Morgan Stanley: AI Servers Boost Demand for High-End MLCCs, Murata Emerges as Top Choice for Japanese Electronic Components

BlockBeats News, June 17th, Morgan Stanley stated that AI servers and data centers will drive the rapid growth of high-end multilayer ceramic capacitor demand. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., due to its ability to stably mass-produce small high-capacity products, has become the new top pick in the Japanese electronic components industry.

Analysts such as Shoji Sato, in a report released on June 16th, significantly raised Murata's target price from 5100 Japanese Yen to 12500 Japanese Yen, maintained an Overweight rating, and listed it as the industry's Top Pick. The report mentioned that Murata is expected to hold a 40.8% global MLCC market share in 2025, leading Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Taiyo Yuden.

Morgan Stanley forecasts that global MLCC shipment value will increase from $14.67 billion in 2025 to $24.25 billion in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.2% over the next three years. The demand for small high-capacity high-value-added products for AI servers and data centers is expected to grow at an annual compound rate of around 100%.

The report stated that AI server motherboards require approximately 15,000 to 25,000 MLCCs, about ten times that of general-purpose servers. As GPU, CPU, and ASIC power consumption increases and operating voltage decreases, the system's requirements for transient power supply stability and noise suppression are raised, driving the MLCC upgrade to smaller sizes and higher capacities.

Morgan Stanley believes that Murata is the most obvious beneficiary. The report pointed out that currently only Murata can stably supply in large quantities the key specifications required by AI servers, such as the 1608 size 100µF, 1005 size 47µF, and 0603 size 10µF. Analysts stated that by the time competitors achieve stable mass production, Murata may have already advanced to the next generation of products with smaller sizes and higher capacities.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley downgraded Taiyo Yuden's rating from Equal-weight to Underweight, although it also raised its target price from 4700 Japanese Yen to 12500 Japanese Yen. The report mentioned that Taiyo Yuden's stock price has risen by approximately 445% since 2026. The market expects it to benefit from AI high-end MLCC demand like Murata, but Morgan Stanley believes that the relative profit contribution from its product portfolio improvement is limited.

The report also pointed out that the MLCC investment logic does not solely rely on price increases. The price of the same product may still gradually decrease in the long term, and what truly supports profitability is the product structure upgrade brought by AI and data center demand. Morgan Stanley believes that as the proportion of high-end products increases, the profit margin gap between Murata and other MLCC manufacturers may further widen.