Taipei research firm TrendForce has flagged a continued uptick in television panel prices for February 2026 while warning that laptop display prices will face downward pressure. The consultancy expects a broad rise across TV sizes, with 32-, 43- and 50-inch panels gaining about $1 each and larger 55-, 65- and 75-inch modules jumping roughly $2. Monitor panels show a more fragmentary picture: some sizes are firmer, others flat.
The near-term divergence between TV and notebook panels reflects shifting demand patterns and production allocations within the flat-panel industry. TV makers appear to be replenishing inventories ahead of spring promotions and replacing older stocks with larger, higher-margin models, tightening supply of popular LCD sizes. By contrast, notebook makers are still wrestling with weak end-user demand, elongated replacement cycles and elevated channel inventory, which together weigh on laptop-panel pricing.
Underlying structural trends in the display market amplify these cyclical forces. Major Chinese suppliers such as BOE and CSOT have been reallocating capacity and investment toward large-format TVs and higher-value technologies, including UDC-LCD and OLED variants, as smartphone OLED adoption continues to rise. That shift reduces available capacity for some mainstream LCD notebook panels and helps explain why TV panel prices are recovering while laptop panels remain under pressure.
For OEMs and retailers the implications are immediate. Higher panel costs will squeeze margins for budget TV models unless brands pass price increases to consumers; premium and big-screen TV segments may retain better profitability. Notebook vendors face the opposite problem: falling panel costs may ease bill-of-material pressures, but only if demand recovers and channels draw down excess stock. Monitor makers sit in-between, with outcomes depending on specific size and resolution mixes.
Investors and supply-chain managers should view February’s forecast as a signal rather than a definitive trend. A modest price rebound for TV panels can provide short-term relief to producers already under margin strain, but it does not negate broader headwinds: the industry is mid-transition to OLED and other higher-cost processes, and global PC demand remains subdued. The next few quarters will show whether rising TV panel prices reflect a durable realignment of supply or a temporary correction driven by seasonal restocking and capacity timing.