| Invested through |
|
|---|---|
| Asset Classes | Listed equity |
| Impact strategy | Impact Equities and Bonds |
| Bloomberg ticker | OLED US |
| ISIN code | US91347P1057 |
| Industry group | Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment |
| Aligned with SDGs |
Universal Display designs and makes organic light emitting diodes (OLED). OLEDs are used for (smart phones and TV) displays and solid state lighting applications. OLED is a substitute for LCD or LED as they are more energy efficient. The company has outsourced production of materials to PPG. Its added value is in the architecture of the OLED.
Key customers are display producing companies such as Samsung, LG and BOE. The company was founded in 1994 and went public in 1996.
Investment rationale
Energy consumption of displays is a significant driver of total energy consumption of a device. For example, a 2016 study found that in mobile devices, the display consumes between 38% and 50% of total energy. While this percentage is likely lower today (in part due to 5G chip sets), it shows that reducing the power consumption of displays can significantly help to reduce the power consumption of mobile devices. OLED displays in mobile devices are more power efficient. This is because OLED displays do not require external lighting and the pixels of OLED are self-illuminating. As a key player in the OLED value chain, Universal Display contributes to making mobile devices (and potentially also other devices) more power efficient.