A 100% Oversupply Of Smartphone OLED Displays By 2020 Is Looming

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Sept. 11, 2017 - PRLog -- Based on The Information Network's report entitled "OLED and LCD Markets: Technology, Directions, And Market Analysis," by the end of 2019, 499,500 OLED sheets will be in production (http://www.theinformationnet.com)

Smartphone market growth has slowed since 2015. Shipment growth between 2020 and 2021 will be only be 2.8% to 1,745 smartphones sold, so the oversupply will continue beyond 2020.

While the OLED market for smartphones will be in overcapacity by the end of 2019, OLED for other applications, particularly for TVs, will be another opportunity. The OLED TV panel customer base is expanding -large-sized OLED panel shipments are projected to reach 1.6 million in 2017, up from 900,000 TVs in 2016 and 420,000 in 2015.

The only US equipment public companies in this supply chain are Applied Materials and Coherent. Both compete against each other at the LTPS backplane (direct LTPS deposition versus laser annealing). Coherent also supplies excimer lasers to AP Systems for laser anneal and lift off. Applied Materials competes against privately held US-based Kateeva for encapsulation.