Omdia: Accelerating depreciation of OLED and LCD manufacturing capacity set to improve FPD profitability

LONDON, February 11, 2026: According to the latest display industry research from Omdia, the depreciation of flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing equipment is accelerating, easing cost pressures on OLED and LCD panel manufacturers. Omdia forecasts that depreciation will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3% between 2021 and 2028, with the amount of fully depreciated global FPD manufacturing capacity nearly doubling over that period from approximately 160 million square meters to almost 300 million.

Depreciated LCD capacity, which accounts for around two-thirds of all FPD production, is expected to increase by 60% between 2021 and 2028. This expansion is being driven largely by Gen 10.5 factories, which were built quickly between 2017 and 2022. Depreciated Gen 10.5 assets will jump from zero in 2024 to near 80% by 2028.

“A similar trend is emerging at Korean White OLED (WOLED) and Quantum Dot OLED (QD OLED) production facilities. These factories are expected to reach near full depreciation by 2028, significantly reducing operating expenses and enabling their large-area OLED TV and monitor businesses to achieve sustainable profitability,” said Charles Annis, Chief Analyst in Omdia’s Display Research group. 

Gen 6, and smaller substrate RGB Fine Metal Mask (FMM) OLED capacity, primarily producing smartphone panels, will similarly transition from being less than 10% depreciated in 2021 to more than 60% by 2028.

Because FPD factories require multi-billion-dollar investments, depreciation can account for up to one-third of total manufacturing costs for a wide range of applications, extending from OLED smartphone modules fabricated at Gen 6 to 75-inch LCD televisions made at Gen 10.5 factories.  
As investment in new LCD and OLED factories has moderated in recent years, FPD makers' outstanding depreciation costs are rapidly declining, enabling them to run factories at lower utilization rates, produce a wider range of applications, and maintain profitability even in an extremely cost-competitive market.

“The new Gen 8.6 RGB OLED factories now being built in Korea and China are notable exceptions to this trend. These facilities will not benefit from even partial depreciation until after 2030. This will encourage makers to diversify production and maintain elevated factory utilization to distribute their high fixed costs across a greater number of panels.”