Which stocks are associated with electronic specialty gases?

Japan Oxygen Holdings | Air Products | Air Liquide | Linde As core materials for semiconductor etching, deposition, cleaning, and ion implantation, the global high-end electronic specialty gas market is dominated by these four overseas giants. Domestically, Chinese firms have achieved leading global production capacity in certain major product categories, and certification for advanced process nodes is progressing steadily.

Electronic Specialty Gases: The Invisible Giant Behind Semiconductors—Yet Domestic Substitution Still Falls Short

In 2024, the global semiconductor market experienced a robust recovery. According to the latest data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor industry sales reached $149.9 billion (approximately RMB 1.07 trillion) in Q2, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.3% and a quarter-on-quarter rise of 6.5%. Notably, sales in June alone surged 22.9% year-on-year and 1.7% quarter-on-quarter—the highest growth rate since April 2022. This data sends a positive signal across the semiconductor supply chain. Today, we’ll discuss electronic specialty gases—the second most critical material in semiconductor manufacturing. Within the global electronic specialty gas market, semiconductors account for 73% of total consumption, making them the largest end-user segment. In this field, Linde Group—a company with a market capitalization exceeding RMB 1 trillion—stands out; its current market value has reached RMB 1.6 trillion. Linde’s stock price. Source: Xueqiu Yet, despite the strategic importance of this material, Chinese enterprises hold only a tiny share of the market and wield minimal influence. Although many domestic firms are striving to break through, the path forward remains long and arduous due to exceptionally high technical barriers. I. The Semiconductor Industry’s Second-Largest Consumable Material Electronic specialty gases fall under the broader category of industrial gases. Industrial gases comprise bulk gases and specialty gases: bulk gases are used in large volumes across industrial manufacturing and constitute roughly 80% of the industrial gas market. Specialty gases—characterized by ultra-high purity and specific applications—play vital roles in electronics, healthcare, food processing, and other sectors. Electronic specialty gases dominate the specialty gas segment, accounting for approximately 60% of its market. Owing to their high technological sophistication and high added value, electronic specialty gases are indispensable in semiconductor fabrication, flat-panel display (FPD) manufacturing, photovoltaics (PV), and LED production. Their quality directly affects device yield and performance. Most notably, they are essential in semiconductor applications. Electronic specialty gases serve as fundamental and enabling raw materials throughout wafer fabrication, representing about 13% of total semiconductor material costs—second only to silicon wafers—and are crucial to final chip performance. Wafer fabrication material cost breakdown. Source: Xinchao IC From epitaxial layer growth to cleaning, deposition, lithography, etching, and doping, electronic specialty gases are involved in numerous wafer-processing steps—earning them the moniker “the grain of chip fabrication.” Currently, 114 specialty gases are used across various semiconductor manufacturing stages, with 44 being commonly employed—key examples include nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆), hexafluorobutadiene (C₄F₆), and ammonia (NH₃). Applications of electronic specialty gases in integrated circuits. Source: Zheshang Securities Research Institute II. Extremely High Technical Barriers Despite their prominent role in the semiconductor industry, Chinese enterprises have long faced foreign monopolization in this sector. Academician Ren Qilong of the Chinese Academy of Engineering pointed out that China’s industrial gas industry has long relied on Germany, the United States, and France; domestically produced specialty gases for integrated circuit manufacturing account for only about 20% of demand. China’s “industrial blood”—industrial gases—suffers from severe “anemia.” Globally and within China, electronic specialty gas markets are almost entirely dominated by enterprises from the U.S., France, Germany, Japan, and other countries. China’s ultra-high-purity specialty gases are almost entirely imported. Importing such gases incurs substantial costs: some varieties sell for tens of thousands of RMB per kilogram—imposing heavy financial burdens on domestic manufacturers.

Linde PLC Shares Acquired by Founders Financial Securities LLC

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Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired 5,263 shares of Linde PLC worth $2.5 million in Q3. Linde reported strong Q3 results with $9.4 billion revenue despite a $425 million restructuring charge.

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