<p>Amid the wave of demand for new energy batteries, CATL is accelerating its lead over competitors.</p>
<p>On April 15, CATL released its first-quarter 2026 report. Single-quarter operating revenue reached 129.131 billion yuan, a significant year-over-year increase of 52.45%, setting a new historical record. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company reached 20.738 billion yuan, up 48.52% year-over-year, translating to basic earnings per share of 4.58 yuan, a substantial rise from 3.18 yuan in the same period last year. In the first quarter, CATL's total assets exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time.</p>
<p>CATL also announced plans to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Era Resources Group (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. The newly established subsidiary will be positioned as a professional investment, operation, and management platform for the company's new energy mineral resources sector. The registered capital for Era Resources Group is set at 30 billion yuan.</p>
<h2>Main Business Drives Rapid Revenue Growth, Cost Control Keeps Pace</h2>
<p>First-quarter operating revenue was 129.131 billion yuan, a 52.45% year-over-year increase, which the company attributes to &#34;sustained growth in main business operations.&#34; At the same time, operating costs amounted to 97.086 billion yuan, up 51.63% year-over-year. The cost growth rate was slightly lower than the revenue growth rate, leading to a marginal improvement in gross margin compared to the same period last year.</p>
<p>In terms of structure, total operating costs were 107.104 billion yuan, broken down as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li>R&amp;D expenses: 5.314 billion yuan, up 10.4% year-over-year, accounting for approximately 4.1% of revenue. CATL continues to make high-intensity investments in frontier areas such as solid-state batteries and next-generation chemical systems;</li>
<li>Administrative expenses: 3.080 billion yuan, up 17.4% year-over-year;</li>
<li>Sales expenses: 0.924 billion yuan, up 8.4% year-over-year, with a growth rate far below that of revenue, indicating the gradual emergence of economies of scale.</li>
</ul>
<p>Overall, operating profit was 26.651 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 53.7% year-over-year. The profit growth rate roughly matched the revenue growth rate, reflecting that while CATL is expanding rapidly, it has maintained relatively stable operating leverage.</p>
<h2>Anomaly in Financial Expenses: Exchange Losses Eroded Approximately 2.3 Billion Yuan of Profit Space</h2>
<p>The most significant &#34;black swan&#34; item this quarter came from financial expenses. Financial expenses for the reporting period were 0.062 billion yuan, compared to negative 2.288 billion yuan (net interest income) in the same period last year, representing a year-over-year change of 102.72%.</p>
<p>The company directly pointed to the core reason for this: &#34;exchange losses generated by foreign currency monetary items held due to exchange rate fluctuations.&#34; This means that fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate significantly eroded the valuation of CATL's overseas assets this quarter. The negative impact of this item on pre-tax profit alone was in the range of approximately 2.3 billion yuan. If this unfavorable exchange effect were excluded, actual profitability would be even more outstanding.</p>
<p>Notably, the detailed breakdown of financial expenses in the income statement shows that interest income was as high as 2.442 billion yuan, while interest expense was only 0.694 billion yuan, meaning net interest income remained substantial. However, exchange losses pulled overall financial expenses from negative to positive, making this the primary drag on profits for the current period. For CATL, with its ongoing global expansion, effectively managing exchange rate risk will be a critical challenge for the coming quarters.</p>
<h2>Investment Income Doubles: Participated Companies See Collective Success</h2>
<p>Investment income delivered pleasant surprises. First-quarter investment income reached 2.688 billion yuan, a 100.74% year-over-year increase, nearly doubling. Of this, investment income from associates and joint ventures was 2.810 billion yuan, up approximately 91.2% year-over-year. The company attributed this to &#34;improved net profits of certain invested companies.&#34;</p>
<p>CATL's long-term equity investments totaled 67.875 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 3 billion yuan from the beginning of the year (64.884 billion yuan). The overall operational performance of the new energy industry chain enterprises in which it holds stakes continues to improve, providing the company with considerable non-consolidated investment returns.</p>
<p>Gains from changes in fair value were 0.260 billion yuan, a significant increase from 0.026 billion yuan in the same period last year, reflecting the unrealized gains contributed by its trading financial assets (ending balance approximately 60.352 billion yuan).</p>
<h2>Balance Sheet: Total Assets Break 1 Trillion Yuan, Surge in Payables Reflects Supply Chain Bargaining Power</h2>
<p>On the asset side, total current assets amounted to 692.498 billion yuan, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cash and cash equivalents: 351.997 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 18.4 billion yuan from the beginning of the year;</li>
<li>Accounts receivable: 77.710 billion yuan, a slight increase from 76.403 billion yuan at the start of the year;</li>
<li>Financing receivables: 55.452 billion yuan, a significant increase of approximately 12.2 billion yuan from 43.205 billion yuan at the start of the year, reflecting an expansion in bill collections;</li>
<li>Inventories: 108.941 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 14.5 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, corresponding to rapid business scale expansion.</li>
</ul>
<p>Changes on the liability side are particularly interesting:</p>
<ul>
<li>Accounts payable: 180.625 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 20.3 billion yuan from 160.329 billion yuan at the start of the year;</li>
<li>Notes payable: 119.821 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 16.5 billion yuan from 103.277 billion yuan at the start of the year;</li>
</ul>
<p>Combined supplier payables exceeding 300 billion yuan increased by approximately 36.8 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, clearly demonstrating CATL's exceptional bargaining power regarding payment terms within the supply chain—its continuously expanding scale allows it to shift the pressure of fund occupation upstream.</p>
<p>In non-current liabilities, bonds payable jumped from 3.443 billion yuan at the beginning of the year to 11.250 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 7.8 billion yuan, directly corresponding to bond financing activities this quarter. Provisions (mainly for warranty reserves and after-sales service preparations) reached 94.212 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 8.9 billion yuan from 85.324 billion yuan at the start of the year, accumulating steadily as shipment volumes grow.</p>
<h2>Cash Flow: Robust Operating Cash Flow, Accelerated Capital Expenditure, Bond Financing Opens New Arsenal</h2>
<p>The cash flow statement reveals CATL's current capital operation logic:</p>
<p>Net operating cash flow was 33.681 billion yuan, a slight year-over-year increase of 2.47%. Cash received from sales of goods was 123.379 billion yuan, slightly short of the 129.1 billion yuan in revenue, indicating that accounts receivable are still accumulating, though overall collection quality remains acceptable.</p>
<p>Net investing cash outflow was 14.624 billion yuan. Expenditures for purchasing and constructing fixed assets were 12.416 billion yuan, up 20.1% year-over-year. The balance of construction in progress increased from 29.733 billion yuan at the start of the year to 34.855 billion yuan, showing that capacity building continues unabated.</p>
<p>Net financing cash inflow was 8.762 billion yuan, a massive year-over-year increase of 1149.24%. Cash received from issuing bonds was 7.998 billion yuan, the core driver behind the expanded financing scale, supplemented by additional capital contributions from minority shareholders of 1.121 billion yuan, resulting in an optimized overall financing structure.</p>
<p>The ending balance of cash and cash equivalents was 324.354 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 38 billion yuan from 286.3 billion yuan in the same period last year. The ample &#34;ammunition&#34; on hand provides sufficient assurance for subsequent capital expenditures and potential mergers and acquisitions.</p>
<h2>Employee Stock Ownership Plan Implemented, Incentive Mechanism Ties Core Talent</h2>
<p>Regarding equity incentives, CATL completed a key layout during the first quarter. The company held a board meeting on February 9, 2026, and received approval from the annual shareholder meeting on April 3 to officially advance the &#34;2026 A-Share Employee Stock Ownership Plan.&#34; This plan proposes granting no more than 4.0468 million A-share stocks to incentive recipients, with a purchase price set at 183.64 yuan per share. The stock source consists of shares already repurchased from the company's dedicated securities account for repurchase.</p>
<p>As of the end of the reporting period, the company's dedicated securities account for repurchase held 31.9823 million shares, representing approximately 0.7% of the total share capital, making it the eighth-largest shareholder. The &#34;grain warehouse&#34; of repurchased shares is abundant. The scope and number of shares granted under this employee stock ownership plan are relatively restrained, reflecting a targeted intention to retain core talent. This helps stabilize the R&amp;D and management teams, maintaining momentum for technological iteration in the highly competitive new energy sector.</p>
<p>Updates...</p>

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- CATL reported a record Q1 2026 revenue of 129.13 billion CNY, up 52.45% year-on-year, with a net profit of 20.74 billion CNY, reflecting a strong growth driven by core business expansion.  
- The company plans to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Xiamen focused on investments in the new energy minerals sector, with a registered capital of 30 billion CNY.  
- While cash flows remain stable, financial expenses significantly increased due to foreign exchange losses, emphasizing the importance of effective currency risk management amidst global operations.

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CATL Q1 Revenue Surges 52% Year-Over-Year to Record High; Net Profit Grows 48%, Plans 30 Billion Yuan Investment in Era Resources Group | Financial Report Insights