerged within the computing power sector this year. While leading optical module companies Xinsheng and Zhongji Xuchuang have declined by 10.44% and 6.19%, respectively, Tianfu Communication, which holds advantages in CPO and 1.6T optical engines, has surged 78.31%. Moreover, compared to last year's optical module-driven computing power trend, the PCB segment has gained increasing market attention this year, with Mingyang Circuit and Han's Laser rising 91.29% and 69.26% since the beginning of the year.
ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management believes that as large models evolve from quantitative to qualitative improvements and multimodal models mature, the massive consumption of tokens further demonstrates the authenticity of AI demand. AI computing power has garnered broader consensus, and within ongoing computing power investments, AI hardware remains the most critical direction, with optical modules and PCBs representing substantial market scales.
Regarding optical modules, the firm notes that as AI training and inference network bandwidth demands grow rapidly, market expectations for 1.6T optical module demand in 2026 are being revised upward. Additionally, optical module customers exhibit high loyalty, and the market structure is relatively controllable. With 2026–2027 expected to be peak delivery years, leading manufacturers are likely to benefit from economies of scale and supply chain advantages, potentially increasing their market share.
For PCBs, as the AI trend continues, the value of PCBs in servers and switches has risen significantly, and their share in AI capital expenditure is still increasing. The firm suggests that although there are many suppliers, once a product is designated, changes in primary suppliers are rare, and new entrants often require time to ramp up production. Currently, net profit margins for AI-PCB products have improved notably, and industry ROE is entering an upward cycle alongside rising net margins. The sector is expected to maintain a tight supply-demand balance through 2026–2027.
Some fund managers also pointed out that NVIDIA's GTC 2026 conference, scheduled to open on March 15, may focus on the company shifting its chip emphasis toward the next-generation Feynman under the Rubin architecture. The core technological breakthrough of the Feynman architecture lies in its use of 3D stacking, integrating LPU chips optimized for inference tasks directly onto GPU computing cores. The new LPU chips primarily adopt high-multilayer solutions, with single-chip PCB values potentially reaching $300–500, which could further expand the PCB market space and enhance the value of related segments.
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