Tantalum capacitor rally on AI: Panasonic reportedly hikes 15-30%, Yageo rides wave

As global hyperscalers ramp up AI server data-center expansions, memory isn’t the only component in tight supply. Following recent price hikes by U.S. suppliers, Panasonic has informed distributors and direct customers of 15-30% increases on select tantalum capacitor models, Commercial Times reports.

As Commercial Times highlights, this marks Panasonic’s first price hike of 2025, following the previous increase in December, 2024. The Economic Daily News adds that the adjustments—covering 30–40 tantalum polymer capacitor specifications—will take effect February 1, 2026, aimed at offsetting rising costs for materials, processes, and production equipment.

According to Commercial Times, with tantalum supply chains oligopolistic and constrained by long lead times, the industry may be bracing for another broad-based price wave in 2026.

Taiwan’s Yageo set to benefit
The report notes that the global tantalum capacitor market remains highly concentrated, with the top three players—all U.S.-based—being KEMET, AVX, and Vishay, collectively holding nearly 60-70% of the market. Panasonic’s share, on the other hand, is roughly on par with Vishay, at around 10%, as per Commercial Times.

KEMET, part of Taiwan’s Yageo, leads the segment with over 40% of global capacity. Within Yageo, tantalum capacitors account for roughly 23% of revenue, making it the company’s second-largest product line after magnetic components, Commercial Times notes.

Notably, the Economic Daily News reports that Yageo had raised tantalum capacitor prices previously, adding that the passive component giant launched its first round of hikes in June, then in late October raised prices again for large, high-voltage polymer tantalum capacitors (KO-CAP) by 20–30%.

The report notes that despite a relatively weak yen that should favor exports, Panasonic still issued the hikes—underscoring just how “hot” the tantalum capacitor market is, giving even smaller players pricing power alongside the market leader.

Why Tantalum Capacitors Are in High Demand

Commercial Times explains that tantalum capacitor price hikes stem not only from rising upstream costs like tantalum powder, but also from booming AI server demand. Once mainly used in military and aerospace applications, these high-value, high-performance components are now increasingly adopted in consumer electronics, led by Apple, the report notes, adding that the latest surge comes as CSP makers integrate them into ASIC servers, sparking a new wave of demand.

Significantly, the report points out that both NVIDIA’s GB300 and ASIC servers have been highlighted by the industry for incorporating tantalum capacitors—an area where established Japanese and Korean passive component makers remain absent. As designs using tantalum alone or in combination with high-end MLCCs are extremely capacity-intensive, Commercial Times notes that the stage is set for a new wave of widespread tantalum capacitor price hikes.

Source: TrendForce, Taiwan.