MLCC Giant: Orders Locked‑in Until the End of 2027

Order visibility extends to the end of 2027.

Samsung Electro‑Mechanics only discloses large‑scale long‑term MLCC supply contracts for AI servers that exceed 2.5% of its revenue. Since June 2026, it has unveiled three MLCC orders for AI servers totalling approximately 1.82 trillion won, all of which are long‑term agreements running through the end of 2027. An additional silicon capacitor order worth around 1.5 trillion won has also been announced.

Previously, Samsung Electro‑Mechanics stated that it was in talks with roughly 10 global technology firms on long‑term MLCC supply frameworks.

Industry insiders interpret the string of new orders secured by Samsung Electro‑Mechanics as a sign that the company has production capacity available for delivery. This also means order visibility for high‑end MLCCs used in AI servers now stretches to the end of 2027.

Driven by strong demand for high‑end MLCCs from AI servers and automotive electronics, global passive components (including MLCCs, resistors, inductors, tantalum capacitors, magnetic beads, etc.) entered an all‑category, multi‑round, cross‑regional price‑hike cycle from the second half of 2025 to February 2026. Prices generally rose by 5%‑30%, with steeper increases recorded for high‑end products. Starting in April 2026, the global passive‑component market saw another round of price increases. Component manufacturers prioritized supply for major AI and automotive‑grade clients, resulting in volatile channel prices that changed on a daily basis.

In terms of the global industrial landscape, the MLCC sector is highly oligopolistic. Japanese and South‑Korean suppliers firmly dominate the high‑end market (AI servers, automotive‑grade and industrial‑control applications), while Chinese manufacturers are making gradual inroads into the mid‑to‑high‑end segment.

Among leading players, Murinacontrols over 31% of the global MLCC market, Samsung Electro‑Mechanics and Taiyo Yuden hold more than 22% and 11% respectively. Together with TDK and Kyocera, the world’s top‑five MLCC suppliers account for over 77% of the global market share.

Price increases and capacity expansion will continue in the second half of the year, but supply shortages cannot be alleviated in the short term.

Major MLCC suppliers have kicked off a new‑round price hike for the second half of this year.

On August 1, Samsung Electro‑Mechanics raised shipment prices for its full MLCC product portfolio by a flat 30% from previous levels. Starting September 1, Taiyo Yuden implemented price adjustments on selected MLCC products.

Samsung Electro‑Mechanics stated that structural demand growth has emerged across the global electronics industry over the past few months. Although the company has kept boosting production efficiency and expanding production‑line capacity, supply‑chain pressures have exceeded tolerable limits.

Taiyo Yuden attributed the price increase mainly to the recent sharp rise in raw‑material costs, which the firm cannot absorb on its own.

Taiyo Yuden also added that it is currently unable to fully satisfy market demand and struggles to meet scheduled delivery deadlines. Even with the latest price adjustment, on‑time deliveries cannot be guaranteed.

Public information shows that leading MLCC manufacturers — including Samsung Electro‑Mechanics, Kyocera, Murata and Taiyo Yuden — have all drawn up long‑term investment and capacity‑expansion plans. However, due to a combination of factors, such as constrained supply of high‑end tape‑casting equipment and ceramic powder materials, equipment lead times generally running 12 to 24 months, and cautious capacity‑expansion strategies among Japanese and South‑Korean leaders, mainstream institutions forecast that large‑scale new MLCC capacity is unlikely to come online before the end of 2027.

Given the leaders' cautious expansion and slow capacity ramp‑up, industry estimates suggest that the overall supply‑demand balance for high‑end, high‑capacitance MLCCs will not change materially, and the supply shortfall may persist through 2028.

Even when new MLCC capacity is released, its growth rate may still struggle to keep pace with the rapidly rising demand from AI servers.

Take Murata, the fastest‑expanding player, as an example: after its additional investment, Murata expects capacity to expand by only slightly more than 20% over the next two years on a load basis. Goldman Sachs believes the AI‑server MLCC segment will maintain a high long‑term compound annual growth rate of around 80%.