In the second quarter of 2026, China's LED display industry ushered in a significant overseas shipment peak. Under the multiple effects of the concentrated release of the dividends from the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as the recovery of overseas market demand, the previously backlog of overseas orders has entered a period of concentrated delivery. Several leading LED screen companies have significantly increased their overseas shipments in Q2 compared to the previous period, and the industry has ushered in a phase of delivery peak.

Q1 Preparation: Volume Increase, Price Decrease, Orders' On the Road '

According to the "LED Video Display Market Tracking Report" released by industry research institutions, in the first quarter of 2026, global shipments of LED video displays increased by 0.6% year-on-year, continuing a steady growth trend. However, market revenue decreased by 2.3% year-on-year, marking the first time since 2022 that there has been negative revenue growth. Volume increases, price decreases "- selling more goods but earning less money. The core factor dragging down revenue is the 1.0-1.99 millimeter pixel pitch product, which has long occupied the largest revenue share in the industry. In Q1, revenue decreased by 6.8% year-on-year, and the prices and profits of the main products were both under pressure, directly dragging down the revenue performance of the entire industry.

However, it is worth noting that while the demand for traditional applications continues to be weak, the demand for emerging scenarios such as sports and cultural activities, smart city construction, hotels and commercial spaces, digitalization of higher education, and enterprise visualization upgrades is still steadily growing. LED display screens are increasingly becoming the preferred solution for high-end visual communication in these fields.

At the same time, there is an objective factor that cannot be ignored in Q1: global port congestion has caused a large number of overseas event orders and retail signage orders to be delayed in shipment, which has not been included in the first quarter revenue in a timely manner. That is to say, the order is actually on its way, but the delivery is stuck on the road.

Q2 Fulfillment: Centralized delivery of event orders, significantly increased month on month shipment

Entering the second quarter, there has been a fundamental change in the situation. From a macro perspective, data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first half of 2026, China's imports and exports reached 25.47 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%; In the second quarter, the import and export volume was 13.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%, reaching the highest quarterly growth rate since the third quarter of 2021. Among them, the export of electromechanical and high-tech products increased by 20.1% and 39% respectively, while high-end export categories such as LED commercial screens, XR virtual devices, and event rental screens benefited perfectly from this round of foreign trade recovery.

Specifically in the LED display industry, the overseas shipment growth in Q2 mainly comes from the combined efforts of three aspects:

Firstly, the backlog of orders will be released in a centralized manner. The overseas orders that were delayed due to global shipping congestion in the first quarter were fully included in the second quarter revenue after completing customs clearance, shipment, and acceptance processes from April to June. The concentrated release of this backlog of orders constitutes the fundamental basis for the significant increase in Q2 shipments compared to the previous period.

Secondly, fulfill orders for World Cup events. The 2026 World Cup between the United States, Canada, and Mexico officially opened on June 12th. As the world's top sports event, there is a huge demand for LED displays. At the Aztec Stadium in Mexico, a company has provided a comprehensive digital audio-visual system with a total area of over 2200 square meters, covering multiple areas such as the north and south main screens, inner arc surround screens, and perimeter screens of the stadium. This is one of the largest orders won by a Chinese LED display company in a single sports stadium, and also marks that Chinese brands have advanced from a single "hardware supplier" to a "comprehensive visual effect solution service provider" in the international top-level event supply chain.

At BC Place Sports Center in Vancouver, Canada, a high-end LED central funnel screen independently developed by a Shenzhen enterprise has successfully landed, with a total area of over 600 square meters, becoming the largest central suspended intelligent display system in Canada. In addition, some companies have delivered a complete set of LED broadcasting screen solutions for the official broadcasting organization of the World Cup, covering multiple key display scenarios of the event. These large-scale projects all completed delivery and revenue recognition in the second quarter.

Thirdly, the demand in overseas markets has fully recovered. The demand of North America, Europe and the markets along the "the Belt and Road" recovered synchronously, and the bulk orders of retail digital signage in North America, European cultural tourism projects, smart cities in the Middle East and business circle transformation were concentrated in the second quarter. The overseas shipment of high-end Mini/Micro LED products has significantly increased year-on-year, and the demand for overseas government and enterprise conference rooms, XR virtual studios and other scenarios has exploded.

Overall, the industry's overseas revenue in the second quarter achieved a month on month growth of over 40%. Overseas accounts for over 60% of newly signed orders, with long-term replenishment agreements established with European and American distributors, and bulk orders followed up in emerging markets such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

What does' phase peak 'mean?

The peak of Q2's shipment is essentially the combined effect of the backlog of orders in the first quarter and the concentrated delivery of event orders in the second quarter. It is both a "catch-up" and a "fulfillment". But it is worth considering whether this peak is sustainable?

On the positive side, top-level events such as the World Cup bring more than just short-term order revenue. Large scale venue projects have a strong benchmark demonstration effect - the Aztec Stadium, as the only "football temple" in the world to host the World Cup three times, has its digital revitalization project live streamed in over 100 countries worldwide, and Chinese LED display products will reach billions of viewers. This brand exposure and trust accumulation are expected to translate into subsequent overseas order growth.

On the other hand, the dividends of the competition are ultimately one-time. The real challenge for the industry is how to transform the brand effect brought by the event into sustained market share growth? How to improve profitability through product structure upgrading and technological differentiation in the current trend of "increasing quantity and decreasing price" in Q1?

A research institution has pointed out that the global LED display market achieved strong growth of 14% in 2025, but whether this momentum can be continued in 2026 depends on whether companies can find more growth engines outside of sports events. Emerging fields such as cinema LED displays, LED all-in-one machines, and creative displays are becoming the next growth points of industry attention.

In the short term, the performance increment brought by orders for events such as the World Cup has been fully released, and there is some uncertainty about whether Q3 and Q4 can continue the growth trend of Q2. However, in the long run, the global demand for digital display replacement continues to grow, and the penetration rate of LED displays in commercial, household, public service and other fields is far from reaching its peak. The temporary peak is just a node in the industry's long-distance running. What truly determines the future direction is whether Chinese screen companies can transform a wave of dividends into sustained competitiveness.