Battery Maker CATL Posts Earnings Beat Despite Cooling EV Demand — Update

By Jiahui Huang

Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world's largest electric-vehicle battery maker, beat profit expectations for 2025 even as it grappled with higher lithium prices and cooling EV demand in China.

Shares of Fujian-based CATL popped Tuesday morning after the results, rising 5.7% in Shenzhen and 9.2% in Hong Kong.

The Tesla supplier's earnings surged in the final quarter of 2025, bringing full-year profit growth to 42% and blowing past consensus views. Annual revenue rose 17%.

Analysts had anticipated a strong set of results, as the company's supply chain strategy helps it weather higher prices of lithium and other materials used in battery production.

"Despite softer EV demand in China and higher metal prices since late last year, the company's outlook remains positive," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note.

The brokerage believes CATL can drive revenue growth of at least 30% this year, in line with higher capital expenditure guidance and large pipeline of capacity under construction.

In December, the company said that its battery plant in Hungary was ready to launch, and that initial annual capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours was already fully booked.

Even if headwinds persist, CATL's results suggest that it entered 2026 on solid ground.

In the fourth quarter last year, net profit rose to 23.17 billion yuan, or about $3.35 billion, from 14.74 billion yuan a year earlier, it said late Monday. Revenue rose 37% to 140.63 billion yuan.

Annual net profit came in at 72.20 billion yuan on revenue of 423.70 billion yuan. Visible Alpha consensus estimate had projected yearly profit of 68.43 billion yuan and revenue of 430.45 billion.

CATL's major revenue driver, its EV battery system, delivered a 25% rise in revenue in 2025. Robust sales overseas and growing demand for energy-storage systems offset cooling demand for EVs in its home market.

The company, which counts Volkswagen, BMW and Geely Automobile among its client base, said that it is paying out an annual dividend of 21.78 yuan per 10 shares and a special dividend of 47.79 yuan per 10 shares for 2025.

CATL reported a gross profit margin of 26.27% in 2025, compared with 24.44% a year earlier, partly thanks to improvements in battery materials and recycling.

Citi analysts maintain a buy call on the company, keeping the stock as a top pick after management guided for solid demand growth over 2026-2030 and said that unit net profit could remain stable this year.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 09, 2026 22:31 ET (02:31 GMT)