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報告_Citi_金像電2368_健鼎3044_20260811

更新 2026-08-13

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圖片清單(已驗證 2026-08-13)

檔名 size 分類 親眼所見內容
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_001.png 148KB 真資料圖 Figure 4/5:GCE 12M 遠期 P/E 估值帶(左,4.6x-23.8x)與 P/B 估值帶(右,含 ROE)
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_002.png 40KB 真資料圖 Figure 9:Tripod 12M 遠期 P/E 估值帶(7.2x-13.8x)
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_003.png 66KB 真資料圖 Figure 10:Tripod 遠期 P/B 估值帶與 ROE
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_004.png 108KB 真資料圖 GCE Bull/Base/Bear 目標價圖:NT$1,700/1,630/800,現價 NT$964
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_005.png 172KB 真資料圖 Tripod Bull/Base/Bear 目標價圖:NT$800/700/400,現價 NT$441.50,含 Base 假設(26/27E 營收 YoY +38%/+17%、GM 29.8%/31.4%)
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_006.png 268KB 真資料圖 GCE 與 Tripod 評等/目標價沿革圖與變動明細表(2023-08 至 2026-08)
260811_citi_GCE-tripod_007.png 245KB 真資料圖 GCE 與 Tripod Short-Term View / Catalyst Watch 歷史紀錄圖表

圖片清單已於 2026-08-13 逐張 Read 驗證,本份報告 7 張候選圖全數為真資料圖,無裝飾/文字卡。

原始內容

Prepared for Kevin Lu

a

11 Aug 2026 12:30:07 ET │ 21 pages

Taiwan PCB & Laminates

CCL price hike not a concern; Buys on Gold Circuit and Tripod

CITI'S TAKE

PCB sector has suffered from concerns over GM pressure from CCL price hikes from June. As per our discussion with Gold Circuit (GCE) and Tripod, we believe PCB makers will be able to raise prices, as customers now would need to leverage PCB makers' relationships with CCL suppliers in order to secure more CCL supplies. While GCE suffered from the pressure in 2Q26, the company would hike the prices to its customers in 3Q26 as Tripod does. We see both names benefitting from favorable product mix and price hikes in the coming quarters. Buy on GCE (TP NT$1,630) and Tripod (TP NT$700).

GCE: 2Q26 GM miss on CCL price hike GCE's 2Q26 sales (+26% QoQ) were driven by server segment (+36% QoQ), while networking segment declined 6% QoQ. 2Q26 GM posted 34.7% (-0.2ppt QoQ), missing Citi/consensus forecasts by 2.0ppt/1.4ppt due to time lag to reflect CCL price hike, rising depreciation on new capacity ramp and likely less networking sales. OPEX ratio was 0.2% higher QoQ, due to more employee profit-sharing expense. Despite GM/OPM miss, thanks to lower tax rate, overall 2Q earnings was in line with Citi forecast and 4% higher than consensus forecasts. Thailand plant turned profitable in 2Q26, as per mgmt.

GCE: 3Q26 outlook: ASIC demand ramping up Backed by higher production value on increasing ASP and new capacity added (especially in Thailand plant), we now forecast 3Q26 sales to grow 16% QoQ. Despite the market's concern over GM pressure from CCL price hike, mgmt. indicated customers have agreed with the PCB price hikes and believe GM wouldn't be negatively impacted. Besides, ASIC demand ramp and better pricing would help more than offset the rising depreciation and FX headwinds, driving its GM profile in 3Q26, as per mgmt. For GM, we now forecast 3Q26E GM of 36.6% (+1.9ppt QoQ). Also, the company lowered full-year tax rate guidance from 32% to 29% due to receipt of tax benefits.

GCE: New ASIC demand likely to ramp in 4Q26; preparing for HDI For its new AI ASIC business, the company now sees good chance to secure the project; production might start in 4Q26 at the earliest. For HDI, the company plans to invest in new capacity, targeting ramp-up in 2H27. Mgmt. is confident in its HDI capabilities, given similar level of technological complexity to 800G switch products. For new capacity ramped in 2027, Thailand and Suzhou plants are planned to ramp in 2H27.

Current Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year
Rating Short- Term Target Price EPS EPS
Company Ticker Ccy Price MktCap (M) Date& Time Old New View Old New ESPR(%) Div Yld (%) ETR(%) Last Rpt Yr Old New Old New
Gold Circuit Electronics 2368.TW NT$ 964.00 504,107 11Aug 13:30 1 nc - 1,740.00 1,630.00 69.1 2.0 71.1 Dec-25 39.21 37.24 66.00 64.39
Tripod Technology 3044.TW NT$ 441.50 232,055 11Aug 13:30 1 nc - 666.00 700.00 58.6 4.6 63.1 Dec-25 28.45 31.17 38.41 39.76
1=Buy,2=Neutral,3=Sell,H=HighRisk 1=Buy,2=Neutral,3=Sell,H=HighRisk 1=Buy,2=Neutral,3=Sell,H=HighRisk 1=Buy,2=Neutral,3=Sell,H=HighRisk 1=Buy,2=Neutral,3=Sell,H=HighRisk ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange ESPR=ExpectedSharePriceReturn, ETR=ExpectedTotalReturn, nc=nochange
Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch ^CatalystWatch

See Appendix A-1 for Analyst Certification, Important Disclosures and Research Analyst Affiliations.

Jack Chen AC

+886-2-8726-9091 jack1.chen@citi.com

Laura (Chia Yi) Chen

+886-2-8726-9090

laura.cy.chen@citi.com

Nicholas Lai +886-2-8726-9093

nicholas.lai@citi.com

2

Prepared for Kevin Lu

Earnings Estimates

Last Reported Year Last Reported Year Last Reported Year Last Reported Year Current Fiscal Year Current Fiscal Year Current Fiscal Year Current Fiscal Year Current Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year Next Fiscal Year
CompanyName Ticker Rpt Year Currency 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FY0 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FY1 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FY2
Gold Circuit Electronics 2368.TW Dec-25 NT$ 3.46 3.35 6.38 5.79 18.98 6.62 9.09 10.59 10.95 37.24 13.74 15.69 17.48 17.48 64.39
Old Dec-25 NT$ 3.46 3.35 6.38 5.79 18.98 6.88 9.45 11.48 11.39 39.21 13.92 15.95 18.07 18.06 66.00
Tripod Technology 3044.TW Dec-25 NT$ 4.48 4.65 5.62 4.70 19.45 5.61 7.41 9.36 8.79 31.17 7.85 9.67 11.12 11.12 39.76
Old Dec-25 NT$ 4.48 4.65 5.62 4.70 19.45 5.61 7.12 8.12 7.61 28.45 7.59 9.44 10.99 10.40 38.41
Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research Source: Citi Research

Prepared for Kevin Lu

Tripod: 2Q26 GM beat on enhanced product mix Tripod's 2Q26 sales (+19% QoQ) were driven by the server segment (+40% QoQ), followed by auto (+13% QoQ) and memory (+5% Qo). 2Q26 GM expanded 3.6ppt QoQ to 30.1%, beating Citi/consensus forecasts by 1.8ppt/2.8ppt. Mgmt. attributed GM upbeat to enhanced product mix and price hike to reflect inflation. OP levels also saw better leverage QoQ, beating Citi/consensus forecasts by 14%/18%, while high tax rate was more of a one-off. Overall earnings were still a beat by 4%/8% vs Citi/consensus forecasts.

Tripod: 3Q26 outlook: server continuing picking up As teir-1 PCB makers focus more on leading AI server boards, Tripod sees more outflowing demand for either general-purpose server mainboard or ASIC CPU mainboard. The company expects its 3Q26 would be driven by continued server demand and price hike (especially for auto customers). Thus, we now forecast Tripod's 3Q26E sales to grow 13% QoQ. For GM, we forecast 3Q26E GM of 31.2% (+1.1ppt QoQ). For memory demand, the company now sees momentum gaining in 2H26 vs 1H26.

Tripod: CCL price hike not an issue As per management's observation, they don't think CCL price hike would become an issue for its GM profile, as customers in need are fully aware of the CCL shortage and would accept PCB price hikes. Besides, customers now would need to leverage PCB makers' relationships with CCL suppliers in order to secure more CCL supplies, favoring those PCB names with hightiering and large scale. For its CCL supply, mgmt. thinks its supply is tight now but has not seen the shortage constraint its 3Q26 operation. For capacity expansion, the company is ramping its Vietnam plant and is likely to see limited contribution in 2H26, and is expanding its capacity in Hubei plants.

Earnings revisions; GCE's TP slightly cut to NT$1,630; Tripod's TP lifted to NT$700; Buy on both names For GCE, we adjust our 2026/27/28E earnings by 1%/+2%/+3% to factor in short-term CCL price hike impact but lower tax rate. We cut our GCE TP to NT$1,630 (25x 2027E EPS) from NT$1,740 (26x 2027E EPS). For Tripod, we increase our 2026/27E/28E earnings by +10%/+4%/+4% to factor in its stronger GM profile. We raise our DCF-based Tripod TP to NT$700 (implied 18x 2027E) from NT$666 (implied 17x 2027E EPS). We see both names benefitting from favorable product mix and price hikes in the coming quarters. We rate both Tripod and GCE Buy.

Figure 1. GCE - 2Q26 Results

(NT$mn) 2Q26 Actual 1Q26 Actual Q/Q 2Q25 Actual Y/Y 2Q26 Citi Diff. 2Q26 Cons. Diff.
Revenue 24,279 19,313 26% 13,853 75% 24,427 -1% 23,182 5%
Gross profit 8,413 6,722 25% 4,095 105% 8,943 -6% 8,349 1%
Gross margin 34.7% 34.8% -0.2 ppt 29.6% +5.1 ppt 36.6% -2.0 ppt 36.0% -1.4 ppt
Op. profit 6,418 5,185 24% 2,868 124% 6,997 -8% 6,516 -2%
OPmargin 26.4% 26.8% -0.4 ppt 20.7% +5.7 ppt 28.6% -2.2 ppt 28.1% -1.7 ppt
Net income 4,783 3,484 37% 1,694 182% 4,784 0% 4,413 8%
EPS(NT$) 9.09 6.62 37% 3.35 171% 9.45 -4% 8.82 3%

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Citi Research Estimates, Company Reports, Bloomberg

Prepared for Kevin Lu

Figure 2. GCE - Earnings Revisions

3Q26E 3Q26E 3Q26E 4Q26E 4Q26E 4Q26E 2026E 2026E 2026E 2027E 2027E 2027E 2028E 2028E 2028E
(NT$mn) New Old Chg. New Old Chg. New Old Chg. New Old Chg. New Old Chg.
Sales 28,227 27,807 2% 28,190 27,499 3% 100,009 99,046 1% 146,911 146,911 0% 192,448 192,448 0%
Sequential growth (%) 16% 14% 0% -1% 67% 65% 47% 48% 31% 31%
Gross profit 10,325 10,592 -3% 10,561 10,555 0% 36,021 36,812 -2% 58,893 59,420 -1% 79,978 79,978 0%
Opex 2,324 2,220 5% 2,349 2,250 4% 8,207 7,953 3% 11,266 11,096 2% 13,995 13,826 1%
Operating profit 8,000 8,373 -4% 8,212 8,306 -1% 27,815 28,860 -4% 47,627 48,324 -1% 65,983 66,152 0%
Pre-tax profit 8,023 8,420 -5% 8,234 8,352 -1% 27,644 28,894 -4% 47,747 48,646 -2% 66,143 66,474 0%
Net income 5,576 5,810 -4% 5,764 5,763 0% 19,607 19,840 -1% 33,900 33,399 2% 46,961 45,623 3%
EPS(NT$) 10.59 11.48 -8% 10.95 11.39 -4% 37.24 39.21 -5% 64.39 66.00 -2% 89.20 90.16 -1%
Gross margin (%) 36.6% 38.1% -1.5 ppt 37.5% 38.4% -0.9 ppt 36.0% 37.2% -1.1 ppt 40.1% 40.4% -0.4 ppt 41.6% 41.6% 0.0 ppt
Opexratio (%) 8.2% 8.0% +0.3 ppt 8.3% 8.2% +0.2 ppt 8.2% 8.0% +0.2 ppt 7.7% 7.6% +0.1 ppt 7.3% 7.2% +0.1 ppt
Operating margin (%) 28.3% 30.1% -1.8 ppt 29.1% 30.2% -1.1 ppt 27.8% 29.1% -1.3 ppt 32.4% 32.9% -0.5 ppt 34.3% 34.4% -0.1 ppt
Net margin (%) 19.8% 20.9% -1.1 ppt 20.4% 21.0% -0.5 ppt 19.6% 20.0% -0.4 ppt 23.1% 22.7% +0.3 ppt 24.4% 23.7% +0.7 ppt

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Citi Research Estimates

Figure 3. GCE - Forecast Summary

GCE (NT$ in Mn, year-end Dec) 1Q 2QE 2026 3QE 4QE 1QE 2QE 2027 3QE 4QE 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Revenue 19,313 24,279 28,227 28,190 32,684 36,210 39,108 38,909 18,991 23,398 26,607 32,785 30,044 38,952 60,004 100,009 146,911 192,448
COGS -12,590 -15,866 -17,903 -17,629 -19,962 -21,808 -23,195 -23,054 -16,500 -18,108 -20,236 -24,057 -22,320 -27,556 -40,321 -63,988 -88,018 -112,470
Depreciation costs -412 -502 -613 -777 -981 -1,151 -1,261 -1,373 -754 -615 -653 -743 -821 -960 -1,195 -2,304 -4,766 -5,948
Gross Profit 6,722 8,413 10,325 10,561 12,722 14,403 15,913 15,855 2,491 5,291 6,371 8,728 7,724 11,396 19,683 36,021 58,893 79,978
Operating Expense -1,538 -1,996 -2,324 -2,349 -2,559 -2,798 -2,982 -2,928 -1,821 -2,217 -2,249 -2,691 -2,588 -3,329 -5,640 -8,207 -11,266 -13,995
SG&A expenses -1,186 -1,525 -1,778 -1,804 -1,961 -2,136 -2,307 -2,296 -1,285 -1,575 -1,673 -1,948 -1,866 -2,342 -4,430 -6,293 -8,700 -10,777
R&Dexpenses -343 -461 -536 -536 -588 -652 -665 -623 -471 -533 -623 -718 -803 -974 -1,256 -1,876 -2,527 -3,180
EBIT 5,185 6,418 8,000 8,212 10,163 11,605 12,931 12,928 669 3,074 4,123 6,037 5,136 8,067 14,043 27,815 47,627 65,983
Net Interest Income 13 10 10 10 15 15 20 20 -213 -147 -51 -27 78 78 55 43 70 110
Net Other Income -110 -128 13 12 13 12 13 12 -186 -229 -23 379 3 345 75 -213 50 50
Pre-Tax Profit 5,088 6,299 8,023 8,234 10,191 11,632 12,964 12,960 270 2,698 4,049 6,388 5,218 8,490 14,173 27,644 47,747 66,143
Tax -1,604 -1,516 -2,447 -2,470 -2,955 -3,373 -3,760 -3,758 -140 -631 -1,122 -1,820 -1,689 -2,875 -4,567 -8,037 -13,847 -19,181
Net Profit 3,484 4,783 5,576 5,764 7,236 8,259 9,204 9,201 130 2,067 2,927 4,568 3,529 5,616 9,607 19,607 33,900 46,961
EPS (NT$) 6.62 9.09 10.59 10.95 13.74 15.69 17.48 17.48 0.24 3.81 5.40 8.80 7.23 11.11 18.98 37.24 64.39 89.20
Sequential Growth (%)
Networking 12% -6% 11% -3% 34% -2% 10% 0% -30% 18% 3% 30% -25% 12% 59% 78% 40% 27%
Server 21% 36% 16% 1% 15% 13% 8% 0% 8% 28% 11% 48% -3% 40% 67% 73% 51% 34%
NB -2% 26% 32% -9% -10% 12% 14% -2% -8% 12% 25% -16% -13% -15% 25% 15% 17% 0%
Others 18% -16% 33% -12% 1% 12% 1% -12% -8% 41% 28% -32% 3% 83% -29% 4% 6% 0%
Margins (%)
Gross Margin 34.8% 34.7% 36.6% 37.5% 38.9% 39.8% 40.7% 40.7% 13.1% 22.6% 23.9% 26.6% 25.7% 29.3% 32.8% 36.0% 40.1% 41.6%
Operating Margin 26.8% 26.4% 28.3% 29.1% 31.1% 32.0% 33.1% 33.2% 3.5% 13.1% 15.5% 18.4% 17.1% 20.7% 23.4% 27.8% 32.4% 34.3%
Net Margin 18.0% 19.7% 19.8% 20.4% 22.1% 22.8% 23.5% 23.6% 0.7% 8.8% 11.0% 13.9% 11.7% 14.4% 16.0% 19.6% 23.1% 24.4%
Sequential Growth (%)
Revenue 18% 26% 16% 0% 16% 11% 8% -1% -8% 23% 14% 23% -8% 30% 54% 67% 47% 31%
Gross Profit 22% 25% 23% 2% 20% 13% 10% 0% -17% 112% 20% 37% -12% 48% 73% 83% 63% 36%
EBIT 30% 24% 25% 3% 24% 14% 11% 0% -13% 359% 34% 46% -15% 57% 74% 98% 71% 39%
Net Profit 19% 37% 17% 3% 26% 14% 11% 0% -43% 1493% 42% 56% -23% 59% 71% 104% 73% 39%
EPS 14% 17% 3% 26% 14% 11% 0% -43% 1490% 42% 63% -18% 54% 71% 96%
37% 73% 39%

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Citi Research Estimates, Company Reports

Prepared for Kevin Lu

260811_citi_GCE-tripod_001

Figure 6. Tripod - 2Q26 Results

(NT$mn) 2Q26 Actual 1Q26 Actual Q/Q 2Q25 Actual Y/Y 2Q26 Citi Diff. 2Q26 Cons. Diff.
Revenue 24,857 20,964 19% 17,903 39% 24,261 2% 24,236 3%
Gross profit 7,479 5,559 35% 4,693 59% 6,865 9% 6,612 13%
Gross margin 30.1% 26.5% +3.6 ppt 26.2% +3.9 ppt 28.3% +1.8 ppt 27.3% +2.8 ppt
Op. profit 5,585 3,846 45% 3,224 73% 4,914 14% 4,715 18%
OPmargin 22.5% 18.3% +4.1 ppt 18.0% +4.5 ppt 20.3% +2.2 ppt 19.5% +3.0 ppt
Net income 3,896 2,946 32% 2,444 59% 3,741 4% 3,618 8%
EPS(NT$) 7.41 5.61 32% 4.65 59% 7.12 4% 6.94 7%

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Citi Research Estimates, Company Reports, Bloomberg

Figure 7. Tripod - Earnings Revisions

3Q26E 3Q26E 3Q26E 4Q26E 4Q26E 4Q26E 2026E 2026E 2026E 2027E 2027E 2027E 2028E 2028E 2028E
(NT$mn) New Old diff New Old diff New Old diff New Old diff New Old diff
Sales 28,047 26,245 7% 27,220 24,658 10% 101,089 96,129 5% 118,005 114,917 3% 137,948 134,338 3%
Sequential growth (%) 13% 8% -3% -6% 38% 31% 17% 20% 17% 17%
Gross profit 8,757 7,668 14% 8,345 7,240 15% 30,139 27,332 10% 37,023 35,927 3% 45,423 43,984 3%
Opex 2,168 2,030 7% 2,186 1,983 10% 7,961 7,677 4% 9,216 9,090 1% 10,595 10,449 1%
Operating profit 6,589 5,638 17% 6,158 5,257 17% 22,177 19,655 13% 27,807 26,837 4% 34,828 33,535 4%
Pre-tax profit 6,835 5,930 15% 6,415 5,554 15% 23,037 20,787 11% 29,026 28,042 4% 36,027 34,720 4%
Net income 4,921 4,269 15% 4,619 3,999 15% 16,382 14,956 10% 20,899 20,190 4% 25,939 24,998 4%
EPS(NT$) 9.36 8.12 15% 8.79 7.61 15% 31.17 28.45 10% 39.76 38.41 4% 49.35 47.56 4%
Gross margin (%) 31.2% 29.2% +2.0 ppt 30.7% 29.4% +1.3 ppt 29.8% 28.4% +1.4 ppt 31.4% 31.3% +0.1 ppt 32.9% 32.7% +0.2 ppt
Opexratio (%) 7.7% 7.7% -0.0 ppt 8.0% 8.0% -0.0 ppt 7.9% 8.0% -0.1 ppt 7.8% 7.9% -0.1 ppt 7.7% 7.8% -0.1 ppt
Operating margin (%) 23.5% 21.5% +2.0 ppt 22.6% 21.3% +1.3 ppt 21.9% 20.4% +1.5 ppt 23.6% 23.4% +0.2 ppt 25.2% 25.0% +0.3 ppt
Net margin (%) 17.5% 16.3% +1.3 ppt 17.0% 16.2% +0.8 ppt 16.2% 15.6% +0.6 ppt 17.7% 17.6% +0.1 ppt 18.8% 18.6% +0.2 ppt

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Citi Research Estimates

Prepared for Kevin Lu

Figure 8. Tripod - Forecast summary

Tripod (NT$ in Mn, year-end Dec) 1Q 2QE 2026 3QE 4QE 1QE 2QE 2027 3QE 4QE 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Revenue 20,964 24,857 28,047 27,220 26,152 28,957 32,484 30,411 52,106 54,451 55,548 63,000 65,784 58,862 65,804 73,399 101,089 118,005 137,948
COGS -15,406 -17,378 -19,291 -18,876 -18,494 -19,988 -22,215 -20,285 -42,341 -43,185 -44,397 -51,101 -53,979 -47,476 -50,516 -54,407 -70,950 -80,982 -92,525
GrossProfit 5,559 7,479 8,757 8,345 7,658 8,970 10,269 10,126 9,764 11,266 11,150 11,899 11,805 11,387 15,288 18,992 30,139 37,023 45,423
Operating Expense -1,713 -1,894 -2,168 -2,186 -2,223 -2,226 -2,461 -2,306 -4,343 -4,495 -4,576 -5,286 -5,036 -4,763 -5,557 -6,080 -7,961 -9,216 -10,595
SG&Aexpenses -1,650 -1,825 -2,044 -2,067 -2,092 -2,081 -2,299 -2,154 -4,160 -4,290 -4,352 -5,075 -4,796 -4,513 -5,275 -5,774 -7,586 -8,626 -9,906
R&D expenses -63 -69 -123 -120 -131 -145 -162 -152 -183 -205 -224 -211 -240 -250 -282 -307 -375 -590 -690
EBIT 3,846 5,585 6,589 6,158 5,435 6,744 7,808 7,820 5,422 6,771 6,574 6,613 6,769 6,624 9,731 12,912 22,177 27,807 34,828
Net Interest Income 212 131 160 170 208 226 225 215 163 183 188 211 73 477 916 742 674 875 855
Net Other Income 49 -35 86 86 86 86 86 86 941 844 995 674 983 977 350 344 186 344 344
Pre-Tax Profit 4,107 5,681 6,835 6,415 5,729 7,056 8,119 8,121 6,525 7,798 7,757 7,498 7,825 8,077 10,996 13,998 23,037 29,026 36,027
Tax 1,161 1,785 1,914 1,796 1,604 1,976 2,273 2,274 -1,587 -1,761 -1,631 -1,639 -1,624 -2,015 -2,614 -3,773 -6,655 -8,127 -10,088
Net Profit 2,946 3,896 4,921 4,619 4,125 5,080 5,846 5,847 4,938 6,037 6,126 5,858 6,200 6,062 8,382 10,225 16,382 20,899 25,939
EPS (NT$) 5.61 7.41 9.36 8.79 7.85 9.67 11.12 11.12 9.40 11.49 11.65 11.15 11.80 11.53 15.95 19.45 31.17 39.76 49.35
Margins (%)
GrossMargin 26.5 30.1 31.2 30.7 29.3 31.0 31.6 33.3 18.7 20.7 20.1 18.9 17.9 19.3 23.2 25.9 29.8 31.4 32.9
Operating Margin 18.3 22.5 23.5 22.6 20.8 23.3 24.0 25.7 10.4 12.4 11.8 10.5 10.3 11.3 14.8 17.6 21.9 23.6 25.2
Net Margin 14.1 15.7 17.5 17.0 15.8 17.5 18.0 19.2 9.5 11.1 11.0 9.3 9.4 10.3 12.7 13.9 16.2 17.7 18.8
Sequential Growth (%)
Revenue 10.5 18.6 12.8 -2.9 -3.9 10.7 12.2 -6.4 13.7 4.5 2.0 13.4 4.4 -10.5 11.8 11.5 37.7 16.7 16.9
GrossProfit 15.0 34.5 17.1 -4.7 -8.2 17.1 14.5 -1.4 16.9 15.4 -1.0 6.7 -0.8 -3.5 34.3 24.2 58.7 22.8 22.7
EBIT 18.6 45.2 18.0 -6.5 -11.7 24.1 15.8 0.2 13.0 24.9 -2.9 0.6 2.4 -2.1 46.9 32.7 71.8 25.4 25.2
Net Profit 19.2 32.3 26.3 -6.1 -10.7 23.2 15.1 0.0 13.1 22.3 1.5 -4.4 5.8 -2.2 38.3 22.0 60.2 27.6 24.1
EPS 19.2 32.3 26.3 -6.1 -10.7 23.2 15.1 0.0 13.1 22.3 1.5 -4.4 5.8 -2.2 38.3 22.0 60.2 27.6 24.1

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Company Reports, Citi Research

Figure 9. Tripod - Forward P/E band

260811_citi_GCE-tripod_002

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: DataCentral, Citi Research

260811_citi_GCE-tripod_003

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission. Source: DataCentral, Citi Research

Prepared for Kevin Lu

2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec 2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec 2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec 2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec 2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec 2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec Price:NT$964.00; TP: NT$1,630.00; MarketCap:NT$504,107m; 2368.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec Recomm:Buy
Profit&Loss(NT$m) 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E Valuation ratios 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Sales revenue 38,952 60,004 100,009 146,911 192,448 PE(x) 86.8 50.8 25.9 15.0 10.8
Cost of sales -27,556 -40,321 -63,988 -88,018 -112,470 PB(x) 22.9 14.6 9.9 6.0 3.8
Gross profit 11,396 19,683 36,021 58,893 79,978 EV/EBITDA(x) 55.0 32.8 16.7 9.4 6.4
Gross Margin (%) 29.3 32.8 36.0 40.1 41.6 FCFyield (%) 0.1 -0.9 -0.4 4.2 6.9
EBITDA(Adj) 9,118 15,327 30,291 52,749 72,376 Dividend yield (%) 0.4 0.6 1.0 2.0 3.4
EBITDAMargin(Adj) (%) 23.4 25.5 30.3 35.9 37.6 Payout ratio (%) 31 30 26 29 37
Depreciation -1,051 -1,284 -2,477 -5,122 -6,393 ROE(%) 29.4 35.1 46.4 49.9 43.3
Amortisation 0 0 0 0 0 Cashflow(NT$m) 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
EBIT (Adj) 8,067 14,043 27,815 47,627 65,983 EBITDA 9,118 15,327 30,291 52,749 72,376
EBIT Margin (Adj) (%) 20.7 23.4 27.8 32.4 34.3 Working capital -1,129 -8,564 -7,468 -5,836 -6,524
Net interest 78 55 43 70 110 Other -2,451 -4,437 -8,207 -13,727 -19,021
Associates -340 -79 -111 0 0 Operating cashflow 5,538 2,327 14,616 33,187 46,830
Non-Op/Except/Other Adj 685 154 -102 50 50 Capex -5,131 -6,733 -16,877 -12,000 -12,000
Pre-tax profit 8,490 14,173 27,644 47,747 66,143 Net acq/disposals -263 -66 1,281 0 0
Tax -2,875 -4,567 -8,037 -13,847 -19,181 Other 0 0 0 0 0
Extraord./Min.Int./Pref.div. 0 0 0 0 0 Investing cashflow -5,394 -6,799 -15,597 -12,000 -12,000
Reported net profit 5,616 9,607 19,607 33,900 46,961 Dividends paid -1,703 -2,920 -4,995 -9,804 -16,950
Net Margin (%) 14.4 16.0 19.6 23.1 24.4 Financing cashflow 1,879 14,186 3,653 3,709 1,744
CoreNPAT 5,616 9,607 19,607 33,900 46,961 Net change in cash 2,023 9,714 2,673 24,896 36,575
Per share data 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E Free cashflow to s/holders 407 -4,407 -2,261 21,187 34,830
Reported EPS($) 11.11 18.98 37.24 64.39 89.20
Core EPS($) 11.11 18.98 37.24 64.39 89.20
DPS($) 3.46 5.72 9.66 18.96 32.78
CFPS($) 10.96 4.60 27.76 63.04 88.95
FCFPS($) 0.81 -8.71 -4.30 40.24 66.16
BVPS($) 42.17 66.16 96.93 161.32 250.52
Wtdavgordshares(m) 487 491 507 507 507
Wtdavgdiluted shares (m) 505 506 526 526 526
Growthrates 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Sales revenue (%) 29.6 54.0 66.7 46.9 31.0
EBIT (Adj) (%) 57.1 74.1 98.1 71.2 38.5
CoreNPAT(%) 59.1 71.1 104.1 72.9 38.5
CoreEPS(%) 53.6 70.9 96.2 72.9 38.5
BalanceSheet(NT$m) 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Cash&cashequiv. 9,185 18,114 20,692 45,588 88,313
Accounts receivables 13,401 27,001 41,119 50,652 62,227
Inventory 7,900 9,747 14,762 17,610 21,449
Net fixed &other tangibles 12,779 19,121 32,333 39,211 38,667
Goodwill &intangibles 257 284 287 287 287
Financial &other assets 1,062 1,478 2,225 2,729 3,341
Total assets 44,584 75,746 111,418 156,076 214,285
Accounts payable 8,268 11,029 17,066 20,496 25,119
Short-term debt 2,722 5,937 6,685 6,685 6,685
Long-term debt 4,531 11,875 16,540 20,248 21,993
Provisions &other liab 7,751 13,425 20,099 23,719 28,599
Total liabilities 23,272 42,265 60,390 71,148 82,395
Shareholders' equity 21,312 33,481 51,028 84,928 131,889
Minority interests 0 0 0 0 0
Total equity 21,312 33,481 -303 51,028 84,928 131,889
Net debt (Adj) -1,931 2,533 -18,654 -59,636
Net debt to equity (Adj) (%) -9.1
For definitions of the items in this table, please click here. -0.9 5.0 -22.0 -45.2

Prepared for Kevin Lu

3044.TW: Fiscalyearend31-Dec Price: NT$441.50; TP:NT$700.00; MarketCap:NT$232,055m; Recomm:Buy Price: NT$441.50; TP:NT$700.00; MarketCap:NT$232,055m; Recomm:Buy Price: NT$441.50; TP:NT$700.00; MarketCap:NT$232,055m; Recomm:Buy Price: NT$441.50; TP:NT$700.00; MarketCap:NT$232,055m; Recomm:Buy Price: NT$441.50; TP:NT$700.00; MarketCap:NT$232,055m; Recomm:Buy
Profit&Loss(NT$m) 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E Valuation ratios 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Sales revenue 65,804 73,399 101,089 118,005 137,948 PE(x) 27.7 22.7 14.2 11.1 8.9
Cost of sales -50,516 -54,407 -70,950 -80,982 -92,525 PB(x) 4.6 4.3 3.6 3.1 2.7
Gross profit 15,288 18,992 30,139 37,023 45,423 EV/EBITDA(x) 15.1 12.4 8.0 6.5 5.2
Gross Margin (%) 23.2 25.9 29.8 31.4 32.9 FCFyield (%) 4.3 2.5 -1.2 6.6 8.8
EBITDA(Adj) 14,071 16,915 27,008 33,424 40,792 Dividend yield (%) 2.3 2.9 4.6 5.9 7.5
EBITDAMargin(Adj) (%) 21.4 23.0 26.7 28.3 29.6 Payout ratio (%) 65 65 65 65 67
Depreciation -4,340 -4,003 -4,830 -5,617 -5,964 ROE(%) 17.9 19.6 27.8 30.3 32.3
Amortisation 0 0 0 0 0 Cashflow(NT$m) 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
EBIT (Adj) 9,731 12,912 22,177 27,807 34,828 EBITDA 14,071 16,915 27,008 33,424 40,792
EBIT Margin (Adj) (%) 14.8 17.6 21.9 23.6 25.2 Working capital -536 -2,461 -10,412 -1,170 -3,555
Net interest 916 742 674 875 855 Other -1,348 -2,687 -5,795 -6,908 -8,889
Associates 66 -13 9 0 0 Operating cashflow 12,187 11,767 10,801 25,346 28,348
Non-Op/Except/Other Adj 284 357 177 344 344 Capex -2,316 -5,867 -13,688 -10,000 -8,000
Pre-tax profit 10,996 13,998 23,037 29,026 36,027 Net acq/disposals 0 0 0 0 0
Tax -2,614 -3,773 -6,655 -8,127 -10,088 Other -1,408 -2,971 -9 0 0
Extraord./Min.Int./Pref.div. 0 0 0 0 0 Investing cashflow -3,724 -8,838 -13,697 -10,000 -8,000
Reported net profit 8,382 10,225 16,382 20,899 25,939 Dividends paid -3,942 -5,414 -6,646 -10,648 -13,584
Net Margin (%) 12.7 13.9 16.2 17.7 18.8 Financing cashflow -181 -5,184 -3,103 -9,628 -12,556
CoreNPAT 8,382 10,225 16,382 20,899 25,939 Net change in cash 8,283 -2,255 -5,999 5,718 7,792
Per share data 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E Free cashflow to s/holders 9,871 5,900 -2,887 15,346 20,348
Reported EPS($) 15.95 19.45 31.17 39.76 49.35
Core EPS($) 15.95 19.45 31.17 39.76 49.35
DPS($) 10.30 12.64 20.26 25.84 32.97
CFPS($) 23.19 22.39 20.55 48.22 53.93
18.78 11.22 -5.49 29.20 38.71
FCFPS($) BVPS($) 95.69 102.90 121.42 140.92 164.43
Wtdavgordshares(m) 526 526 526 526 526
Wtdavgdiluted shares (m) 526 526 526 526 526
Growthrates 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Sales revenue (%) 11.8 11.5 37.7 16.7 16.9
EBIT (Adj) (%) 46.9 32.7 71.8 25.4 25.2
CoreNPAT(%) 38.3 22.0 60.2 27.6 24.1
CoreEPS(%) 38.3 22.0 60.2 27.6 24.1
BalanceSheet(NT$m) 2024 2025 2026E 2027E 2028E
Cash&cashequiv. 28,914 26,659 20,660 26,378 34,170
Accounts receivables 20,389 22,958 32,398 35,957 41,386
Inventory 8,590 12,019 16,447 17,168 19,972
Net fixed &other tangibles 25,077 28,534 37,392 41,775 43,811
Goodwill &intangibles 0 0 0 0 0
Financial &other assets 4,593 7,991 10,449 11,397 12,654
Total assets 87,564 98,162 117,345 132,675 151,994
Accounts payable 7,119 9,334 10,782 11,801 13,704
Short-term debt 7,142 6,479 9,548 10,432 11,322
Long-term debt 0 1,000 1,474 1,610 1,748
Provisions &other liab 22,999 27,257 31,714 34,754 38,787
44,070 65,560
Total liabilities 37,260 53,517 58,597
Shareholders' equity 50,296 54,084 63,820 74,070 86,425
Minority interests Total equity 8 50,304 8 54,092 8 63,828 8 74,078 8 86,434
Net debt (Adj) -21,772 -19,180 -9,638 -14,336 -21,100
Net debt to equity (Adj) (%) -43.3
For definitions of the items in this table, please click here. -35.5 -15.1 -19.4 -24.4

NT$

1,704

1,420

1,136

852

568

284

Aug 25

4 76% Upside

NT$ 1,630.00

4 69% Upside

NT$ 800.00

v 17% Downside

Bull/Bear: Gold Circuit Electronics (2368.TW)

260811_citi_GCE-tripod_004

BASE Assumptions

• Revenue YoY growth of +67%/ +47% in 2026/27E.

  • GM at 36.0%/40.1% in 2026/27E.

BEAR Assumptions

• Share loss to its peers in switch board/UBB/OAM businesses of US CSPs.

  • Poor efficiency of its Thailand plant.

Prepared for Kevin Lu

NT$

804

670

536

402

268

Aug 25

Prepared for Kevin Lu

NT$ 700.00

NT$ 400.00

7 9.4% Downside

Bull/Bear: Tripod Technology (3044.TW)

260811_citi_GCE-tripod_005

Prepared for Kevin Lu

Gold Circuit Electronics

Company description

Founded in 1981, Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE) is a Taiwanese company specializing in the production of printed circuit board (PCB) including doublesided PCB, multi-layer PCB, and HDI. GCE's products primarily focus on applications of servers, networking, laptops, base stations, mobile phones, and tablets. The company is known for its high-layer count design capabilities (maximum layer count: +50L) in the PCB industry, which help it to penetrate into more high-end applications such as AI servers and 400G networking. Currently, server/networking accounts for +70% of its total sales. The company has four plants, with one located in Taiwan and the other three in China, and plans to build one plant in Thailand.

Investment strategy

We rate GCE a Buy as we believe its high-tech capabilities in server/networking design will allow it to catch more AI opportunities from US CSPs or US IC designers in the AI boom cycle. We expect its rising sales exposure toward high-end applications with better margins and improving UTR to drive its margin going forward. In our view, geopolitical tensions should benefit non-China suppliers more, which would prevent GCE from fierce ASP competition from China PCB peers.

Valuation

Our TP of NT$1,630 for GCE is based on 25x our 2027E EPS estimate, which is higher than 22x or +2std level of its 1-year-forward PE over the past three years. We believe the 25x multiple is justified by GCE's high AI server/networking sales exposure, market share gain in existing ASIC customer and new AI ASIC customer wins from 4Q26, which drives its AI ASIC sales growth and margin profile. Recall that TSMC expects close to a 50%+ CAGR in the next five years for its AI-related demand, which is stronger than any other applications. Thus, we believe investors would be willing to pay for high-growth AI names (especially ASIC) with high PE multiples. Our target price is equivalent to 44x/25x our 2026/27E EPS estimates and 16.5x/9.9x our 2026/27E BVPS.

Risks

Key downside risks that could prevent the shares from reaching our target price include: 1) weaker-than-expected server recovery; 2) slower ramp-up pace of new server platform; 3) less-than-expected AI demand; 4) more PCB peers added into AI supply chain; and 5) stricter practice of China+1 by customers due to geopolitical concerns.

Tripod Technology

Company description

Established in 1997, Tripod is a major printed circuit board (PCB) supplier, ranked No.9 globally by Prismark in 2025. Tripod has manufacturing sites in

Prepared for Kevin Lu

Taiwan and Wuxi, China. The company has a diversified product portfolio including DRAM, TFT-LCD, HDD, HDI, PC, server, and automotive.

Investment strategy

We rate Tripod a Buy. We like Tripod for its management quality, solid execution, and product-mix improvement. We believe resilient growth from memory, server/networking, and auto businesses will offset soft demand from PCs/handsets and improve the overall margin profile at the same time. Increasing contribution from HDI products should also help margins. With prudent capex, stable depreciation level, and solid operations, we expect the PCB business to generate cash flow to support a decent dividend yield. With AI demand booming and potential supply tightness in high-end PCBs, we believe Tripod could benefit.

Valuation

We use DCF methodology to derive our target price of NT$700. Key assumptions of our DCF model include a risk-free rate of 4.5% (10-year government bond rate), a market risk premium of 7%, and an equity beta of 0.8 (1-year weekly share price), which derives a WACC of 9.7%. Our model assumes c.2% long-term revenue growth and gradually rising EBIT margin from 23.6% in 2027E. Our target price is equivalent to 23x/18x our 2026/27E EPS estimates and 5.8x/5.0x our 2026/27E BVPS estimates, which we believe are more reflective of its current fundamentals.

Risks

Key downside risks that could prevent Tripod shares from reaching our target price are: 1) weaker-than-expected tech demand; 2) increasing China labor costs, rising gold/copper prices, and/or RMB appreciation, which would pressure margins; 3) a sustained drop in conventional PCB pricing; 4) less HDI sales mix; 5) less server/networking/memory sales exposure; and 6) lessthan-expected AI growth.

Gold Circuit Electronics (2368.TW)

Analyst: Jack Chen

TWD

1,500

1,000

500

If you are visually impaired and would like to speak to a Citi representative regarding the details of the graphics in this document, please call USA 1-888-500-5008 (TTY: 711), from outside the US +1-210-677-3788 J F M AMijASON DJ F M

Date

Appendix A-1

EE. 12-Mar-24 09:50:59

1

*280.00

242.50

[10 / 18-Feb-25 12:07:53