This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) stocks were down about 1% on Wednesday morning after a report said both companies are facing potential supply constraints tied to a shortage of high-end Japanese glass cloth used in advanced chip substrates.
The specialised material, produced largely by Japan’s Nitto Boseki, is a key input for printed circuit boards and chip substrates used in smartphones and AI servers, according to a Nikkei Asia report.
The surge in artificial-intelligence hardware demand has intensified competition for the glass cloth, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) also seeking the same supplies, the report said.
Industry sources cited concerns that limited capacity and strict quality requirements could create a bottleneck for electronics and AI hardware production into 2026.
Apple and Qualcomm did not immediately comment on the report.
