A Look At Losers And Gainers From The Pandemic-Led MLCC Crisis: WSJ - Sony Group (NYSE:SONY), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Murata Manufacturing (OTC:MRAAF), Taiyo Yuden (OTC:TYOYY)

Asia's pandemic resurgence threatens the manufacture of ceramic bits in Apple Inc AAPL iPhones and Sony Group Corp SONY Playstations, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Japan's Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd MRAAF MRAAY, a key manufacturer of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), had to shut down a vital factory due to the resurgence. It was utilizing the other plants to make up for the production loss.
Malaysia's Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd TYOYY had to reduce production capacity to 80% - 85% of total following a government mandate.
MLCCs offer storage capacity for electrical energy leading to higher performance in tight spaces like the inside of a phone. Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan, which mainly account for the manufacture of MLCCs, have been severely impacted by the pandemic's latest variant.
Earlier smartphones needed a few hundred components, while a smartphone with high-speed 5G data service contains more than 1,000. The same is the case for EVs.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co and Murata's MLCC factories in the Philippines also remain vulnerable due to the country's rising cases.
Interestingly, Taiwan's Yageo Corp's YAGOY plants in China and Taiwan are ready to ramp up the volume and handle rush orders.
Price Action: SONY shares closed lower by 0.76% at $102.47 on the last check Monday.