Only HBM and Advanced Packaging Gain in AI Hardware Chain

Nilofer_tweets · x · 2026-07-16

This week in the AI-related hardware chain, only the HBM / packaging basket ended in the green, with a gain of about +3.90%. The author believes the underlying key bottlenecks remain:

Testing & Metrology: After releasing its Q4 FY2026 earnings, AEHR mentioned that AI/HBM wafer-level burn-in demand brought record orders and a backlog of about $100 million. The author concludes that capacity in testing/burn-in must expand first before HBM4 can truly scale.
ABF Substrates: SEMCO, Unimicron, Ibiden, and Nanya all rose due to structural shortages, tight supply, and price revaluations of AI server substrates.
Other sectors (power/grid, cooling, construction, photonics, custom chips, networking) generally weakened. The author emphasizes this is not "risk-off," but rather a concentration of compute build-out into truly constrained areas.

He also mentioned that the Suwon Advanced Packaging Summit is fueling the theme, and TSMC's Q2 earnings on Thursday will be the next key window to observe CoWoS capacity.

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Only HBM and Advanced Packaging Gain in AI Hardware Chain

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