Prices in Q4 2025 were lower sequentially by 3.9% on average, but we look for prices to increase in Q1 2026 by 1.5% on average.

As we look at pricing in terms of area, it has now been more than two years after the pandemic boom and bust that prices have stayed within a narrow range. In this period of stability, the products fall into three levels:

• The lowest-priced products are 32” and 43”, the most commoditized sizes. 32” panels seem to be the first size to increase, but also the first size to decline, and we are seeing that in Q1 2026, when 32” prices increased by $1, or 3%, in January. These two products are efficient 18 cuts per substrate on Gen 8.5 (32”) and Gen 10.5 (43”). During the whole period from July 2023 to our forecast out to February 2026, the price of 43” panels has stayed between $118 and $129 per square meter. The 32” panel hit a new post-pandemic low of $113 per square meter in November/December but has increased to $117 per square meter in January.
• The mid-tier products are 49”/50”, 55” and 65”, with the largest size usually coming at the highest price. These sizes are also made efficiently on Gen 8.5 (49”/50” 8-up and 55” 6-up) and Gen 10.5 (65” 8-up). These panels have fluctuated between $139 and $167 per square meter and fell near the bottom of that range in December, but each size started to increase in January.
• The premium products are 75” and 85”. The 75” panel briefly fell to the mid-tier level in 2023 but appears to have regained a premium of ~$15 over the smaller sizes. The 85” panel has maintained a premium of $15-$20 per square meter over the 75” panel, and we expect that premium to continue, but the premium dropped to $14 per square meter in December and looks like it’s staying there for a while.

Monthly Area Prices Per Square Meter for LCD TV Panels, January 2020 – April 2026

Our final chart in this sequence shows our LCD TV panel price index, taking a longer view from 2015 through April 2026.  The price increases in Q1 2025 brought our index up to a peak of 44.8 in March 2025, not quite as high as the peak in 2024 but still 47% higher than the all-time low of September 2022. Prices declined to a low of 40.4 in December, the lowest point since May 2023. We see the index rising modestly to 42.1 in March 2026 and stabilizing there in April.

LCD TV Panel Price Index, January 2015 – April 2026

Following the grey area in the chart, we can see that the period from mid-2023 to today is radically different than the period from 2015 to 2023. We no longer have wild swings in prices. As of January 2026, our price index remained within a relatively tight range of 40.4 to 45.6 for 29 months, and it appears unlikely that it will break out of that range in the near future.

Panel prices have been fluctuating around a level that allows the Chinese panel makers, with a cost advantage from government subsidies, to make a small profit, while Taiwanese panel makers come close to breakeven. The profitability of the Chinese panel makers was likely to be tested in the fourth quarter, but we may need to wait until their annual reports are issued in March 2026 to find out. In any case, with prices increasing in Q1 2026, profitability will improve.