MLCC market in AI's shadow: premium segment at full power, mass market limited

According to the latest TrendForce analysis, the MLCC market in the first quarter of 2026 operates under increased political and economic risk. U.S. tariffs and rising geopolitical tensions heighten supply chain uncertainty but do not curb investment in advanced AI infrastructure, which is becoming the key growth driver for high-end capacitor manufacturers. Demand for advanced MLCCs is driven by major data center projects, including Nvidia's GB200 and GB300 series servers, and the intense development of proprietary ASICs by major cloud providers like AWS and Google. Consequently, Japanese and Korean manufacturers are operating at high capacity utilization, with Murata, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Taiyo Yuden maintaining rates above 80%. Murata's additional advantage is control over key advanced packaging materials, leading to a projected 20-25% quarter-on-quarter increase in orders for high-end MLCCs. 2026 is seen as the year AI enters commercial applications, spreading rapidly beyond data centers into robotics, autonomous vehicles, and wearables. Lightweight smart glasses, using ultra-miniature 01005-size capacitors, are particularly significant, with each device requiring 150 to 200 such components, making this segment a key source of new demand. The situation differs in consumer electronics, where smartphone, notebook, and automotive markets remain weak. Taiwanese and Chinese MLCC manufacturers, focused on mass-market products, have adopted a more conservative strategy; order momentum already weakened in Q4 2025, and the traditional pre-Chinese New Year inventory buildup cycle has virtually disappeared. TrendForce states the Q1 2026 supply chain will be characterized by a market split, with AI advancing and consumer electronics stagnating. To navigate this, suppliers must actively expand into advanced AI application segments while strictly controlling inventory and cost risks in traditional segments as market conditions become increasingly challenging