AI concept stocks are well-known as the "trendsetters" leading the market surge, particularly as the AI glasses sector has witnessed substantial gains across multiple individual stocks recently, making 2025 the "breakout year" for AI glasses, mirroring the "breakout year" of the metaverse in 2021. With global shipments reaching 4 million pairs and market penetration nearing 60%, this trend is indeed filled with anticipation. However, identifying the strongest player in this field remains a matter of opinion and may require further consideration.

Since the recovery of consumer electronics at the end of 2024, the demand for optical components from products like smartphones and wearable devices has surged. As a leading supplier of optical components, Crystal Opto-Electronic stands as the primary beneficiary. As the largest provider of micro-prism products, Crystal Opto-Electronic was once a significant bulk supplier to Apple, especially with its prominent advantage in the four-reflection prism technology of Apple's latest products, earning it global acclaim. Nevertheless, the smartphone market alone isn't sufficient for Crystal Opto-Electronic to ascend to the industry's pinnacle. Coinciding with the rise of domestic automotive-related businesses, its supplied AR-HUD, lidar windows, PBS, and other automotive lidar components have secured a stable top market share in this field. With the increasing penetration of front-mounted HUD, shipments have shown a robust growth trend, leading to a rise in both performance and share price, ushering in a period of rapid development.

As of February 20, 2025, Crystal Opto-Electronic's share price has hit multiple daily limits, rising to 25 yuan, setting a new record high. Since its listing in September 2008, the share price has cumulatively increased by 2393.32%, and the latest market value has reached 35.03 billion yuan, a direct jump of 34.35 times compared to the 1.02 billion yuan at the time of its listing 16 years ago.

The share price has surged 24 times, and the market value has soared 34.35 times. What is the rationale behind Crystal Opto-Electronic's meteoric rise?

The world's largest supplier of mobile phone filters

The outside world often sees the sudden popularity of a company or the rise of an industry but rarely delves into the logic or deeper reasons behind it. Crystal Opto-Electronic may serve as a microcosm of the AI glasses sector. Generally, catching the trend of the times and being at the forefront of an industry's takeoff can lead to significant success, but the key lies in seizing this opportunity. Focusing on the research, development, and sales of products related to optical imaging, thin-film optical panels, automotive electronics (AR+), reflective materials, and other fields, Crystal Opto-Electronic not only holds the top position in the global mobile phone filter market but also has optical components, including filters and micro-prisms, as its core business, accounting for half of the company's revenue.

The sudden growth in 2024 wasn't unfounded or due to luck but was driven by the successful mass production of micro-prism products for major customers, coupled with the increasing penetration of absorption-reflection composite filters in the Android system. In 2023, revenue in this field increased by 21.11%; by the first quarter of 2024, the business continued to accelerate, with revenue growing by 54.46%, contributing 46.91% of total revenue. This is because among the top ten enterprises in global mobile phone filter shipments, Chinese enterprises hold an absolute monopoly with a market share of 91%, and Crystal Opto-Electronic's shipments also account for 21%, ranking first in this sector.

Relying on its technical prowess in micro-prism products, Crystal Opto-Electronic has cemented its position as the largest supplier of global mobile phone filters and a significant bulk supplier to Apple.

The AI glasses sector is truly the hottest trend

Before the surge in performance and share price, some used to joke that Crystal Opto-Electronic made camera filters and was perhaps just an important sub-segment leader among smartphone suppliers, not a "newcomer" in automotive optoelectronics or the AR metaverse. It wasn't until 2024, when over ten new HUD products with greater technical difficulty and higher price points, such as Lcos, were introduced, and another incremental business, reflective materials, rapidly developed, that this product symbolizing smart car glasses and metaverse windows became the second growth curve. Profits also soared from the original 500 million to 1.2 billion yuan. People then realized that the breakout year for AI glasses had truly arrived. The development of AI technologies, such as multi-modal large models, has endowed AI glasses with more powerful intelligent interaction capabilities. With chip upgrades and optical technology optimizations, AI glasses sales have grown rapidly, thoroughly opening up a vast market space for Crystal Opto-Electronic.

This technology is propelling the global consumer electronics industry into a new round of replacement cycles, raising market expectations for core enterprises in related industrial chains. More orders and business growth have followed, and the explosion in demand in the AI glasses market has directly driven significant gains in related concept stocks.

With product attributes widely used in fields like smart cameras and AR/VR devices, Crystal Opto-Electronic, as a related concept stock, has become the target of capital pursuit. Focusing on optical products and optical panels, the results of its overseas market layout over the years have become evident. Building on existing major customer supplies, it is expanding its coverage and is clearly on an upward trajectory.

With a gross profit margin of 30% and a net profit margin of 16%, there is still room for premium growth. With the current revenue growth rate of 15%, strong product demand, and a continuously expanding market size, Crystal Opto-Electronic, positioned at the core of the AI supply chain, is undoubtedly riding the hottest trend, unlocking a new wealth code. "Leading the optical sector is already a reality, and the next step of hitting a market value of 100 billion yuan is not out of reach.