02 024110 Korea Circuit Co., Ltd. Loading... : Bullish and Bearish Analyst Opinions

The AI substrate sector is in a golden age. Large-cap substrate stocks (Samsung Electro-Mechanics, LG Innotek) had a volume spike today, indicating some holders are taking profits and the near-term outlook is uncertain. In contrast, Kosdaq-listed substrate stocks (Korea Circuit, Daeduck Electronics, Isu Petasys) are rising on lower volume, suggesting holders are not selling and there is room for further upside. Therefore, Kosdaq substrate stocks are more attractive for continued investment.

As the AI agent era drives increasing demand for CPUs, the substrates and foundry technology for CPUs must become more advanced. Korean companies such as Simmtech (substrate) and Korea Circuit (substrate) are direct beneficiaries of this trend, often showing stronger upward momentum than Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix during CPU-focused market phases.

Substrate (기판) suppliers are in a powerful upcycle: capacity is constrained, demand is surging due to larger and multi-layer substrates for AI chips, and raw material costs are rising, pushing average selling prices up more than 20% in Q1. The trend is expected to continue into the second half. Leading companies include Simmtech, TLB, Korea Circuit, Daeduck Electronics, and ISU Petasys.

The AI investment theme is shifting from memory (DRAM, HBM) to CPU-side components. Broadcom's Vela chip is driving huge revenue, and the CPU ecosystem (LPDDR, substrates, OSAT, MLCC) is the next area of growth. Investors should focus on CPU-related stocks as the new leaders in the semiconductor supply chain.

NVIDIA’s Vera CPU volume is increasing threefold, which will boost demand for AI substrate stocks such as Simtek and TLB.

Nvidia's Vera and Grace GPU architectures require significantly more CPU substrates, with volume expected to triple. This directly benefits substrate and PCB companies such as Simtech, TLB, and Korea Circuit, whose products are in short supply. These stocks should see sustained demand growth from the AI infrastructure buildout.

Substrate stocks benefit directly from the Vera Rubin CPU upgrade which triples LPDDR memory demand and increases socket demand. Buy substrate stocks including Simtech, Korea Circuit, and LG Innotek.