Kingboard Laminates issues seventh price increase this year; PCB theme strengthens as Goldenmax hits limit up

Bualuang Securities says a new angle for KCE shares is the possibility that the selling price increase cycle could extend into 2027, even though the market has already priced in the July increase and another in the fourth quarter of 2026. The key driver is not direct demand for AI circuit boards, but the cost of standard E-glass, the upstream raw material for CCL, which continues to rise after producers gradually shifted capacity to higher-grade materials for AI that offer better returns. Morgan Stanley's price index for standard E-glass fiber rose from 1.0 times in September 2025 to 3.7 times in August 2026 and 4.1 times in September 2026, while KCE's fiberglass purchase price rose from 0.49 US dollars per meter in the second quarter of 2025 to 0.74 US dollars per meter in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 51% year on year, which is still much smaller than the rise in upstream raw material prices, leaving a risk that cost pressure will feed through further. The research team has not yet included a third price increase in 2027 in its base-case estimates, because the general-grade CCL market is not yet entirely in shortage. It keeps its assumptions for the July and fourth-quarter 2026 price increases, maintains its TRADING BUY rating with a 70 baht target price, and views any additional price increase in 2027 as upside rather than part of the base case. Core profit is expected at 1.44 billion baht in 2026, up 78% year on year, 2.07 billion baht in 2027, up 43.9%, and 2.30 billion baht in 2028, up 11.1%.

Technology component stocks led by KCE and HANA rose more than 2%. At 10:55 a.m., KCE stood at 67.25 baht, up 1.50 baht or 2.28%, with trading value of 764.19 million baht, while HANA stood at 49.50 baht, up 1.00 baht or 2.06%, with trading value of 677.56 million baht. This followed an analysis note from KGI Securities (Thailand) stating that KCE has an opportunity to expand into the printed circuit board, or PCB, business for humanoid robots, after KCE informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand on September 11, 2026, that it is in negotiations to buy and sell products with a company in the United States, which KGI believes could be Tesla, and the product could be PCBs for the Tesla Optimus robot. Tesla aims to scale up robot production from about 10,000 units initially to 1 million units per year, and eventually to 10 million units in the long term. KGI preliminarily estimates that revenue from this project could account for roughly 0.3% to 1.3% of KCE's total revenue, under the assumption of production of 1 million robots using PCBs worth 150 to 200 US dollars per unit and KCE holding an order share of about 1% to 3%. It has therefore not yet included revenue from this project in its forecasts. It also raised its core business profit forecasts for 2026-2027 by 6% to 25%, recommended "Hold" on KCE, and raised its end-2027 target price to 62 baht from 48 baht, based on a PER of 40 times. Meanwhile, HANA is expected to benefit indirectly from the upgrading of the AI server supply chain through three key businesses: thermal solutions for HBM and GPU through a partnership with Phononic, high-density PCBA testing equipment, and SiC solid-state transformers. KGI raised its profit forecasts for HANA by 6% to 11%, maintained its "Buy" recommendation, and raised its end-2027 target price to 63 baht from 45 baht, based on a PER of 40 times, expecting normal operating profit in 2027 to grow 44%.

The global AI investment wave is driving foreign capital into Thailand's infrastructure sectors, including data centers, power systems, cooling systems, PCB and storage. Data from Kasikorn Thai shows that in the first half of 2026, Thailand received investment promotion applications totaling 1.47 trillion baht, up 37% from a year earlier, while foreign capital rose 80% to 1.36 trillion baht, led by the digital and electronics industries. Among the stocks seen as direct beneficiaries is DELTA, which makes power supply and cooling systems for data centers and is ramping up commercial production of liquid cooling systems. HANA is viewed as the Thai stock market's new AI proxy, with AI-related products set to enter production lines in the second half of 2026. KCE is expected to benefit from the semiconductor upcycle and tight PCB supply, which could support selling prices and profits in the second half of 2026. SMT gains from the shift to optical connectivity, while CCET benefits from rising demand for both HDD and SSD storage as AI computing generates massive volumes of data. INSET has seen a flood of project inquiries, while WHA and AMATA stand to gain because data center businesses use roughly 12 to 16 times more electricity and water than general industrial plants, meaning industrial estate revenue does not end on the day land is sold but continues through long-term utility income. If foreign capital flows and data center investment accelerate further in 2027, the Thai stock market may see an increasingly clear picture of an AI ecosystem.