Exchange-traded funds tracking multilayer ceramic capacitors, or MLCCs, which underpin power stability at artificial intelligence data centers, are rolling out one after another in the U.S. market. Analysts say the benefits for Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150) could widen as AI investment spreads from graphics processing units and memory chips to power components.
Four such funds have listed in the past month, according to financial investment industry sources on the 20th: Themes ETFs' PSOX, followed by Defiance's CAPA, Roundhill Investments' CCML and Global X's MLCC. CCML trades on the Nasdaq, while the other three are listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange. PSOX invests in MLCCs and power semiconductors, CAPA in capacitors for AI, CCML in MLCCs and printed circuit boards, and MLCC in MLCC and electronic component makers.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Murata Manufacturing are the core holdings. Samsung Electro-Mechanics carries the largest weighting in CAPA's underlying index at 21.55%, about 20% in Global X's MLCC, roughly 17% in CCML and around 9% in PSOX. Murata is included in all four products. Capacitors store and release electric charge to reduce voltage fluctuations and noise, and MLCCs are the leading type of capacitor, offering compact size and high capacity. Murata leads the market for MLCCs used in AI servers with a 45% share, followed by Samsung Electro-Mechanics at 40%, according to research firm TrendForce.
Behind the string of MLCC ETF launches in the United States is rising power consumption at AI servers. The higher the performance of a GPU, the more current must be supplied reliably, which lifts demand for high-capacity MLCCs. Kiwoom Securities estimates that MLCC content per GPU will climb from about 200 units in Nvidia's H100 to 500 in the B200, 1,500 in the GB200 and about 5,000 in the next-generation Rubin. The market for MLCCs used in AI servers is projected to grow to $5.8 billion in 2030 from $1.3 billion last year. That has led U.S. asset managers to package the Asian MLCC supply chain, where the gains from expanding AI investment are concentrated, as a standalone investment theme. Samsung Electro-Mechanics has been included in existing U.S. ETFs before, but this is the first time it has been held as a core position under an MLCC banner.
Analysts also say supply bottlenecks are emerging as an investment opportunity, given that large-volume supply of high-end MLCCs is effectively concentrated in Murata and Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Customer certification alone takes two to three years, and new production lines require 12 to 24 months from investment decision to mass production. The capacity additions at Samsung Electro-Mechanics' new plant in the Philippines and Murata's new Izumo plant are also expected to take full effect in 2027. "Industry capacity is growing 10% to 15% a year, while demand for AI servers is estimated to rise more than 80% a year," said Kim Seung-hyuk, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "Lead times, normally six to eight weeks, have grown by at least 20 weeks, and this situation will continue into next year."
