Morgan Stanley: Technology - European Semiconductors
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Morgan Stanley hosted a global technology webinar examining the latest developments across the AI semiconductor and hardware supply chain. The report highlights multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) as a critical passive component experiencing surging demand within AI servers. By 2027, the AI server MLCC market is projected to approach $1 billion, driven by higher capacitance requirements, lower equivalent series inductance (ESL), and embedded solutions situated closer to CPUs and GPUs. The industry remains highly consolidated, with the top five suppliers controlling approximately 87% of the global market in 2025. Murata and SEMCO both carry Overweight ratings.
Beyond passive components, the webinar addressed broader AI semiconductor solutions, including Moore's law progression, CoWoS and SoIC packaging, HBM, and custom silicon. Even with NVIDIA providing robust AI GPUs, hyperscalers continue requiring custom chips like AWS Trainium. The accelerator project pipeline is expanding, with Google's TPU roadmap detailing future shipment growth.
In China, AI GPU demand remains vigorous. NVIDIA 5090 prices continue to climb, and token generation from companies like ByteDance is surging, underscoring robust end-market demand. Additionally, the analysis points to an ongoing US-China decoupling trend throughout the AI chip value chain, shaping future investment implications and supply chain strategies across the global semiconductor landscape.