CATL H1 2026 Revenue Up 54.8% to RMB 276.9 Billion, Announces RMB 20-40 Billion Buyback

CATL achieved revenue of RMB 276.917 billion in the first half of 2026, up 54.8% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 43.284 billion, up 41.98%, implying average daily earnings of about RMB 240 million. Second-quarter revenue reached RMB 147.786 billion, a record for any single quarter. Net operating cash flow in the first half was RMB 60.217 billion, exceeding net profit, while period-end cash stood at RMB 372.05 billion and inventories at RMB 130.819 billion, up 38.39% from the start of the year.

The power battery business remained the core, generating first-half revenue of RMB 192.12 billion, up 46.02% and accounting for 69.38% of total revenue. Total battery system capacity was 525 GWh, with first-half production of 498 GWh and capacity utilization of 94.86%. Globally, CATL's installed base share of power batteries from January to May 2026 was 40.2%, up 2.2 percentage points year-on-year, ranking first worldwide for the eighth consecutive year. Its overseas market share was 33.7%, up 3.7 percentage points. In China, its share of passenger-vehicle battery installations was 46.7%, up 5.6 percentage points, including a 75.2% share of ternary lithium batteries.

Energy storage became the second growth engine, with first-half revenue of RMB 53.26 billion, up 87.5% and accounting for 19.2% of total revenue, approaching the full-year 2025 level. Recycling revenue was RMB 18.81 billion, up 67.2%, with a gross margin of 27.0%, the highest among the three business segments.

CATL also announced a share repurchase plan of RMB 20 billion to RMB 40 billion for A-shares, all to be cancelled, with a maximum repurchase price of RMB 573 per share, nearly 50% above the closing price on the announcement day. At the cap, the maximum repurchase would be about 69.808 million shares, representing 1.5% of total share capital. This is the largest single buyback plan in A-share history.

On profitability, the overall gross margin in the first half was 23.93%, down 1.1 percentage points from the same period in 2025. The power battery gross margin was 20.63%, down 1.78 percentage points, while the energy storage gross margin was 23.96%, down 1.56 percentage points. Management attributed the decline to rising raw material prices, with lithium iron phosphate prices rising from RMB 50,000 per tonne in January to over RMB 60,000 per tonne by May, with cost pressure temporarily borne by the company. On a core operating profit basis, first-half core operating profit was RMB 45.377 billion, up 70.1%, and the core operating margin rose from 14.91% to 16.39%.

Net financial expenses were RMB -631 million in the first half, versus RMB -5.822 billion in the same period of 2025, mainly due to exchange losses from currency movements, affecting profit by about RMB 5.2 billion. Overseas operations performed strongly, with first-half overseas revenue of RMB 87.129 billion, up 42.35% and accounting for 31.46% of total revenue, with a gross margin of 29.97%, nearly 9 percentage points higher than the domestic gross margin of 21.16%. Three overseas plants in Hungary, the United States, and Indonesia have commenced production.