CBAK Energy Reports First Quarter 2026 Unaudited Financial Results
Rhea-AI Summary
CBAK Energy (NASDAQ: CBAT) reported unaudited Q1 2026 net revenues of $69.62 million, up 99.3% year over year. Battery business revenue rose 84.3% to $37.52 million, while Hitrans battery materials revenue climbed 120.2% to $32.10 million.
LEV revenue grew 441.6% to $15.41 million. Gross margin fell to 1.5% from 13.7%, with a net loss of $9.29 million. Cash and restricted cash were $98.60 million, supported by $22.28 million operating cash flow and $11.8 million in capital expenditures.
Positive
- Q1 2026 net revenues rose 99.3% year over year to $69.62 million
- Battery business revenue increased 84.3% year over year to $37.52 million
- Light electric vehicle revenue grew 441.6% year over year to $15.41 million
- Hitrans materials revenue rose 120.2% year over year to $32.10 million
- Hitrans segment swung to $1.57 million net income from $1.75 million loss
- Operating cash flow reached $22.28 million, lifting cash and restricted cash to $98.60 million
Negative
- Gross margin declined to 1.5% from 13.7% year over year
- Operating loss widened to $9.70 million from $2.86 million
- Net loss attributable to shareholders increased to $9.29 million from $1.58 million
- Cost of revenues rose 127.6% year over year to $68.58 million
- R&D, sales and marketing, and G&A expenses all increased versus Q1 2025
News Market Reaction – CBAT
In the May 18 session, CBAT declined 6.00%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30 | Q4/FY 2025 earnings | Negative | -2.9% | Strong 2025 revenue but sharp margin compression and net loss. |
| Nov 10 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | +5.1% | Q3 2025 revenue growth and sharp rebound to solid net income. |
| Aug 18 | Q2/H1 2025 earnings | Negative | +6.3% | Significant revenue and margin declines during product transition. |
| May 19 | Q1 2025 earnings | Negative | -7.7% | Large revenue drop and swing to net loss amid Dalian transition. |
| Apr 30 | Market share update | Positive | -2.2% | Reported 14.6% global share in 32140 cells with strong positioning. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Earnings releases have produced mixed reactions, with both strong rallies and selloffs. Markets have often focused on margin pressure and losses even when revenues grow strongly.
Over the past year, CBAK’s earnings updates have highlighted a transition from revenue declines in early 2025 to strong growth later in the year, driven by Hitrans and larger-format cells. However, multiple reports stressed margin compression and swings to net losses. Market reactions have been inconsistent, sometimes selling off on weak profitability and at other times rewarding growth and market-share gains. Today’s Q1 2026 release continues the theme of rapid top-line expansion with pressure on margins and earnings.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
DALIAN, China, May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAT) (“CBAK Energy,” or the “Company”), a leading lithium-ion battery manufacturer and electric energy solution provider in China, today reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
First Quarter of 2026 Financial and Operational Highlights
- First Quarter Consolidated Net Revenues achieved an explosive
99.3% year-over-year growth, reaching$69.62 million , compared to$34.94 million in the same period of 2025. The strong sales momentum was driven by the gradual release of newly added production capacity as ramp-up progressed, as well as the conversion of customer orders that the Company had previously been unable to fulfill due to capacity constraints. - First Quarter Net Revenues from Light Electric Vehicles (LEV) skyrocketed by an impressive
441.6% year-over-year to$15.41 million , compared to$2.84 million in the prior year period. The exponential growth highlights successful commercial traction and expanding sales leverage within high-growth overseas corridors, specifically India, Vietnam, and Africa. - First Quarter Net Revenues from the Battery Raw Materials Segment (Hitrans) delivered an exceptional
120.2% year-over-year hyper-growth, surging to$32.10 million from$14.58 million in the first quarter of 2025. This growth was driven by successful new customer acquisitions and favorable raw material pricing, reinforcing strong upstream market position and pricing power. - First Quarter Net Income from the Battery Raw Materials Segment (Hitrans) achieved a significant turnaround to profitability, reporting a net income of
$1.57 million . This represents a robust recovery from a net loss of$1.75 million in the same period of 2025, demonstrating the segment's accelerated new customer acquisitions and its ability to maintain profitability in a rising raw material pricing environment.
Management Remarks
Zhiguang Hu, Chief Executive Officer of CBAK Energy, commented, “As we noted in previous quarters, the Company has been experiencing strong customer demand and, at times, capacity constraints for certain products. With newly added production capacity gradually coming online as ramp-up continues, our sales volume has grown significantly. In addition, our market presence in key growth markets, including India, Vietnam and Africa, has continued to strengthen, which will position our battery business on track to deliver unprecedented annual sales this year.
At the same time, supported by rising raw material prices, Hitrans, our raw materials production unit, has maintained strong growth momentum for three consecutive quarters. We expect Hitrans to achieve record-high net revenues since its acquisition by the Company in 2021, along with a solid profitability performance.”
Jiewei Li, Director and Chief Financial Officer of CBAK Energy, added, “From a financial perspective, the Company delivered near-doubling top-line growth, reflecting strong market demand for our products. As our CEO noted, rising raw material prices have created a favorable operating environment for Hitrans. Conversely, our battery segment experienced short-term gross margin pressure during the first quarter, as the pass-through of higher raw material costs to customers is still in progress and takes time to implement.
In addition, the Company’s three newly added production lines — one Model 40135 production line at our Dalian facility and two Model 32140 production lines at our Nanjing facility — remain in the ramp-up stage, during which unit production costs are typically higher. As these lines are expected to complete their ramp-up in the second half of this year and pricing adjustments in response to higher raw material costs gradually take effect, we expect the battery segment’s gross margin to improve.”
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Net revenues for the first quarter of 2026 were
Detailed revenues from our Battery Business and Hitrans segment in the first quarter are as follows:
| Net Revenues by Segment & Application | Q1 2025 ($) | Q1 2026 ($) | YoY Change (%) |
| Battery Business Total | 20,363,338 | 37,519,841 | 84.3% |
| - Electric Vehicles | 537,507 | 1,538 | - |
| - Light Electric Vehicles (LEV) | 2,844,874 | 15,407,700 | |
| - Residential Energy Supply & UPS | 16,980,957 | 22,110,603 | |
| Hitrans (Battery Materials) Total | 14,575,563 | 32,098,151 | 120.2% |
| Consolidated Total Net Revenues | 34,938,901 | 69,617,992 | 99.3% |
Net revenues from the Battery Business were
Net revenues from the Hitrans segment were
Cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2026 was
Gross profit for the first quarter of 2026 was
Research and development (R&D) expenses in the first quarter were aggressively expanded to
Sales and marketing expenses were
General and administrative (G&A) expenses were
Operating loss for the first quarter of 2026 was
Net loss attributable to shareholders of CBAK Energy for the first quarter of 2026 was
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2026, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of
The earnings release is available at ir.cbak.com.cn
About CBAK Energy
CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAT) is a leading high-tech enterprise in China engaged in the development, manufacturing, and sales of new energy high power lithium and sodium batteries, as well as the production of raw materials for use in manufacturing high power lithium batteries. The applications of the Company's products and solutions include electric vehicles, light electric vehicles, energy storage and other high-power applications. In January 2006, CBAK Energy became the first lithium battery manufacturer in China listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. CBAK Energy has multiple operating subsidiaries in Dalian, Nanjing, Shaoxing and Shangqiu, as well as a large-scale R&D and production base in Dalian.
For more information, please visit ir.cbak.com.cn
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Our actual results may differ materially or perhaps significantly from those discussed herein, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.
Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are only estimates or predictions of future events based on information currently available to our management and management's current beliefs about the potential outcome of future events. Whether these future events will occur as management anticipates, whether we will achieve our business objectives, and whether our revenues, operating results, or financial condition will improve in future periods are subject to numerous risks. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including: significant legal and operational risks associated with having substantially all of our business operations in China, the effects of global economic conditions, changes in domestic and foreign laws, regulations and taxes, the volatility of the securities markets; and other risks including, but not limited to, the ability of the Company to meet its contractual obligations, the uncertain markets for the Company's products and business, macroeconomic, technological, regulatory, or other factors affecting the profitability of our products and solutions that we discussed or referred to in the Company's disclosure documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, including the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as in our other reports filed or furnished from time to time with the SEC. You should read these factors and the other cautionary statements made in this press release. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.
For further inquiries, please contact:
CBAK Energy Technology, Inc.
Investor Relations Department
Email: ir@cbak.com.cn
| CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets As of December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026 (Unaudited) (In US$ except for number of shares) | |||||||
| December 31, 2025 | March 31, 2026 | ||||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Current assets | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 8,301,149 | $ | 9,338,921 | |||
| Pledged deposits | 67,376,113 | 89,257,922 | |||||
| Trade and bills receivable, net | 38,405,398 | 46,499,152 | |||||
| Inventories | 50,602,287 | 75,673,735 | |||||
| Prepayments and other receivables | 15,170,915 | 16,863,416 | |||||
| Receivables from former subsidiary | 4,389 | 2,459 | |||||
| Income tax recoverable | 778,460 | 790,171 | |||||
| Total current assets | 180,638,711 | 238,425,776 | |||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | 179,058,801 | 188,221,344 | |||||
| Construction in progress | 32,046,421 | 29,689,789 | |||||
| Long-term investments, net | 2,485,580 | 2,522,973 | |||||
| Prepaid land use rights | 12,308,864 | 12,405,935 | |||||
| Intangible assets, net | 71,654 | 68,309 | |||||
| Deposit paid for acquisition of long-term investments | 16,503,014 | 16,751,291 | |||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets, net | 3,068,591 | 2,920,127 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 426,181,636 | $ | 491,005,544 | |||
| Liabilities | |||||||
| Current liabilities | |||||||
| Trade and bills payable | $ | 153,345,745 | $ | 203,021,449 | |||
| Short-term bank borrowings | 28,532,938 | 37,386,698 | |||||
| Other short-term loans | 337,156 | 337,715 | |||||
| Accrued expenses and other payables | 113,651,948 | 122,673,008 | |||||
| Payable to a former subsidiary, net | 407,506 | 402,708 | |||||
| Deferred government grants, current | 578,606 | 587,312 | |||||
| Product warranty provisions | 339,136 | 482,978 | |||||
| Operating lease liability, current | 1,347,803 | 1,178,848 | |||||
| Finance lease liability, current | 1,307,170 | 2,124,717 | |||||
| Income tax payable | - | 7,427 | |||||
| Total current liabilities | 299,848,008 | 368,202,860 | |||||
| Long-term bank borrowings | 4,118,628 | 7,652,360 | |||||
| Deferred government grants, non-current | 10,195,428 | 10,201,984 | |||||
| Product warranty provisions | 446,553 | 413,301 | |||||
| Operating lease liability, non-current | 2,093,428 | 2,228,986 | |||||
| Finance lease liability, non-current | - | 97,281 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 316,702,045 | 388,796,772 | |||||
| Commitments and contingencies | |||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | |||||||
| Common stock | 88,646 | 88,646 | |||||
| Donated shares | 7,955,358 | 7,955,358 | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 248,500,176 | 248,500,619 | |||||
| Statutory reserves | 3,042,602 | 3,042,602 | |||||
| Accumulated deficit | (133,795,940 | ) | (143,083,312 | ) | |||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (13,112,769 | ) | (11,342,954 | ) | |||
| Total shareholders’ equity | 112,678,073 | 105,160,959 | |||||
| Non-controlling interests | (3,198,482 | ) | (2,952,187 | ) | |||
| Total equity | 109,479,591 | 102,208,772 | |||||
| Total liabilities and shareholder’s equity | $ | 426,181,636 | $ | 491,005,544 | |||
| CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2026 (Unaudited) (In US$ except for number of shares) | |||||||
| Three months ended March 31, | |||||||
| 2025 | 2026 | ||||||
| Net revenues | $ | 34,938,901 | $ | 69,617,992 | |||
| Cost of revenues | (30,137,167 | ) | (68,578,124 | ) | |||
| Gross profit | 4,801,734 | 1,039,868 | |||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||
| Research and development expenses | (3,023,961 | ) | (4,219,925 | ) | |||
| Sales and marketing expenses | (896,050 | ) | (1,998,104 | ) | |||
| General and administrative expenses | (3,804,137 | ) | (4,510,224 | ) | |||
| Allowance of credit losses and bad debts written off | 58,395 | (12,198 | ) | ||||
| Total operating expenses | (7,665,753 | ) | (10,740,451 | ) | |||
| Operating loss | (2,864,019 | ) | (9,700,583 | ) | |||
| Finance income (expenses), net | 45,120 | (416,095 | ) | ||||
| Other income, net | 712,792 | 2,068,069 | |||||
| Share of income of equity investee | 55,125 | - | |||||
| Change in fair value of derivatives instruments | - | (906,255 | ) | ||||
| Loss before income tax | (2,050,982 | ) | (8,954,864 | ) | |||
| Income tax expenses | - | (7,426 | ) | ||||
| Net loss | (2,050,982 | ) | (8,962,290 | ) | |||
| Less: Net loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests | 471,748 | (325,082 | ) | ||||
| Net loss attributable to shareholders of CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. | $ | (1,579,234 | ) | $ | (9,287,372 | ) | |
| Net loss | (2,050,982 | ) | (8,962,290 | ) | |||
| Other comprehensive loss | |||||||
| – Foreign currency translation adjustment | 699,844 | 1,691,028 | |||||
| Comprehensive loss | (1,351,138 | ) | (7,271,62 | ) | |||
| Less: Comprehensive loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests | 442,816 | (246,295 | ) | ||||
| Comprehensive loss attributable to CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. | $ | (908,322 | ) | $ | (7,517,557 | ) | |
| Income (loss) per share | |||||||
| – Basic | $ | (0.02 | ) | $ | (0.10 | ) | |
| – Diluted | $ | (0.02 | ) | $ | (0.10 | ) | |
| Weighted average number of shares of common stock: | |||||||
| – Basic | 89,938,690 | 89,247,119 | |||||
| – Diluted | 89,938,690 | 89,247,119 | |||||
