Analysis of Core Leaders and Risks in the Sensor Industry Chain

Sensors, as core components of the perception layer, are widely used in automotive electronics, consumer electronics, industrial control, smart medical care, and other fields, serving as the foundational support for smart hardware and the Internet of Things. Below is a review of the top 10 core leaders in the A-share market’s sensor industry chain, analyzing their concepts and risks:

1. Consumer Electronics Sensor Segment

(1) GoerTek Inc.

Core Concept: A leader in consumer electronics sensors, covering MEMS microphones, pressure sensors, etc., deeply tied to major consumer electronics giants like Apple and Huawei. Products are used in TWS earphones, smartwatches, and VR/AR devices, benefiting from the intelligent upgrade of consumer electronics and the proliferation of metaverse hardware.Risks: Business highly dependent on Apple (high proportion of consumer electronics business), order fluctuations affected by new product cycles and supply chain adjustments; weak demand in the consumer electronics market (declining shipments of smartphones and earphones), compounded by intensified industry competition (order diversion by Luxshare Precision), leading to compressed profit margins; VR/AR hardware is still in the cultivation period, with rapid technological iterations (e.g., MicroLED displays, optical solution upgrades), and lagging R&D may lead to obsolescence.

(2) OFILM Group Co., Ltd.

Core Concept: A leader in optical and touch sensors, focusing on image sensor modules and 3D depth-sensing cameras, providing optical sensing solutions for smartphones and automotive electronics. Through business transformation, it focuses on high-end automotive electronics and VR/AR sensors, benefiting from the intelligentization of automobiles and the demand for metaverse hardware.Risks: Consumer electronics business significantly impacted by Apple’s supply chain adjustments, with historical performance showing high volatility; intense competition in the automotive electronics sensor market (e.g., Valeo, Lianchuang Electronics), high technical barriers (e.g., automotive-grade certification, high dynamic range imaging), and slow market expansion; large investment in business transformation, making short-term profitability difficult, and high customer concentration leading to order fluctuations affecting performance stability.

2. Automotive Electronics Sensor Segment

(3) Desay SV Automotive

Core Concept: A leader in automotive intelligent cockpits and sensors, covering in-vehicle cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and LiDAR, providing environmental perception and decision support for autonomous driving, deeply tied to domestic and international car manufacturers (e.g., Volkswagen, Xpeng), benefiting from the intelligentization of automobiles (widespread L2 – L4 level autonomous driving).Risks: Rapid technological iterations in autonomous driving sensors (e.g., 4D millimeter-wave radar, controversies over pure vision solutions), high R&D investment (over 10% of revenue), and if the technical route is incorrect or progress lags, the company may be eliminated from the market; the automotive industry is affected by macroeconomic factors and chip shortages, with fluctuations in new car sales directly impacting order demand; intense market competition (e.g., Continental, Horizon Robotics), and overseas market expansion constrained by geopolitical factors.

(4) Joway Technology

Core Concept: A company specializing in automotive power sensors and analog chips, focusing on the automotive electronics field, with products covering current sensors and voltage sensors, providing core sensing components for new energy vehicle BMS (battery management systems) and motor control systems, benefiting from the increasing penetration of new energy vehicles and domestic substitution of automotive-grade chips.Risks: Long certification cycle for automotive-grade chips (3 – 5 years), slow market introduction, making short-term performance difficult to break through; business highly dependent on the new energy vehicle industry, with demand significantly affected by subsidy reductions and changes in technical routes (e.g., solid-state batteries); high technical barriers in chip R&D (e.g., high reliability, wide temperature range design), with overseas giants (e.g., Infineon, Texas Instruments) monopolizing the market, making domestic substitution challenging, and supply chain (wafer foundry) restrictions leading to high production capacity fluctuation risks.

3. Industrial and IoT Sensor Segment

(5) Donghua Testing

Core Concept: An industrial testing sensor and system service provider, with products covering strain gauges, pressure sensors, and vibration sensors, providing condition monitoring and fault diagnosis solutions for industrial equipment (wind power, nuclear power, engineering machinery), benefiting from the industrial internet and the intelligent upgrade of equipment.Risks: Industrial sensor market demand is fragmented, with high customization levels in the industry, leading to small revenue scales for individual projects and slow performance growth; business relies on downstream industrial enterprises, significantly affected by macroeconomic cycles (e.g., decline in manufacturing investment), with severe order fluctuations; slow technological iterations (e.g., integration of wireless sensing and AI diagnostics), and solutions easily replaced by peers (e.g., Hanwei Technology, Suzhou Testing), leading to compressed profit margins.

(6) Shankai Intelligent

Core Concept: A leader in smart water service sensors, with products covering ultrasonic water meters, electromagnetic water meters, and water quality sensors, providing “measurement + monitoring + management” IoT solutions for water service groups, benefiting from policies promoting digitalization in water conservancy and smart pipeline construction.Risks: Demand in the smart water service market is significantly influenced by local finances and policy promotion rhythms, with business growth being regionally strong (concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta), making national expansion difficult; slow technological iterations (e.g., integration of NB-IoT communication and blockchain evidence), severe homogenization of solutions, and intense market competition (e.g., Xintian Technology, Sanchuan Wisdom), leading to small profit margins; niche industry demand with limited market capacity, resulting in a low performance ceiling.

4. MEMS and High-End Sensor Segment

(7) Ruichuang Micro-Nano

Core Concept: A leader in infrared thermal imaging sensors, focusing on MEMS infrared detectors and thermal imaging modules, with products applied in industrial temperature measurement, security monitoring, and automotive assisted driving, benefiting from domestic substitution of high-end sensors and the expansion of emerging application scenarios (e.g., smart homes, outdoor thermal imaging).Risks: Intense competition in the infrared sensor market (e.g., Guide Infrared, Dali Technology), with price wars compressing profits; rapid technological iterations (e.g., higher resolution, lower-cost detectors), requiring high R&D investment, and if overseas giants (e.g., FLIR, Bosch) introduce alternative technologies, market share may be impacted; business relies on government security and industrial projects, with demand significantly affected by policy changes, and slow expansion in the civilian market (niche demand for consumer-grade thermal imaging).

(8) Shunluo Electronics

Core Concept: A company developing passive components and sensors in synergy, focusing on thermistors and pressure sensors, providing sensing and signal processing solutions for consumer electronics and automotive electronics, benefiting from the demand for miniaturization and intelligentization of electronic devices, constructing an “components + sensors” ecosystem.Risks: Intense competition in the passive components business (e.g., Sanhuan Group, Fenghua Advanced Technology), with small profit margins and affected by industry overcapacity, leading to intensified price wars; low technical barriers in sensor business (e.g., thermistors), with small market share and reliance on consumer electronics customers, leading to significant order fluctuations; slow technological iterations (e.g., new sensing materials, integrated designs), with products easily replaced by peers (e.g., Meixin Semiconductor, Beiling Co.), leading to weak business synergy effects.

5. Industry Chain Coordination and Extension Segment

(9) Hongchang Technology

Core Concept: A company providing sensor components and control parts, with products covering pressure sensor components and smart control switches, applied in white goods (washing machines, refrigerators) and automotive electronics, benefiting from the intelligentization of home appliances and the lightweight demand in automotive electronics.Risks: Business highly dependent on the home appliance and automotive industries, with demand significantly affected by macroeconomic factors and industry cycles (e.g., real estate downturn dragging down home appliance consumption); low technical barriers for products (components and switches), with intense market competition (e.g., Dechang Co., Heertai), leading to compressed profit margins; low R&D investment (less than 3% of revenue), slow technological iterations, making it difficult to break into the high-end sensor field, with high customer concentration leading to order fluctuations affecting performance stability.

(10) Senba Sensor

Core Concept: A leader in optoelectronic sensors, with products covering infrared sensors and visible light sensors, applied in security monitoring, smart lighting, and automotive electronics, benefiting from the proliferation of the IoT perception layer and the intelligent upgrade of consumer electronics.Risks: Intense competition in the optoelectronic sensor market (e.g., Everlight Electronics, Lite-On Technology), with overseas giants monopolizing the high-end market, making domestic substitution challenging; business relies on consumer electronics and security industries, with demand significantly affected by economic cycles and policy regulations (e.g., cuts in security projects), leading to severe order fluctuations; slow technological iterations (e.g., integration of LiDAR and spectral sensing), with products easily replaced by emerging sensors (e.g., ToF sensors), small profit margins, and low R&D investment (less than 5% of revenue), leading to weak innovation capabilities.

Overall Risk Summary of the Industry Chain

Technological Iteration RisksThe sensor technology routes are diverse (e.g., pure vision vs. multi-modal fusion for automotive sensors), with short iteration cycles (1 – 3 years). Companies need to maintain high R&D investments (leading companies account for 8% – 15% of revenue), and if technological breakthroughs are slow or routes are incorrect, they may be eliminated from the market.Market Demand RisksWeak demand in consumer electronics (continuous decline in smartphone and earphone shipments), cyclical fluctuations in the automotive industry (inventory pressure, chip shortages), and low industrial investment directly impact sensor orders, with performance growth falling short of expectations, and homogenized competition leading to price wars, compressing profit margins.Supply Chain and Customer RisksHigh dependence on overseas wafer foundries (e.g., TSMC) and core components (e.g., MEMS wafers), with supply chains affected by geopolitical factors and natural events (e.g., earthquakes, fires), leading to supply disruptions or price increases impacting production capacity; high customer concentration (e.g., consumer electronics relying on Apple and Huawei), leading to significant order fluctuations and weak bargaining power.

The core logic of the sensor industry chain is “Domestic Substitution + Scenario Expansion”. In the short term, the intelligentization of automobiles (L2 + autonomous driving) and industrial internet policies drive performance; in the long term, breakthroughs in high-end sensors (e.g., automotive-grade MEMS, LiDAR) are needed to adapt to emerging demands such as the metaverse and 6G. Investments must be cautious of technological risks, demand fluctuations, and supply chain dependencies, focusing on companies’ R&D investments, customer structures, and scenario expansion capabilities. (Note: This article is based on publicly available information to outline the logic of the industry chain and does not constitute investment advice. The stock market has risks, and decisions should be made cautiously.)

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