---
title: "Samsung Electro-Mechanics is 62% off its June peak even as capacitor waits hit 61 weeks"
description: "Korea's press ties the slide to fears of tighter US data-center rules after the midterm elections, but the order book runs the other way: 61-week waits for its capacitors and Nvidia money behind its new substrate lines. The January restock date, and whether about 50 long-term supply contracts hold, will show which side is right."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Chips"
published: 2026-11-15T22:07:33.959Z
modified: 2026-11-15T22:07:33.959Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/samsung-electro-mechanics-is-62-off-its-june-peak-even-as-capacitor-waits-hit-61-weeks
language: en
keywords: "Samsung Electro Mechanics, MLCC, Chip Substrates, Nvidia, Korea Stocks"
---

# Samsung Electro-Mechanics is 62% off its June peak even as capacitor waits hit 61 weeks

> Korea's press ties the slide to fears of tighter US data-center rules after the midterm elections, but the order book runs the other way: 61-week waits for its capacitors and Nvidia money behind its new substrate lines. The January restock date, and whether about 50 long-term supply contracts hold, will show which side is right.

[Samsung Electro-Mechanics](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/samsung-electro-mechanics), the Samsung affiliate whose capacitors and chip-packaging substrates sit inside AI servers, closed at 862,000 won on November 13, about 62 percent below the 2.27 million won intraday peak it set on June 19 [1]. [Samsung Electronics](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/samsung) fell about 43 percent over the same span, [SK hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) about 58 percent [1].

Korea's press blames the slide on the November 3 US midterm elections, which handed Democrats control of Congress and stoked fears of tighter data-center rules, and on doubts about the returns on AI investment [1][2].

*Chart: **Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell harder from its June peak than the chipmakers it supplies** Bars comparing peak-to-November drawdowns: Samsung Electro-Mechanics down 62 percent, SK hynix down 58, Samsung Electronics down 43*

*Decline from the June 19, 2026 intraday peak to the November 13, 2026 close, in percent. Source: Asia Business Daily, November 14, 2026. [1]*

## The order book says shortage, not slump

The quarter the market is discounting was the company's best ever: [revenue of 3.76 trillion won, up 30 percent, and operating profit of 691 billion won, up 166 percent](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20261028006051320) [1][3].

Lead times for seven of its MLCC items, the ceramic capacitors that steady power flow inside a server, stretched from 29–31 weeks at end-July to 61 weeks in October at distributor Digi-Key, against an industry norm of about 12 weeks, [as we reported on November 11](https://theinference.org/article/samsung-electro-mechanics-capacitor-wait-hits-61-weeks-on-digikey-five-times-the-industry-norm) [4]. [The 47-microfarad parts used in AI servers have been out of stock since August, with restock due in January](https://inchart.kr/en/news/post/post-133767) [4].

Prices rose for some direct customers this quarter, [DIGITIMES reported a planned 30 percent increase in September](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20260902PD208/semco-price-mlcc-2026-market.html), and about 50 customers have signed or are negotiating long-term deals covering more than half of next year's MLCC sales [4][5].

*Chart: **The wait for Samsung Electro-Mechanics capacitors doubled to 61 weeks in three months** Column chart of MLCC lead times: about 12 weeks at the industry norm, 29 to 31 weeks at end-July, 61 weeks in October*

*Lead times in weeks for seven Samsung Electro-Mechanics MLCC items at distributor Digi-Key. The end-July range of 29–31 weeks is plotted at its midpoint of 30, with the range shown as a bar; the industry norm is about 12 weeks. Source: InChart, November 10, 2026. [4]*

## Customers are paying for capacity

On November 12, chief executive Chang Duck-hyun [broke ground on a 4.27 trillion won substrate plant in Sejong, South Korea](https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-it/2026/11/12/ZSK7ZAUVNRFDZA3QPITUXJC5BA/), targeting mass production in September 2028 [6]. It is the largest piece of a 6.78 trillion won expansion approved in September, alongside 2.51 trillion won for Vietnam, a program [The Inference sized at about $5 billion on October 21](https://theinference.org/article/samsung-electro-mechanics-joins-nvidia-s-substrate-chain-with-a-5-billion-capex-plan-and-no-advance-named) [6][7].

![A person gestures toward trays of package substrates on a table below a slide headed Package Substrate Seminar](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/38edbcfb732237c5.jpg)

*Package substrates, the chip carriers Samsung Electro-Mechanics is expanding capacity for, on display at a company substrate seminar in August 2024. (Courtesy of Samsung Electro-Mechanics)*

[Nvidia](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/nvidia) is co-funding dedicated lines at Sejong and Busan under a October 21 agreement, [as we reported on October 24](https://theinference.org/article/nvidia-pays-ibiden-samsung-electro-mechanics-and-unimicron-for-substrate-capacity-at-s-fell-18-6); neither company disclosed the amount [7]. Chang has said demand for server substrates runs more than 50 percent above capacity [7].

## The worry is orders dry up before the plants open

The worry is that data-center orders dry up before the new plants open. Bloomberg chief economist Tom Orlik notes that most US data centers planned through 2028 sit in states that held midterm votes, and that governors reading voter anger over the local power and water bills data centers bring could slow construction, cutting Korean suppliers' orders [8]. Analysts cited by Reuters doubt any bill could meaningfully stall the buildout [2].

Shinhan Securities still projects the MLCC division's operating margin rising from 10 percent in 2024 to 31.5 percent in 2027 [9]. The market is pricing the end of a boom whose parts are still on a fourteen-month back order. The January restock, and whether the long-term contracts hold, will say which side is right; Sejong pays nothing until September 2028 [4][6].

## Takeaway

The stock says the AI parts boom is over; the order book says the wait for its capacitors has never been longer. January's restock, and about 50 long-term contracts, are the tiebreaker.

## Sources

1. [Asia Business Daily (Asia Economy), "Samsung Electro-Mechanics Shares Plunge 62%... Fall Steeper Than Samsung Electronics and SK hynix", 14 November 2026](https://www.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2026111511094655140)
2. [Reuters (via MSN), "AI data center stocks dip, renewables surge after Democrat sweep in US midterm elections", 4 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ai-data-center-stocks-dip-renewables-surge-after-democrat-sweep-in-us-midterm-elections/ar-AA2gJwvq)
3. [Yonhap News Agency, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics logs record profit in Q3 on AI boom", 28 October 2026](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20261028006051320)
4. [InChart, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics MLCC Lead Time Hits 61 Weeks: AI Server Demand Drives Long-Term Contracts and Price Hikes", 10 November 2026](https://inchart.kr/en/news/post/post-133767)
5. [DIGITIMES, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics eyes 30% MLCC price hikes, ABF up too", 3 September 2026](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20260902PD208/semco-price-mlcc-2026-market.html)
6. [Chosun Biz, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics to build Sejong FC-BGA plant, target mass production in 2028", 12 November 2026](https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-it/2026/11/12/ZSK7ZAUVNRFDZA3QPITUXJC5BA/)
7. [TechTimes, "NVIDIA Co-Invests in Dedicated Samsung Electro-Mechanics Lines to Lock In Korean AI Chip Supply", 22 October 2026](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/329382/20261022/nvidia-co-invests-dedicated-samsung-electro-mechanics-lines-lock-korean-ai-chip-supply.htm)
8. [MoneyToday, "KOSPI rebounds after US midterm election results, but AI profitability is now key", 4 November 2026](https://www.mt.co.kr/index.php/en/stock/2026/11/04/2026110414303036869)
9. [StockHub, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics Projected to Accelerate Earnings Growth and See Stock Price Rebound in 2027", 11 November 2026](https://stockhub.kr/en/news/news_1887fcfb6bc4)


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Samsung Electro-Mechanics is 62% off its June peak even as capacitor waits hit 61 weeks — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/samsung-electro-mechanics-is-62-off-its-june-peak-even-as-capacitor-waits-hit-61-weeks