The computing power industry chain is erupting again, but internal polarization is evident! Funds are intensively researching these areas

As the “AI Disruption Theory” becomes increasingly popular, the computing power industry chain, known as the “selling shovels” sector, is once again booming.

On February 26, concepts such as PCB, CPO, liquid-cooled servers, and computing chips all gained strength. Shenzhen South Electronics, Han’s Laser, Guanghe Technology, and Chuanrun Co., Ltd. hit the daily limit, with GaoLan Co. rising by 20cm to the limit. Additionally, the Sci-Tech Innovation 50 Index briefly fell more than 1% during the day but gradually recovered in the afternoon, closing up 0.85%.

However, since the beginning of this year, there has been a clear divergence within the computing power sector. The former two major optical module leaders, New Easy盛 and Zhongji Xuchuang, declined by 10.44% and 6.19% respectively. Meanwhile, CPO concept stocks like Tianfu Communications surged by 78.31%, and PCB-related companies Mingyang Circuit and Han’s Laser rose by 91.29% and 69.26%, respectively.

Chip Giants Validate Growing Demand for Computing Power

On February 25, NVIDIA released its fiscal year 2026 Q4 financial report. The quarter’s total revenue was $68.13 billion, with earnings per share of $1.62, both surpassing Wall Street expectations. The company also provided a higher-than-expected guidance, projecting first-quarter revenue of $78 billion (plus or minus 2%), not including data center revenue from China.

The impressive earnings report attracted widespread attention from capital markets. On February 26, the entire computing power industry chain, including PCB, CPO, liquid-cooled servers, and chips, strengthened collectively. Shenzhen South Electronics, Huadong Electronics, Han’s Laser, and Guanghe Technology all hit the daily limit, with GaoLan Co. rising by 20cm to the limit.

Meanwhile, heavy-asset funds also rose. Bosera’s 5GETF increased by 3.41% that day, and communication ETFs from Jiashi, Yinhua, and GF Securities rose by over 2.5%. Several funds heavily invested in AI computing power, such as GF Li Xin A, Ping An Ding Yue, and Debon Emerging Industries, increased by over 5%.

Galaxy Fund believes that a foreign chip company’s Q4 revenue exceeded expectations, with guidance for the next quarter significantly above market consensus, validating the expansion of demand for computing power. Coupled with the rise in optical fiber and cable prices since the beginning of the year, this has driven strong performance in the communications sector. Additionally, AI computing demand is spreading across the entire semiconductor industry chain, with product price increases extending from storage chips to passive components like MLCCs. Driven by AI and automotive demand, raw material price hikes, and other factors, multiple rounds of price increases for passive components have occurred from late 2025 to February 2026, with increases generally between 5% and 30%, boosting the electronics sector.

ICBC Credit Suisse also states that the stellar performance of chip giants reflects high prosperity across the entire AI computing power industry chain. As AI large models continue to strengthen product capabilities, constraints on capital expenditure for computing power are easing. The market interprets high AI capital expenditure as a positive signal for seizing AI opportunities. Currently, the “computing power application-infrastructure investment” cycle is gradually forming a positive feedback loop, and computing power investment is expected to remain high over the next two years, benefiting segments like optical modules, PCBs, liquid cooling, and power supplies.

Funds Conduct Intensive Research on Computing Power Stocks

Recently, funds have been conducting intensive research on computing power concept stocks, with increased attention to data centers, PCBs, optical switches, and other industry hotspots.

For example, on February 25, multiple funds including Fuguo Fund, UBS Fund, and Tianhong Fund researched Shunhao Co., focusing on its layout in space computing power. Shunhao stated that it holds a 27.8174% stake in Orbital Dawn, which actively responds to the “Computing Power Star Network” initiative launched by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The company plans to build space data centers from 2025 to 2027, overcoming key technologies such as energy and heat dissipation, and to develop and test star iterations, establishing a phased computing star constellation.

Another example is Han’s Laser, which recently attracted participation from major public funds like E Fund, Southern Fund, Huitianfu Fund, and GF Fund. Its subsidiary, Han’s CNC, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s main board on February 6, achieving a dual A+H capital platform. The company states that current demand for AI computing data center servers, switches, and high-speed optical modules remains strong. The PCB industry is entering a new golden development period. Industry research firm Prismark estimates that by 2025, PCB industry revenue and output will grow by 15.4% and 9.1%, respectively, with high-multilayer and HDI boards related to AI servers and switches showing the strongest growth, with compound annual growth rates of 22.1% and 17.7% from 2024 to 2029.

Additionally, funds like Huashang Fund, Puyin Ansheng Fund, Xingquan Fund, and Fuguo Fund have participated in research on TENGJING Technology, focusing on the progress of its OCS full optical switch. The company states that, based on the technical solutions of major domestic and international OCS equipment manufacturers, it can supply various precision optical components, including two-dimensional collimator arrays and large YVO4 yttrium vanadate crystals, with important customer orders already secured.

PCB and CPO Become Focuses of Attention

However, this year, there has been a clear divergence within the computing power sector. The two leading optical module companies, New Easy盛 and Zhongji Xuchuang, have declined by 10.44% and 6.19%, respectively, while CPO and 1.6T optical engine leader Tianfu Communications surged by 78.31%.

Moreover, compared to last year’s dominance of optical modules in the computing market, the PCB sector has gradually gained market attention this year. Mingyang Circuit and Han’s Laser have risen by 91.29% and 69.26% since the start of the year.

ICBC Credit Suisse believes that as the capabilities of large models shift from quantitative to qualitative changes, and multimodal models become more mature, the massive token consumption further demonstrates the genuine demand for AI. AI computing power has gained broader consensus, and ongoing investments in AI hardware are seen as positive signals for seizing AI opportunities. Among these, optical modules and PCBs have large market sizes.

Regarding optical modules, the firm notes that with the rapid growth in bandwidth requirements for AI training and inference networks, demand for 1.6T optical modules in 2026 continues to be revised upward. Customer stickiness is high, and market structure is relatively controllable. The peak delivery years of 2026-2027, combined with scale effects and supply chain advantages of leading manufacturers, are expected to push market share upward.

For PCBs, as AI continues to develop, the value of PCBs in servers and switches has increased significantly. Despite many suppliers, once product specifications are set, the main supply tends to remain stable, and new entrants typically require time to ramp up production. Currently, net profit margins for AI-PCB products have improved markedly, and industry ROE is entering an upward cycle along with profit margins. It is expected that supply and demand will remain balanced from 2026 to 2027.

Some fund managers also noted that NVIDIA’s GTC 2026 conference, opening on March 15, will be a major focus, with speculation that NVIDIA may shift its chip focus further toward Rubin’s next-generation Feynman architecture.

“The core technological breakthrough of the Feynman architecture lies in using 3D stacking, integrating the inference-optimized LPU chips directly onto the GPU cores. The new architecture’s LPU chips mainly adopt high-multilayer solutions, with single-chip PCB value potentially reaching $300–$500, further expanding PCB market space and increasing the value of related segments,” said the fund manager.