New Delhi : Global display equipment spending is expected to reach a cumulative $75.8 billion for the 2020-2027 period, according to a new report.
With the growing demand for OLED and LCD displays from the IT, automotive and mobile phone sectors, as well as emerging categories such as XR (AR/VR/MR), display manufacturers have been ramping up their equipment capex, according to Counterpoint Research.
The major technologies driving these significant capex investments are OLED, followed by LCD and Micro-OLED.
In 2025, OLED-related equipment spending is expected to increase by 31 per cent (year-on-year), while LCD spending is projected to decline by 45 per cent YoY.
From 2025 to 2027, OLED is forecasted to account for 80 per cent of total investments, driven by new Gen 8.7 IT OLED and Gen 6 technologies, while LCD is expected to slip to a meagre 17 per cent share, said the report.
Until now, most OLED manufacturers with Gen 6 (1500×1850 mm) fabs have expanded to Gen 8.7 (2290×2620 mm) without changing the method of deposition, backed by stable yields and advancements in Fine Metal Mask (FMM) technology.
“Visionox’s V5 fab has selected Photo Patterned OLED technology, while CSOT’s t8 line is likely to adopt RGB Inkjet OLED. Unlike conventional FMM, this shift in evaporation methods is seen as an effort to secure both a competitive edge and cost advantages for next-generation OLED panels,” said senior analyst Jayden Lee.
Highlighting recent research findings on FMM, mask-less (Photo Patterned) and RGB Inkjet technologies, Lee noted, “At this point, we don’t see a significant capex difference between the FMM and Photo Patterned processes adopted by BOE and Visionox, respectively.”
The display equipment supply chain is long and fragmented, unlike that of semiconductor fab equipment.
Canon (including Anelva and Tokki) is expected to continue leading the market, with its revenues projected to grow 9 per cent YoY and capture 12 per cent market share in 2025.
Sunic, Nissin, Screen, Viatron and Suzhou Xinda are among the companies growing faster than the market and rapidly capturing share from incumbents.
Among the top 20 companies, 8 are from Japan, 7 from South Korea, 4 from China, and 1 from the US.
