Performance and stock price soar: CATL earns nearly $10 billion per month in Q1 2026, invests $43 billion to establish a resources group

Source: The Times Weekly, Author: Yu Chen

Image source: Tuchong

On April 16, CATL (300750.SZ, 03750.HK) A-shares surged over 5% during trading, while its H-share price also hit a new historical high.

In terms of news, on the evening of April 15, CATL released its Q1 2026 earnings report. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of 129.131 billion yuan, an increase of 52.45% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 20.738 billion yuan, up 48.52% year-on-year, averaging nearly 7 billion yuan in monthly profits.

Notably, the company announced on the same day that it plans to invest 30 billion yuan to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Resources Group (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. (“Times Resources Group”), which will be positioned as a new energy mineral resources investment and operation platform, overseeing the global layout of key resources such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.

According to a previous report by First Financial Daily: “CATL has officially hiredZijin Miningthe founder and former chairman of Zijin Mining, Chen Jinghe, as an advisor to the company’s mining division to assist in expanding its mineral supply chain business.” On April 16, reporters from Times Weekly asked CATL to confirm whether Chen Jinghe would participate in the daily operations of Times Resources Group. Relevant personnel at CATL stated that information provided during the earnings call should be taken as accurate, with no further details available at this time.

Core business continues to grow

CATLFounded in 2011, it went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2018ChiNextand successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2025. The company mainly operates in power battery systems, energy storage battery systems, and battery materials and recycling businesses.

Driven by continued growth in demand for new energy vehicles and energy storage, the company's performance maintained high growth. In 2025, CATL achieved operating revenue of 423.702 billion yuan, an increase of 17.04% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders reached 72.201 billion yuan, up 42.28% year-on-year, with profit growth significantly outpacing revenue growth.

Entering 2026, CATL’s core business continued to grow. First-quarter revenue increased by 52.45% year-on-year, net profit attributable to shareholders grew by 48.52% year-on-year, and non-GAAP net profit attributable to shareholders rose by 52.95% year-on-year.

At the earnings briefing on April 16, CATL's management stated that power batteries and energy storage business remain the core growth drivers. 'In the first quarter of 2026, the company’s combined sales of power and energy storage batteries exceeded 200GWh, with energy storage accounting for about 25%, a significant increase from before, and power batteries making up approximately 75%.'

Data shows that after the industry experienced price fluctuations and destocking cycles, CATL has been the first to return to a high-growth trajectory.

Image source: Wind

Existing layout platformization

Compared to the performance itself, what is more noteworthy is CATL's renewed focus on upstream resources.

According to the announcement, CATL plans to invest 30 billion yuan to establish Times Resources Group as a platform for new energy mineral investments and operations. The company stated: 'This platform will align with the company’s battery industry layout and needs, integrate existing mining-related assets, expand high-quality mineral resource projects both domestically and internationally, and ensure the supply of key raw materials for core businesses and the safety of the industrial chain.'

From the perspective of industry development logic, sharp fluctuations in the prices of resources such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt have consistently been the core variable affecting profitability stability in the lithium battery supply chain. Especially during the last cycle, the price of lithium carbonate once soared to a historical high of 600,000 yuan per ton, significantly squeezing mid- and downstream companies.

At the April 16 earnings briefing, CATL's management stated that the market space for power batteries and energy storage is vast, with growing demand for metal resources such as lithium, nickel, copper, and aluminum. Amid rising uncertainties in the global supply chain, the company has gradually advanced its mineral resource layout. Establishing the resource group aims to further enhance resource allocation capabilities through a specialized platform, improving supply chain security and stability.

‘CATL's upstream resource layout did not begin today.’ On April 16, Zhang Wei (pseudonym), an analyst in the lithium battery industry, told reporters from Time Weekly that as early as before its IPO, the company had started paying attention to cost management of raw materials, gradually expanding into investments in resources like lithium and nickel. ‘The establishment of the resource group essentially consolidates existing layouts into a platform, transitioning from scattered investments to group-based operations.’

In Zhang Wei’s view, CATL’s core objective is to mitigate the impact of raw material price volatility on battery business costs and strengthen the company’s pricing control capabilities upstream.

Resource competition may heat up again

In recent years, with the fluctuation in upstream resource prices such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, the overall performance of the lithium battery industry chain has shown divergence: companies at the resource end face profit pressures amid price declines, while battery companies benefit from falling costs. Against this backdrop, leading companies are increasingly extending upstream, accelerating integration trends.

It's not just CATL; in recent years, companies including BYD (002594.SZ), Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ), and Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ) have all been increasing their control over upstream resources.

Taking lithium carbonate as an example, the industry is expected to gradually bottom out and rebound by 2025, with year-end prices approaching 100,000 yuan per ton. Institutions generally believe that as the price center shifts upward, the pricing logic of the lithium industry is transitioning from cost-driven to supply-demand driven.

Gan Jiayao, Chief Analyst of Metals and New Materials at Founder Securities, pointed out in a research report that due to the long development cycle and large capital expenditures for lithium resources, once expectations of supply shortages are confirmed, price elasticity will significantly increase. Rising lithium salt prices will notably improve the profitability of integrated mining and metallurgy companies.

Against this backdrop, profit distribution across the industry chain may be readjusted. "In this round of demand growth, the proportion of energy storage continues to rise, but domestic energy storage pricing power remains relatively weak. If resource prices rise again in the future, battery companies, especially those in the energy storage segment, will face certain pressures in passing costs downstream," Zhang Wei also stated. In this scenario, companies with their own upstream resource layouts can lock in raw material acquisition costs, avoiding fluctuations with market prices, thereby offering more price-competitive products and capturing a larger market share.

As of the close on April 16, CATL rose 5.33%, closing at 453.98 yuan per share, with a current market value of approximately 2.07 trillion yuan.

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