In the first quarter, 9 key signals of the LED display industry

The "LED Display Industry Quarterly Analysis Report Q1 (2026)" of the Experts said Industry and Research Center was officially published. The content covers performance review, event and trend interpretation, product and technology trends, as well as the Experts said information and knowledge management library.

Based on the review, the key situations of the LED display industry in Q1 2026 are as follows:

1. In the first quarter of 2026, overseas markets showed a pattern of developing countries growing significantly faster than developed countries, and the display demand growth rate in markets such as Asia, Latin America, and Africa was strong;

2. The price increase of raw materials such as gold, silver and copper has driven up the cost of key materials for LED supply chain products. In order to cope with the pressure of price inversion caused by rising production costs, more than 60 LED companies announced price adjustments in the first quarter of 2026; as of early May, the scope of price increases has further expanded, with more than 80 linked companies;

3. The LED supply chain has shown a trend of modularization and panelization. Players who originally made LED discrete devices are more inclined to supply downstream customers in the form of LED discrete devices + components as modules;

4. In the first quarter of 2026, the LED display industry will focus on expanding production in COB. For example, Zhaochi and TCL Huaxing have announced production expansions;

5. The MIP shipment level of leading manufacturers is expected to further increase in 2026;

6. The focus of competition for COB, MIP and other technologies has gradually shifted to semi-outdoor and outdoor scenes;

7. As domestic TV companies acquire overseas TV companies, their dominant position is further consolidated and improved;

8. Micro LED AR glasses will continue to be popular in 2026. By 2027, single green will transition to full color, and Micro LED AR glasses are expected to exceed 2 million pairs.

9. Micro LED optical communication applications are currently a hot topic in the industry. Entering companies include ams-Osram, Sanan Optoelectronics, BOE Huacan, Zhaochi Co., Ltd., Qianzhao Optoelectronics, Nichuang Technology, Fucai and other nearly 20 companies.

Below are some key points, detailed catalog and report consultation. Please click on the poster at the end of the article.

▋ Interpretation of the performance of the LED display industry chain in 2025

The first quarter of 2026 is at the peak of financial report disclosure by listed companies. Experts say that Research's comprehensive analysis of corporate annual reports and market dynamics found that despite fluctuations in the macro environment, the global LED display market will still maintain steady growth in 2025, with significant growth in overseas markets. The Mini LED backlight track continues to be hot, the penetration rate of the TV sector has further increased, and the automotive market is ushering in rapid growth. Driven by this, industrial chain companies that have secured their position in the automotive sector in advance have taken the lead in cashing in performance dividends, showing significant growth flexibility.

Looking at different sectors, the LED chip-side industry shows obvious characteristics of "low at first and high at the end, structural differentiation". In the first half of the year, due to the weak demand for traditional lighting and the impact of destocking, the overall growth rate was under pressure; in the second half of the year, as the demand for Mini LED backlights and high-end automotive applications increased, coupled with the release of production capacity by leading manufacturers, the industry prosperity rebounded significantly, driving most companies to turn their annual revenue to positive. Among them, BOE Huacan, Zhaochi, Jucan Optoelectronics and other manufacturers all achieved double-digit growth in the second half of the year.

In the first quarter of 2026, the performance of LED chip companies will show structural differentiation. Some LED chip companies have benefited from the optimization of product structure and the recovery of downstream demand, and their performance has increased. The current revenue of some leading companies has experienced a sharp decline year-on-year. The core reason is that the gold tax policy change implemented in November 2025 will remove the relatively high proportion of gold scrap recycling revenue (previously accounting for 32-55% of revenue) from the total revenue and adjust it to outsourcing processing, resulting in changes in the caliber of financial statements (. Analysis Review). The adjusted comparables show that the main chip businesses of Sanan and Jucan have actually maintained positive growth, and the industry fundamentals remain solid.

In the packaging and display sectors, in 2025, Ruifeng, Longli and Jufei, which mainly focus on backlight business, will have double-digit growth throughout the year. In the LED display sector, performance will be significantly differentiated in 2025, with growth momentum mainly concentrated in the second half of the year. In terms of panels, in 2025, TCL Technology, BOE, and Shenzhen Tianma will increase their revenue and net profit, with net profit growth exceeding revenue. The industry is at the high point of the panel cycle, turning to value growth, and gross profit margins have generally increased.

▋ Going overseas has become a key path for LED display companies to break through growth bottlenecks

In 2026, the entire industry is undergoing a profound "market layout revolution" - no company will stick to a single market anymore, both leading giants and segmented players are looking for their own survival coordinates on the dual tracks of "domestic + overseas". The core of this revolution is not simply "going overseas to follow the trend", nor is it a passive defense of "sticking to the domestic market", but the collective transformation of the entire industry from "scale-driven" to "value-driven".

Globalization has become a key path for enterprises to break through growth bottlenecks. Judging from the layout map of leading listed companies, the market center of gravity is undergoing a structural shift: Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia and other regions have become the industry's deterministic growth poles due to infrastructure construction needs; leading companies have adopted a strategy of "building brands in high-end markets and expanding share in emerging markets" to effectively hedge the risk of fluctuations in a single region by blooming in multiple locations around the world and build a more resilient global supply chain system.

The above is part of the "LED Display Industry Quarterly Analysis Report Q1 (2026)". The complete table of contents is at the end of the article. You are welcome to download and read.