China Securities Co., Ltd. PCB Equipment 2027 Outlook: AI PCB Demand to Surge, High-End Upgrade Trend Clear; Equipment and Consumables Poised to Benefit Fully

China Securities Co., Ltd. released a research report stating that looking ahead to 2027, although the export chain faces factors such as continued RMB appreciation and the impact of U.S. dollar interest rate hikes on demand, and a short-term inflection point in domestic demand prosperity is difficult to see, the machinery industry still presents favorable investment directions. In terms of investment strategy: Sharpness of new technologies: new technology directions represented by physical AI, semiconductor equipment, glass substrate equipment, etc., still have great potential, with capacity expansion and new technological transformations continuing to bring incremental growth to the industry; Thickness of certainty: sub-sectors represented by shipbuilding and offshore engineering, rail transit, construction machinery, 3C equipment, etc., where the certainty of growth is particularly scarce at present, generally exhibiting characteristics of high prosperity and low valuation, and are expected to usher in value revaluation. China Securities Co., Ltd.'s main viewpoints are as follows: PCB Equipment: AI PCB demand expanding, high-end upgrade trend clear, opening new space for equipment and consumables AI server volume expansion is driving PCB into a structural high-endization cycle, with industry incremental growth moving further from "quantity" toward "quality." AI computing infrastructure construction is driving rapid upgrades in GPUs, high-speed switching, optical modules, and rack-level interconnect systems. PCB demand is no longer limited to traditional motherboards but is spreading to multiple types of functional boards including compute boards, switch boards, network boards, power supply boards, and liquid cooling control boards. According to TrendForce data, against the backdrop of rapid growth in AI inference demand, global AI Server shipments are expected to grow 28.3% year-on-year in 2026, significantly higher than the 12.8% shipment growth rate of the overall server industry, with structural incremental growth notable. AI server-related PCB layer counts have generally increased to 20-30 layers or higher, with higher requirements placed on impedance control, crosstalk suppression, etc. PCB product structure is migrating from mid-to-low-end general-purpose boards to high-multilayer, high-order HDI, and high-speed high-frequency boards. PCB high-endization is forcing full-process equipment upgrades, with equipment and consumables expected to benefit fully. In the drilling segment, mechanical drilling needs to adapt to high-multilayer boards, back drilling, and high-precision positioning requirements, with the value of CCD mechanical drilling machines increasing; laser drilling benefits from HDI microvia processing demand. In the exposure segment, LDI direct imaging is accelerating penetration higher resolution capability, alignment precision, and flexible production capacity, with demand for high-end LDI equipment rapidly expanding. In the electroplating segment, explosive demand for high-multilayer boards, high-order HDI, and packaging substrates is driving increased VCP equipment penetration, while mSAP process simultaneously drives volume growth of horizontal three-in-one and transfer VCP equipment, accelerating domestic substitution, with equipment value expected to increase. mSAP may become a certain incremental growth driver for PCB equipment, grasping the core incremental equipment from marginal technological changes. AI PCB wiring density is becoming increasingly high and circuits increasingly fine, requiring corresponding upgrades in circuit fabrication processes, with mSAP process being an important solution. Traditional subtractive etching has large side etching, making it difficult to achieve fine line widths; standard SAP is precise but costly. mSAP (modified semi-additive process) uses ultra-thin copper foil + pattern electroplating + flash etching to stably achieve line width/line spacing of 15-25m or even finer, striking a balance between precision and cost. 1.6T optical module substrate-like PCBs are rapidly expanding capacity, with the trend of mSAP process equipment demand expansion clear. For each segment including drilling, exposure, and electroplating, the value of high-end equipment is expected to increase significantly, with leading manufacturers expected to benefit. PCB drill bits are high-precision consumables in the mechanical drilling segment. PCB drill bits are mounted on drilling machines and directly contact PCB material, forming stable hole structures for through holes, microvias, back-drilled holes, and profiled holes. Since drill bits continuously wear during processing and are replaced periodically, their demand is closely related to PCB hole count, hole diameter, board thickness, material hardness, and single-bit lifespan. Increased drilling volume combined with declining drill bit lifespan jointly drives substantial growth in drill bit demand. Drill bit consumption can be approximately understood as "total drilling holes single drill bit lifespan." AI server PCB value is significantly higher than traditional general-purpose PCBs, with layer counts and wiring density greatly increased, and the total number of through holes and back-drilled holes per board markedly increasing; meanwhile, board thickness increases, and the industry generally adopts segmented drilling processes, transforming the traditional thin-board "one hole one bit" mode into "one hole multiple bits." On the other hand, the application of M8/M9 high-frequency high-speed base materials, combined with high-hardness quartz glass fiber fillers, results in stronger cutting wear, greatly reducing the number of holes processable by drill bits of the same specification and significantly lowering service life. Under the triple multiplier effect of increased total drilling per board, increased bits consumed per hole, and shortened processing lifespan per drill bit, AI server-matched drill bit demand is expected to achieve multiplier-level growth. AI computing PCB process upgrades continue to raise the proportion of high-end drill bits, with the industry ushering in a clear volume-and-price-rise trend. High-multilayer thick boards and ultra-microvia scenarios are generating substantial demand for drill bits with high aspect ratios, with processing precision and rod material grade requirements comprehensively elevated, and single-product premiums significant. Additionally, coated drill bits are gradually becoming an important direction in high-end PCB processing by reducing wear, extending lifespan, and improving processing stability. Along with downstream AI server shipment expansion, the procurement proportion of high-value-added drill bits with high aspect ratios and high-end coatings continues to rise, with the industry average selling price center steadily climbing, and PCB drill bits exhibiting a volume-and-price-rise trend. Computing demand is becoming the most important structural incremental growth driver for the PCB industry, driving AI-scenario PCBs to upgrade into platform-type products featuring high multilayer counts, high density, high speed, low loss, and high reliability. AI server architecture is shifting from CPU platforms to GPU/ASIC clusters, comprehensively elevating technical requirements for PCB in terms of usage volume, layer count, materials, hole structure, circuit precision, and reliability, driving rapid growth in demand for high-multilayer boards and high-order HDI; meanwhile, M7-M9 low-loss base materials are iterating, precision processes such as mSAP are accelerating introduction, and the industry's high-endization trend is clear, forcing full-process equipment upgrades, with PCB equipment and supporting consumables simultaneously ushering in development opportunities. Risk warnings 1) Macroeconomic fluctuation risk: If the domestic and international macroeconomic environment changes in the future and downstream industry investment slows, this may affect the development environment and market demand of the manufacturing industry, thereby bringing adverse effects on the operating performance and profitability of machinery industry companies. 2) Risk of significant impact of international trade environment on industry operations: In recent years, uncertainty in the international trade environment has increased, anti-globalization trade protectionism has further spread, some countries have adopted trade protection measures, and the development of some industries in China has been impacted to a certain extent. 3) Risk of industry capacity expansion falling short of expectations: If downstream industry capacity expansion falls short of expectations, demand for corresponding specialized equipment, etc., will decline, which will adversely affect orders, performance, etc., of companies in the industry.