Investment bank Jefferies has maintained its buy rating on NVIDIA and raised its price target to $300, according to a research note. However, the report highlighted a major risk: NVIDIA's Kyber technology, used for backplane printed circuit boards (PCBs) in AI servers, is likely to be delayed until 2028 or even canceled. Based on this projection, Jefferies lowered its market size estimates for global PCBs and copper-clad laminates (CCL) for the 2027-2028 period.
Kyber is a critical next-generation PCB technology designed for high-performance AI server backplanes. Backplane PCBs serve as the central communication backbone, connecting GPUs, CPUs, and memory. The delay disrupts the technology upgrade cycle for midstream PCB makers, squeezing their near-term earnings and order visibility.
Yet the delay also reshuffles the supply chain in favor of upstream material suppliers. Companies involved in glass fiber fabric, CCL, and copper cables are gaining structural advantages due to their high value-add and supply bottleneck characteristics. The report noted that supply chain resources are increasingly concentrating around these segments, positioning these suppliers as the primary beneficiaries amid the Kyber postponement.
The report underscored that while the Kyber delay temporarily pressures certain PCB fabricators, it concurrently accelerates the shift of value toward components and materials with tighter capacity and higher technical barriers. This dynamic is expected to enhance the pricing power and strategic importance of upstream players in the coming years.