Morgan Stanley: AI servers drive up demand for high-end MLCC, Murata Cheng's preferred choice for Japanese electronic components BlockBeats News: On June 17th, Morgan Stanley announced that artificial intelligence servers and data centers will drive rapid growth in demand for high-end multi-layer ceramic capacitors. Murata Manufacturing has become a new first choice stock in the Japanese electronic components industry due to its ability to stably mass produce small and large capacity products. In a report released on June 16th, analysts such as Shoji Sato significantly raised Murata's target price from 5100 yen to 12500 yen, maintaining an overweight rating and listing it as a Top Pick in the industry. The report states that Murata will have a global MLCC market share of 40.8% in 2025, leading Samsung Electric and Sunac. Morgan Stanley expects global MLCC shipments to 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. Among them, the demand for small, high-capacity, high value-added products used in AI servers and data centers is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of about 100%. The report states that AI server motherboards require approximately 15000 to 25000 MLCCs, which is about 10 times that of general-purpose servers. As the power consumption of GPUs, CPUs, and ASICs increases and the operating voltage decreases, the system's requirements for transient power supply stability and noise suppression increase, driving MLCCs to upgrade to smaller sizes and higher capacities. Morgan Stanley believes that Murata is the most obvious beneficiary. The report points out that currently only Murata can stably supply key specifications such as 1608 size 100 µ F, 1005 size 47 µ F, and 0603 size 10 µ F required for AI servers in large quantities. Analysts say 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. At the same time, Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on solar power from flat to low-end, although also raising its target price from 4700 yen to 12500 yen. The report states that the stock price of Sun Electric has risen by about 445% since 2026, and the market expects it to benefit from the demand for AI high-end MLCC like Murata. However, Daimo believes that the profit contribution brought by the improvement of its product portfolio is relatively limited. The report also points out that the investment logic of MLCC is not solely dependent on price increases. The price of the same product may gradually decrease in the long term, and the real support for profitability is the product structure upgrade brought about by the demand for AI and data centers. 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.