Price increase exceeds 400%! The fiber optic industry is experiencing "both volume and price growth," with a trillion-dollar leader reaching a new high

On April 7, the A-share fiber-optic concept sector continued its strong upward surge. Industry leader Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (YOFC) rose more than 4% intraday; its share price briefly touched 368 yuan per share, setting a new all-time high, and its total market value once exceeded 300 billion yuan. Huaiyuan Communications achieved a three-day consecutive limit-up; multiple shares including Quartzway Shares and Tongding Interconnection hit daily limit-ups; stocks such as Tongguang Cable and Changxin Boch People also rose by more than 10%.

On the news front, as of April 6, 2026, the global fiber-optic price-increase wave driven by AI data center construction and geopolitical demand has been further confirmed. The latest data shows that in the China market, the price of G652.D fiber has risen more than 400% from last year’s low point. Institutions expect the global supply-demand gap in 2026-2027 to expand to 15%.

The price-upward trend has also been further corroborated by official procurement. China Mobile has recently released the results of the bidding for its centralized procurement project for special fiber-optic cable products for 2026 to 2027. This procurement has an estimated scale of about 79,400 pole-length kilometers, which is equivalent to 3.131 million fiber-kilometers, and the highest bid price cap excluding tax totals 2,5124.71 million yuan. Notably, based on the winning bid prices, among the 8 winning manufacturers, 7 of them submitted bids according to the highest price cap.

China Galaxy Securities analysts believe that the results of this centralized procurement once again confirm that the upward trend in fiber-optic and cable prices is significant. The core driving force of the fiber-optic industry has undergone a fundamental shift: in the past, industry growth mainly relied on 5G base station construction and large-scale FTTH deployments, essentially about solving whether “connections exist or not.” The three major telecom operators dominated the centralized procurement market by leveraging their strong bargaining power. However, since 2025, the global AI race has given rise to the construction of ultra-large intelligent computing clusters, and the resulting surge in demand for high-bandwidth, low-loss fiber interconnects among data centers has pushed the industry to officially shift from “operator infrastructure-driven” to “AI computing power-driven.”

Constraints on the supply side are also evident. China Galaxy Securities stated that fiber preforms account for about 70% of the profit in the (fiber) industrial chain; with high technical barriers and a production expansion cycle lasting 18-24 months. After the earlier price war and subsequent supply clearing, global preform capacity has approached full load. Manufacturers have been redirecting limited preform resources toward special fibers with higher added value—such as G.657.A2 (for drones) and G.654.E (for AI data centers)—squeezing out production capacity for standard G.652.D fiber and exacerbating structural shortages. Overseas markets also face the same problem of long expansion cycles for giants such as Corning and Fujikura, making it difficult for short-term supply gaps to be alleviated.

In fact, the data supports this judgment. In February 2026, China exported 3,779.9 tons of optical fiber, with a value of 790 million yuan; year on year, the export quantity and amount increased by 63.6% and 126.8%, respectively. Based on the conversion of about 0.15 kg per 1 km of optical fiber, in February China exported about 25.2 million fiber-kilometers, roughly accounting for about 65% of China’s monthly effective fiber-optic production. Overseas markets are “snapping up” Chinese optical fiber, putting suppliers in a “not worried about sales” position.

A research report from China Cinda Securities judged that since the third quarter of 2025, optical fiber prices in the China market have continued to rise, reflecting improving demand and overall relatively tight supply. Strong overseas demand and robust export performance reflect strong global demand in the fiber-optic and cable market. At present, the fiber-optic and cable industry has moved from recovery to a stage of “supply tightness and both volume and price rising.”

China Cinda Securities believes that the communications industry is currently in a dual dividend period driven by AI technology and bolstered by new infrastructure policies. The computing power industrial chain remains the core main line with high levels of business momentum. Computing power and chips are the essential foundation for AI industry development, and they are also the main investment lines for the current high level of momentum and high growth potential in the communications industry; it recommends focusing on them.

(Statement: The content of the article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors act on their own responsibility and bear the risks.)