[Special Stock] Isu Petasys, AI Expansion Competition MLB 'Shortage' Intensifies... ASP Could Increase 10 Times

Isu Petasys is showing strong performance. News that the average selling price (ASP) of products manufactured by its Chinese subsidiary has risen from $150 to $450 per ㎡ appears to be influencing the stock price.

As of 11:08 AM on the 28th, Isu Petasys is trading at 57,100 KRW, up 10.23% from the previous day.

Park Hyung-woo, a researcher at SK Securities, explained, "The supply and demand improvement in the MLB industry began in 2020 due to the US-China dispute. Since then, there was a decline in orders from the telecommunications equipment and server equipment industries, but from last year, demand from cloud artificial intelligence (AI) companies has increased, tightening supply and demand."

He added, "From the second half of this year, supply shortages are expected," noting, "The expansion scale of major global MLB companies is insufficient to meet the demand from AI companies alone." He emphasized, "The expansion of cloud AI investment is causing shortages across all MLB product lines."

Researcher Park pointed out, "We are paying close attention to whether MLB shortages occur," analyzing, "Not only AI substrates but also server and telecommunications equipment substrates are all in shortage." He predicted, "There is a high possibility of price increases," and "If ASP rises, profitability will improve, leading to larger profit margins."

After visiting Isu Petasys's Chinese factory, Park said, "We confirmed the status of MLB shortages through the operational trends of the Chinese subsidiary," and added, "By the third quarter, the Chinese factory, which produces mid- to low-layer substrates, is expected to supply high multilayer substrates as well." He emphasized, "The headquarters' ASP is $2,500," and "The selling price, which was $150, is heading toward $1,500." He also noted, "This only reflects the effects of mix improvement and new product price increases," and "Price increases for existing products have not even started."

He explained, "Following supply shortages, production capacity reductions due to technological changes are now appearing," and added, "There seems to be no concern about substrate quality or sample failures for the next AI accelerator model."