China's Listed Companies Earn 5.1 Trillion Yuan as Banks Anchor Profits and AI Drives Growth

Record earnings mask a widening divide

China's listed companies generated about 5.1 trillion yuan in profit in the first nine months of 2026, yet more than half of the companies in a broad A share tally recorded falling earnings. Banks supplied roughly a third of total profit, while artificial intelligence infrastructure helped electronics companies deliver some of the fastest growth.

The broad tally of 5,571 companies showed revenue of 56.66 trillion yuan and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 5.10 trillion yuan, up 5.6% and 8.5%, respectively, on a comparable basis. Profit attributable to shareholders means the earnings belonging to the listed company's owners after accounting for stakes held by other investors in its subsidiaries.

Figures attributed to the China Securities Regulatory Commission covered 5,224 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen that had disclosed results by October 31. Those companies reported revenue of 56.6 trillion yuan, up 5.8%, and profit of 5.1 trillion yuan, up 8.5%. Revenue and profit totals, along with their growth rates, were described as the highest since 2022.

The broader tally therefore gives revenue growth of 5.6%, compared with the regulator figures' 5.8%, and covers 347 more companies. The reason for the different company counts and revenue growth rates was not specified. Each set of figures needs to be understood within its own coverage.

Across both measures, the central picture is the same: aggregate earnings expanded, but the gains were uneven. Large financial institutions supported the total, while selected technology manufacturers grew much faster than many businesses serving traditional industries.

Why rising total profit can coexist with falling earnings

Among the 5,571 companies in the broad tally, 2,926 reported a decline in profit from a year earlier, representing 52.51% of the group. The median rate of profit growth was minus 4.13%. The median is the middle company after all companies are ranked, making it a useful way to describe performance beyond the largest earners.

Large companies can lift the combined profit total even when many smaller companies earn less. The 11 companies with the biggest profits contributed about 35.31% of all earnings in the broad tally. Their financial weight helps explain why the market total and the middle company's experience moved in different directions.

The regulator figures showed that 73% of Shanghai and Shenzhen companies remained profitable. Profitability and profit growth answer different questions: a business can still make money while earning less than it did a year earlier.

Shenzhen offered a concrete example. Of its 2,904 companies, 2,059 were profitable, about 71%, while 1,349, about 46%, increased their profit. Earning money remained common; increasing those earnings was less widespread.

Banks provide the largest earnings foundation

China's 42 listed banks generated 1.75 trillion yuan in profit attributable to shareholders during the first nine months, up 4.2%. They supplied 34.27% of profit in the broad market tally, roughly one yuan in every three.

Banks and financial companies outside banking together accounted for approximately 44.54% of total earnings. That concentration gives financial institutions a large influence over the headline result, even when their growth is slower than that of industrial and technology businesses.

Excluding banks and other financial companies, profit increased 17.9%, compared with 8.5% for the full market. Businesses outside finance therefore delivered faster combined growth, although their results still varied considerably by company and industry.

The earnings figures follow Beijing's September planned capital injection of 360 billion yuan into eight state owned banks and insurers. That program was designed to strengthen their financial position and support lending. Capital supplied by an investor strengthens an institution's funding base; operating profit is the money it earns through its business.

AI demand spreads through the hardware supply chain

Electronics companies in the broad market tally increased profit attributable to shareholders by 178.40%. Electronics and telecommunications together supplied 12.25% of market profit, putting the businesses that build digital infrastructure alongside finance as a major part of the earnings picture.

Demand was especially strong in memory, optical communications, semiconductors and printed circuit boards. These products perform different jobs inside the same computing system: memory holds data, chips process it, optical connections move it quickly, and circuit boards connect the components.

The artificial intelligence sector recorded profit growth of 281.0%, with its growth rate accelerating by 14.5 percentage points from the first half. Robotics companies increased profit by 94.8%, while makers of smart wearable devices recorded growth of 63.2%.

Shenzhen's figures showed how the demand reached several industries. Electronics profit rose 77.89%, telecommunications profit increased 60.85%, and computer industry profit grew 45.10%. Orders for AI servers, liquid cooling systems and rented computing capacity supported computer hardware integration and delivery businesses.

Optical module businesses, which make components that turn electrical signals into light for rapid data transmission, had orders extending into 2027. The broad market, Shenzhen and individual board figures describe different groups of companies, giving several views of the same investment cycle.

Technology boards grow quickly, with gains concentrated at the top

Shanghai's STAR Market recorded profit growth of 474.6%, while Shenzhen's ChiNext board increased profit by 22.73%. ChiNext's 1,411 companies generated revenue of 4.02 trillion yuan and profit of 302.413 billion yuan during the first nine months.

ChiNext's total growth was supported heavily by its largest businesses. The 100 companies with the highest market values earned 225.827 billion yuan, representing 74.67% of the board's profit, and increased their combined earnings by 38.37%. Across the whole board, 69.03% of companies were profitable and 45.50% increased profit.

Within ChiNext, electronics profit rose 134.65%, telecommunications profit increased 79.12%, and computer industry profit climbed 256.17%. Zhongji Innolight, Eoptolink and Dapu Micro reported growth of 212.12%, 76.79% and 665.51%, respectively, in profit excluding nonrecurring gains and losses.

That adjusted measure removes items classified as outside ordinary recurring business, helping readers see operating performance with fewer exceptional items. Across ChiNext, adjusted profit increased 28.30%, faster than the 22.73% rise in the headline profit measure.

Shenzhen's recovery reaches batteries, metals and exports

Shenzhen's 2,904 companies reported revenue of 17.49 trillion yuan, up 10.62%, and profit attributable to shareholders of 1.075067 trillion yuan, up 19.27%. Among them, 433 at least doubled profit and 51 recorded growth above tenfold, with strong performers concentrated in memory, optical modules, lithium battery materials, and copper and aluminium smelting.

Metals businesses outside iron and steel increased profit by 185.53%. Shenzhen's 61 battery companies generated profit of 100.111 billion yuan, up 51.51%, as energy storage joined batteries for vehicles as a source of demand.

CATL reported revenue of 442.137 billion yuan, up 56.19%, and profit attributable to shareholders of 64.530 billion yuan, up 31.60%. Its profit represented about 64.5% of Shenzhen's battery industry total, calculated from those two profit figures.

BYD sold more than 3.13 million vehicles during the first nine months, including 1.34 million overseas, with overseas sales rising 91%. Those figures put overseas sales at roughly two fifths of its total. Its third quarter profit increased 28.08% from a year earlier to 10.020 billion yuan.

Shenzhen's industrial improvement also reached machinery. Automation equipment companies increased combined profit by 26.76%, while specialised equipment manufacturers recorded growth of 22.27%. Among the city's 31 main industry groups, 28 were profitable and 18 increased profit.

Cash generation and investment add another measure of progress

Shenzhen's 2,824 companies outside banking, other finance and property generated profit of 953.326 billion yuan, up 17.64%. Their operating cash flow reached 977.047 billion yuan, about 1.02 times profit. Operating cash flow measures cash generated through everyday business, making it a useful companion to accounting earnings.

These companies' combined gross profit margin increased by 0.30 percentage points to 19.14%. Gross margin is the share of sales left after the direct cost of producing goods or providing services, before other expenses are deducted.

Investment continued alongside the earnings improvement. Shenzhen companies recorded research and development expenses of 551.399 billion yuan, up 5.74%. On ChiNext, research expenses rose 13.59% to 169.707 billion yuan, and investment in long term assets increased 24.98% to 348.267 billion yuan.

ChiNext electronics companies increased investment in long term assets by 70.13%, while telecommunications companies raised it by 58.23%. These outlays show businesses committing money to facilities, equipment and other lasting assets as demand for computing and communications hardware expands.

The third quarter exposed broader pressure

The broad market's third quarter results were weaker when compared with the second quarter. Across individual companies, the average change in profit was minus 23.09% and the median was minus 11.76%. A total of 3,190 companies reported a quarterly decline, about 57.3% of the 5,571 companies.

Those measures describe changes across companies rather than the percentage change in the market's combined profit. They nevertheless show that the slowdown reached well beyond a handful of businesses.

Electrical equipment, food and beverages, basic chemicals, and pharmaceuticals and biotechnology saw their median profit growth rates move from positive at the half year stage to negative in the third quarter reporting picture. Steel, household appliances, construction, agriculture and defence industries also faced pressure.

Some narrower groups still grew. ChiNext electrical equipment companies increased revenue by 37.96% and profit by 19.67% over the first nine months. Its pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies increased profit by 1.46%, while chemical pharmaceutical businesses recorded growth of 84.38%, supported by licensing agreements for innovative medicines abroad.

Different periods and company groupings help explain the mixed picture. A strong total for the first nine months can include a weaker third quarter, while a successful group of large manufacturers can sit within an industry where the middle company is struggling.

Demand supports growth, while the next investment cycle takes shape

Liao Bo, chief macroeconomic analyst at Northeast Securities' research institute, linked the earnings improvement to recovering domestic demand, strong exports, China's industrial supply chains and the size of its market. In his assessment, stronger demand and production at scale created conditions for better profit margins.

Liao also expected spending on artificial intelligence and robotics to remain strong. Describing that outlook, he said in remarks translated from Chinese:

We therefore believe that, globally, the strong capital expenditure cycle in areas related to artificial intelligence and robotics is expected to continue through 2028, creating room for sustained earnings improvement.

Capital expenditure means spending on assets such as factories, equipment and computing infrastructure. Liao's forecast extends beyond the optical module orders already reaching into 2027, setting out a longer investment outlook rather than a company delivery schedule.

The reporting sequence puts the results and outlook in order:

• January to September 2026: Companies accumulated the revenue, profit, cash flow and investment covered by the results.
• October 31, 2026: The disclosure cutoff covered 5,224 Shanghai and Shenzhen companies; all 1,411 ChiNext companies had published their third quarter reports.
• November 1, 2026: Aggregate figures and detailed Shenzhen and ChiNext earnings summaries were published.
• 2027: Optical module orders extended into this year.
• 2028: Liao expected strong global investment in AI and robotics to continue through this year.

For businesses supplying computing equipment, batteries and selected industrial materials, the results show expanding demand and continued investment. For many other listed companies, weaker quarterly earnings mean the rise in China's combined corporate profit has yet to become a broadly shared recovery.

Key Points

• The broad tally of 5,571 A share companies recorded profit of 5.10 trillion yuan, up 8.5%, during the first nine months of 2026.
• Profit declined at 52.51% of those companies, while the median profit growth rate was minus 4.13%.
• Forty two listed banks generated 1.75 trillion yuan in profit, supplying 34.27% of the market total.
• Electronics profit rose 178.40% in the broad tally, supported by demand for AI computing infrastructure.
• Shenzhen company profits increased 19.27%, with strong growth in technology, batteries and metals.
• Third quarter profit fell from the preceding quarter at 3,190 companies, showing continued pressure beyond the strongest sectors.