The "PCB leader" (002938.SZ) has seen its stock price hit new all-time highs recently, following a gain of over 380% within a year. However, its major shareholder chose this peak moment to "precisely" reduce its holdings, cashing out nearly 3.5 billion yuan in just three trading days.

A closer look at the ownership structure reveals that Foxconn and the Hon Hai Group stand behind this major shareholder, adding another layer of interest to the transaction.

On the morning of May 25th, the leading printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer surged by the daily limit again after a similar gain the previous session, reaching 114.32 yuan per share with a total market capitalization of 265 billion yuan.

A dramatic turn of events followed swiftly. After two consecutive limit-up days, the controlling shareholder, Meigang Industrial, and its concerted actor, Jihui International, executed a block sale of 39,999,900 shares between May 21st and 25th (three trading days) via block trades, realizing approximately 3.478 billion yuan (at an average price of about 86.94 yuan per share). This completed the previously disclosed plan to sell up to 40 million shares.

Following the announcement of this sale, 's stock price adjusted on May 26th, dipping to an intraday low of 111.92 yuan per share before recovering to close at 116 yuan per share, up 1.47%.

During the three trading days of the major shareholder's sell-off, 's stock price experienced a significant cumulative surge of 26.71%, constituting abnormal volatility.

This reduction plan was initially disclosed on April 25th, 2026, with a timeline of three months for completion. However, it was abruptly initiated ahead of schedule on May 21st and concluded by May 25th. Such a "highly precise" sale at peak prices has inevitably drawn market scrutiny.

Behind the "5x small bull stock" stands Foxconn, with inquiries regarding Apple and Nvidia orders.

While maintains a relatively low profile, its major shareholder is familiar to many. Public information shows that the indirect controlling shareholder of is the Taiwan-listed company Zhen Ding Holding. The largest shareholder of Zhen Ding Holding is Foxconn (Far East) LIMITED, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hon Hai Group.

Corporate records indicate that FOXCONN (FAREAST) LIMITED, formerly known as Foxconn (Far East) Limited, was established in 1988 and is based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The founder of the Hon Hai Group is Terry Gou, but the company currently has no actual controller. The Hon Hai Group holds only one seat among the seven board members of Zhen Ding Holding. Hon Hai has never consolidated Zhen Ding's financials, accounting for it only under the equity method. Consequently, Zhen Ding Holding has no actual controller, and therefore, neither does .

In the AI computing power sector, the PCB segment is relatively smaller in scale compared to AI chips, memory, and optical modules. It belongs to the upstream hardware supporting segment. Although its valuation ceiling is considered lower by comparison, over a longer timeframe, has delivered a significant rally, becoming a 5x stock.

From April 2025 to the present, the stock's lowest point was 23.68 yuan per share, and its highest point reached 122.97 yuan per share during yesterday's session. The peak represents a 5.19-fold increase from the trough. Looking solely at the year-to-date performance, 's stock has surged by 125%.

While not matching the gains of "big bull stocks" that multiply ten or twentyfold, it qualifies as a "small bull stock." Furthermore, according to the China Printed Circuit Association (CPCA) rankings, has consistently ranked first in China for multiple years. Simultaneously, based on Prismark's global PCB company rankings by revenue, the company has also been the world's largest PCB manufacturer for consecutive years, solidifying its position as a genuine global PCB "leader."

Beyond , the entire PCB industry has been on an upward trend recently. On May 25th, Fenghua Advanced Technology (000636.SZ) hit the daily limit during the call auction, with Shennan Circuits (002916.SZ), Shanghai Electric Power Company (002463.SZ), and Shengyi Technology (600183.SH) following suit.

Notably, in its actual operations, has a high concentration of major customers.

Data shows that in 2025, sales to its largest customer reached 31.182 billion yuan, accounting for a significant 79.65% of total revenue. While the financial report does not explicitly name this top customer, investor inquiries frequently mention Apple Inc. and related component demands. , citing commercial confidentiality, has not confirmed this information.

Additionally, interactive Q&A records show that investors have inquired about supplying Nvidia in the fourth quarter of 2025.

did not deny this situation, stating that regarding "AI computing power-related business, the company's customer certification progress is in line with expectations. However, the revenue contribution from the automotive electronics and server businesses is currently not high. With the gradual release of related production capacity and the landing of orders in the future, it is expected to become an important growth driver for the company."

Furthermore, engages in numerous related-party transactions with the Hon Hai Group, Foxconn, and their subsidiaries.

For instance, among 's top five customers, "Major Customer B" is the Hon Hai Group and its controlled subsidiaries. In 2025, sales to Customer B were approximately 2.429 billion yuan, accounting for 6.2% of the annual total.

Moreover, the Hon Hai Group and its controlled subsidiaries are also among 's top five suppliers. In 2025, procurement from them amounted to about 932 million yuan, representing approximately 2.95% of total purchases.

Simultaneously, several companies bearing the Foxconn or Foxconn name appear directly on 's list of related-party transactions. For example, in 2025, purchased goods from Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limited (transaction value ~695 million yuan), sold goods to Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Private Limited, and purchased services from Foxconn Japan Co., Ltd., among others.

Other entities involved in related-party transactions with include Foxconn Technology Group Co., Ltd., Foxconn Precision Electronics (Taiyuan) Co., Ltd., and Foxconn (Kunshan) Computer Connector Co., Ltd.

From a parent company perspective, also has a wealthy A-share "relative" – Industrial Fulian. Tracing the ownership reveals that the ultimate parent for both is the Hon Hai Group.

Industrial Fulian's main businesses include cloud computing, communication and mobile network equipment, and industrial internet. It experienced a significant uptrend in 2025, with its lowest stock price that year at 13.61 yuan per share in April and the peak at 83.55 yuan per share on October 30th, representing a maximum gain of 618.93% during that period.

As of the close on May 25th, 2026, Industrial Fulian's stock price was 70.3 yuan per share, with a total market cap of approximately 1.4 trillion yuan. Its year-to-date gain is about 11.66%, a relatively modest performance compared to .

Why PCB? Why has the PCB sector risen collectively recently, and does , as a leading enterprise, possess the long-term fundamentals to support its elevated stock price?

's recent stock price surge essentially began around late March to early April 2026, coinciding with the end of the first quarter.

Since the beginning of this year, the stock's bottom appeared on March 30th at 48 yuan per share, after which it entered an upward channel. By the close on May 25th at 114.32 yuan per share, the stock had risen 138.17% in less than two months, more than doubling.

At first glance, 's Q1 2026 performance was not impressive. Revenue was 7.986 billion yuan, down 1.25% year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 463 million yuan, down 5.21%; and adjusted net profit was 326 million yuan, down 31.85%.

A slightly positive aspect was the company's gross margin, which has risen for five consecutive quarters since Q1 last year, reaching 22.95% by the end of Q1 this year.

Despite declines in most key financial indicators, 's stock price embarked on another rally. The reason lies within the company's R&D expenditure.

A detailed breakdown shows that R&D expenses in Q1 were 705 million yuan, a significant year-over-year increase of 37.34%. Construction-in-progress at the end of the period was 4.763 billion yuan, up 61.66% from 2.947 billion yuan at the beginning of the period, mainly due to new project investments. Short-term borrowings at the end of the period were 5.419 billion yuan, up 38.05% from 3.925 billion yuan at the start, primarily to meet increased operational funding needs.

These all point to increased investment. The most closely watched aspect is R&D. Where did the additional 200 million yuan in R&D expenses go?

During the Q1 earnings conference, stated that R&D expenses are primarily directed towards two core areas: First, targeting computing power scenarios like AI servers, optical modules, and data centers, to develop and optimize new high-precision, high-performance PCB products, deeply supporting core customers' product iterations. Second, investing in the AI edge device market, developing technologies and products that meet future AI edge products' requirements for thinner, more integrated PCBs with higher transmission rates.

To understand this breakdown, one must consider 's previous "traditional" business.

In 2025, out of 's total revenue of 39.147 billion yuan, the proportion from printed circuit boards was 99.22%! The majority of these products were sold into the consumer electronics sector.

By product type, revenue from communication boards accounted for 64.98%; boards for consumer electronics & computers, automotive/servers, and other uses combined accounted for 34.24%.

What are communication boards? Primarily, they include various printed circuit boards used in communication products like mobile phones, routers, and switches. 's PCB products are mainly used in various terminal products within the communication electronics industry, with a focus on the smartphone sector.

Previously, 's PCB products were primarily in consumer electronics like mobile phones, automobiles, and computers. However, the Q1 report clarified that amidst the surge in AI computing power demand, is transitioning from consumer electronics PCBs to AI computing power PCBs. Judging by this stock rally, it coincides precisely with the "major inflection point" of 's shift towards the AI computing power field. In the long term, this represents an investment anticipating the expansion of AI computing power.

Once 's PCB products are positioned within the AI computing power domain, their growth logic becomes entirely different from that in the consumer electronics field.

Prior to the recent collective rise in PCB stocks, several institutions noted that Nvidia's (NVDA) next-generation Rubin cabinet upgrade would drive increased demand, with PCB seeing the largest cost increase.

A Morgan Stanley (MS) report stated that the single-cabinet procurement cost for the Rubin VR200NVL72 cabinet from ODM manufacturers is about $7.8 million, compared to about $3.99 million for the previous GB300 cabinet. This means the Rubin cabinet price is nearly double that of the GB300.

Within this $7.8 million cost structure, the GPU's share decreased from 65% in the previous GB300 generation to 51%. Other components, including memory, PCB, MLCC, ABF substrates, power supplies, and liquid cooling, collectively account for about 49%. Among these, the component with the largest cost increase is the PCB.

According to a synthesis of multiple institutional analyses by East Money Research, the PCB cost for Nvidia's next-generation Rubin cabinet is about $117,000, a massive 233% increase from the $35,000 for the GB300, making it the downstream component with the largest cost increase.

Domestic institutions have also joined the "evaluation" bandwagon. Guojin Securities stated that the rapid development of AI, the exponential growth in computing density, and the simultaneous expansion of memory and interconnect bandwidth will directly translate into rigid demand for high-layer-count, high-end HDI, and high-frequency, high-speed PCBs, continuously pushing the ceiling for PCB demand.

Guosheng Securities indicated that, measured by sales revenue, the global PCB market size is expected to grow from $77.8 billion in 2025 to $93.7 billion in 2029, with a CAGR of 4.8% from 2025 to 2029. High-end PCBs like high-multilayer boards and advanced HDI are the core drivers.

Meanwhile, issued a stock price volatility announcement, noting that the company is aware of the recent high market attention on the optical module concept. In 2025, the company's optical module business generated revenue of 228 million yuan, accounting for 0.58% of total revenue. In Q1 2026, this business generated revenue of 226 million yuan, accounting for 2.83% of total revenue. It is estimated that for the full year 2026, this business will account for a small proportion of the company's total revenue and will not have a significant impact on operating performance.

Do you see growth potential for in the future?