According to a research report published by Jefferies and covered by MarsBit, the investment firm has maintained a "Buy" rating on NVIDIA and raised its price target to $300. However, the report highlights a key risk: NVIDIA's Kyber backplane PCB technology for AI servers is likely to be delayed to 2028 or even canceled. This has led Jefferies to lower its market size forecasts for PCB and copper-clad laminate (CCL) for 2027-2028.
The delay is expected to have divergent effects across the supply chain. Midstream PCB manufacturers will face headwinds as anticipated orders are postponed, suppressing their near-term performance. In contrast, upstream material suppliers and copper cable manufacturers stand to benefit from the structural shift. Specifically, glass fiber fabric, CCL producers, and copper cable companies are positioned as winners in the realignment, as the market pivots toward high-value and bottleneck segments of the supply chain.
Jefferies believes that the Kyber delay reinforces the competitive advantages of upstream material and copper cable players, driving the supply chain toward higher value-add and tighter supply nodes, which could lead to improved pricing power and margins for these firms.