MLCCs: interesting discussion by MS from yday, detailing the technical constraints (e.g., low voltage, "rapid current excursions") that are forcing accelerator boards to use higher capacitance MLCCs, dominated by TY $6976; Murata $6981; SEMCO. "...total installed capacitance per accelerator and per rack is growing faster than MLCC unit count.." Having hundreds of layers, these 47+ microfarad MLCCs suck up disproportionate share of prod capacity, inevitably leading to shortages of commodity MLCCs as well (benefiting Yageo $2327). MS raised Yageo 27-28 ests by 23-53% on 1 Jun, sees another 58% upside for stock. Sector has seen some profit-taking but my sense is estimates will continue to rise.

PASSIVES, MLCCs: NIKKO report today. +ve outlook on AI-driven demand cycle. Qualitatively different than the '17/'18 EV cycle or the '13-15 smartphone cycle. "Assuming the current upswing is driven by AI, then the tech upcycle this time is different to past ones that were driven by consumer demand. We think the current cycle is driven by government investment into AI given increased concern over national security. The number of end-products is smaller, but there are more electronic components per end-product, and these components are often high in margin. This means gains in unit prices will contribute more to profit growth than in past cycles, and demand from DCs has been strong enough to offset the slowdown in consumer demand. As a result, OPMs are approaching the peak levels recorded during the IT bubble period." ...However, if you are buying these names here, you probably take the view that consensus estimates are still underestimating the operating leverage in these businesses and we are likely to see big overshoots in the next 2 years.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced an MLCC supply agreement today, and what stands out is that it identified the counterparty only as a “large global company.” You know what that implies: MLCCs are now becoming subject to LTAs with Big Tech companies as well.

• Taiwan’s leading passive components company, Yageo, has implemented price increases across its full capacitor solutions portfolio, including MLCCs, aluminum, tantalum, polymer, film, and supercapacitors. This marks one of the broadest price hikes the company has carried out in recent years and takes effect immediately from July 1. • Manufacturing cost pressure has reached its limit due to geopolitical risks, strong energy prices, and rising costs for key raw materials. While Yageo had previously absorbed these costs through process efficiency improvements, external headwinds such as escalating tensions in the Middle East and rising international freight rates have made price adjustments unavoidable. • Given that capacitor products account for roughly 50% of Yageo’s revenue, this price increase is expected to directly support earnings improvement. In addition, demand for high-spec products continues to rise on the back of growth in AI servers, HPC, and electric vehicles, accelerating capacity consumption across the industry.

$INTC and $AMD to sign CPU LTAs with Chinese customers for AI DCs (Reuters). - Prices of some CPU products have risen more than 40% in China since the start of the year from sources. - Month-on-month increases topping 10% for some products CPUs were already a bottleneck, following CPU ratios due to AI inference... But the broader trend of LTAs seems to be appearing from: - Memory, with $MU, Samsung, $SNDK, and SK Hynix signing DRAM/NAND LTAs. - Photonics, with $LITE, $COHR signing EML LTAs. And recent Trendforce reports that $AMD and hyperscalers are now pursuing CW LTAs. And I'm sure there's many more from MLCCs to all the way to substrates. +1 for the bottleneck investors... hard to be a "bubble that pops" if you have take or pay demand spanning multiple years.

Some updates on bottleneck timelines: - ABF substrates: 1 year / eg. Ajinomoto (2802) for ABF film, Ibiden, Unimicron, Nan Ya PCB, etc make the substrates - HDI Boards: Over 6 months / Victory Giant (300476), Zhen Ding (4958), Unimicron, Compeq (2313), Meiko (6787) - Multilayer boards: ~6 months / Victory Giant, WUS (002463), $TTMI, Gold Circuit Electronics (2368), - CCL: Over 6 months (severe shortages of materials) / Elite Material (2383), Shengyi (600183), TUC (6274), ITEQ (6213), Nan Ya Plastics (1303), Resonac (4004) Mitsui Kinzoku (5706) / HVLP copper foil. Nittobo / glass fiber/cloth - MLCCs, chip resistors, tantalum capacitors, aluminum electrolytic capacitors: 15-20 weeks to 1 year+ MLCC: Murata (6981), Samsung Electro-Mechanics, TDK (6762), Taiyo Yuden (6976), Yageo (2327), Walsin (2492) Chip Resistors: Yageo, Walsin, KOA (6999), Rohm (6963) and $VSH Tantalum capacitors: Kyocera/AVX, Yageo/KEMET, $VSH again Aluminum electrolytic capacitors: Nippon Chemi-Con (6997) Nichicon (6996) | Timelines sourced from Digitimes, did the honors of adding in related companies. But it's slightly more nuanced since MLCCs and others mix. in commodity types vs. AI DCs. Regardless, just some helpful mapping.

Tech Monthly Wrap Up • Market : From “Sizzling” ➜ “Unwind” ➜ “Consolidation.” • After SOX and tech names corrected, valuations have reset with likely stabilized volatility, shifting the market from “unwind” to “consolidation.” • QTD, market is rotating out of 2Q outperformers (ie memory, MLCCs, PCB upstream). • Near-term events: TSMC & ASML earnings likely mild positive ones. Investors focus more on CSPs on AI/capex. • We continue to expect AI spending to accelerate. Top-5 CSP capex could reach ~$1.2T by 2027 (+43% YoY). Top-5 Neoclouds could double YoY in 2027 • Open-source models are gaining traction, but Third-party data still points to strong ARR by Anthropic suggesting sustained spending shares. • For price hike theme, we prefer CPU, ABF substrates, mature-node foundries, OSAT, and wafers, as market could focus on “rate”. #tech# #SOX# #AI#

AI Hardware Demand Growth and Representative US-Listed Companies June 2026 Executive Summary Nvidia’s transition to the Vera Rubin (VR200) platform marks a significant escalation in AI infrastructure complexity and cost. Our BOM teardown of the next-generation Rubin rack reveals a ~2x increase in total rack cost to approximately $7.8 million (vs. ~$4 million for GB300), driven not solely by the GPU/CPU but by sharp revaluations across the supply chain. Key highlights from downstream components include: • PCB content value +233% YoY, the largest increase. • MLCC +182%, reflecting higher density and count (e.g., ~600k MLCCs per VR200 NVL72 server, +30%+ vs. GB300). • ABF substrates +82%, power solutions +32%, and liquid cooling +12%. These upgrades align with broader AI scaling: 800G/1.6T optical transceivers ramping aggressively, glass-based technologies advancing for packaging and interconnects, and hyperscalers prioritizing performance, power efficiency, and thermal management. We expect sustained multi-year tailwinds for the AI hardware ecosystem into 2027+, with Rubin-driven demand accelerating in H2 2026. Investment Thesis: While Nvidia (NVDA) remains the core beneficiary, the supply chain offers diversified exposure. We favor companies with direct exposure to high-growth areas like advanced PCBs, high-speed optics, and glass substrates/optical interconnects. Risks include execution on new capacity, potential margin pressure from rapid scaling, and geopolitical supply chain factors. 1. PCB: Sharpest Value Uplift in Rubin BOM Morgan Stanley’s detailed analysis shows PCB content in the Rubin rack surging +233% versus GB300. This reflects needs for higher layer counts, advanced materials, better signal integrity, and larger formats to support increased power and interconnect density in AI servers. US Representative: TTM Technologies (TTMI) – Leading US PCB manufacturer with strong positioning in high-complexity boards for data center/AI applications. TTM has invested in capacity expansions (e.g., new facilities) to capture AI-driven demand for advanced HDI and high-layer PCBs. 2. MLCC: Density-Driven Surge Nvidia’s VR200 NVL72 platform requires ~600,000 MLCCs per server, over 30% more than GB300. Combined with the +182% value increase in the BOM, this underscores tightening supply for high-capacitance, high-reliability MLCCs in power delivery and decoupling for AI accelerators. Exposure Note: The MLCC market is dominated by Asian players (e.g., Murata, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Yageo). US-listed indirect exposure may come through broader electronics or power solution providers, but direct pure-play opportunities are limited. Watch for capacity utilization tightness benefiting the ecosystem. 3. Optical Communication: 800G/1.6T Ramp Accelerating Chinese leader Zhongji Innolight reported Q1 2026 net profit +262% YoY, driven by strong 800G/1.6T shipments, with expectations of significant full-year growth. This mirrors industry-wide momentum as AI clusters shift toward higher-speed optics for reduced latency and power in scale-out/scale-up networking. Nvidia’s investments in photonics and CPO further validate the trend. US Representatives: • Coherent (COHR) and Lumentum (LITE): Key players in optical components and transceivers; Nvidia has made substantial equity investments to secure capacity. • Corning (GLW): Major beneficiary via optical fiber, connectivity, and glass technologies (detailed below). 4. Micro-LED/Glass Substrates & Optical Interconnects: Strategic Partnerships Accelerating On May 20, 2026, BOE announced a cooperation MOU with Corning covering glass-based encapsulation carriers, foldable glass, perovskite substrates, and optical interconnect applications. This aligns with industry shifts toward glass cores for superior flatness, thermal stability, and integration in advanced packaging and photonics—critical for next-gen AI as organic substrates hit limits. US Representative: Corning (GLW) – Central to Nvidia’s optical strategy with multi-billion partnerships, new US optical factories, and expansion in fiber/photonics for AI data centers. Recent deals position GLW for 10x+ capacity growth in key areas. AI Hardware Demand Growth & US-Listed Representative Companies Table Component Demand Growth (vs. GB300) Key Drivers US-Listed Reps Investment Rationale PCB +233% value Higher layers, HDI, signal integrity TTM Technologies (TTMI) Direct AI server/backplane exposure; US capacity expansion MLCC +182% value; +30%+ count Power density in servers Limited direct (ecosystem via power suppliers) Supply tightness supports pricing/volume Optical Comm (800G/1.6T) Strong ramp (e.g., +262% profit ex.) Scale-out networking, CPO transition Coherent (COHR), Lumentum (LITE), Corning (GLW) Nvidia investments; transceiver/fiber boom Glass Substrates/Interconnects Emerging (MOU-driven) Packaging, photonics, thermal/optical Corning (GLW) Nvidia factory deals; US manufacturing tailwinds Power & Liquid Cooling +32% / +12% Higher TDP (e.g., 2300W GPUs) Indirect (ecosystem) Secondary but critical for rack deployment Source: Morgan Stanley BOM analysis, company reports, industry data. Growth metrics approximate from Rubin teardown. Outlook & Risks We project robust 2026-2027 growth in AI capex, with Rubin shipments catalyzing another leg-up in component demand. Optical and advanced substrate shifts could extend the cycle beyond traditional GPU focus. Hyperscalers’ vertical integration and US onshoring (e.g., Corning/Nvidia factories) add resilience. Key Risks: Cyclical capex pauses, yield/execution challenges on new tech (glass/CPO), commodity volatility in passives, and intense competition in Asia-heavy segments. Valuation multiples in the space have expanded; selectivity is key. Recommendation: Overweight select supply chain names with strong Nvidia alignment (e.g., TTMI for PCBs, COHR/LITE/GLW for optics/glass). Monitor Q2 2026 earnings for confirmation of Rubin ramp momentum.

As a earnings recap: $AMZN, $META, $GOOGL, and $MSFT guided a 2026 combined capex forecast to ~$720-$745 Billion. Up from $695-$725B Billion previously. Amazon: $220B Google: $195B-$205B Meta: $130B-$145B Microsoft: $175B We've already seen significant deleveraging and retail/institutional margin liquidations (maybe it continues for more time, who knows). But medium-long term, I'm not quite sure how anyone can be bearish the upstream semis or neoclouds. Given each hyperscaler has flagged either compute shortages, rising cloud demand + pricing power, or increased spending for chips/networking. My "bottleneck" thesis with many of these upstream semi supply chains is that when trillions in capital flows into things from InP substrates or memory (which were both treated as cheap commodities) or even energy. Lot of these current AI names that were treated as useless before in telecom cycles or even toilet sellers. Gets rerated when their inflection period hits and capex flows into their balance sheets. As seen with $NVDA GPUs past few years, memory this year, CPUs/MLCCs next few years, CPO in 2027, Glass Substrates in 2027, 800V in 2027, and so on.