Profits of large-scale industrial enterprises achieved rapid growth in January-February.

1–2 months saw rapid growth in profits for industrial enterprises above designated size

——Interpretation of January–February 2026 industrial enterprise profit data by Yu Weining, chief statistician of the Industrial Division of the National Bureau of Statistics

In January and February, regions and departments accelerated the implementation of more proactive macro policies, focusing on leveraging the integrated effects of existing and incremental policies. Profits for industrial enterprises above designated size increased, with most industries seeing a rebound in profits. The equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors experienced rapid profit growth, and the profitability of industrial enterprises showed a continuous recovery trend.

Profits for industrial enterprises grew quickly, and revenue growth accelerated. In January and February, profits for national industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 15.2% year-on-year, an acceleration of 14.6 percentage points compared to the entire previous year. From the perspective of gross profit calculated by deducting operating costs from operating income, the gross profit of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.9% year-on-year in January and February, while remaining flat for the previous year, strongly supporting the rapid growth of profits for industrial enterprises above designated size. From the perspective of the three major categories, in January and February, manufacturing grew by 18.9%, accelerating by 13.9 percentage points compared to the previous year; the mining industry grew by 9.9%, compared to a decrease of 26.2% in the previous year; and the electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply industry grew by 3.7%. Driven by factors such as accelerated production and a rebound in product prices, the operating income of industrial enterprises above designated size grew by 5.3% year-on-year in January and February, an acceleration of 4.2 percentage points compared to the previous year, significantly improving revenue growth and creating favorable conditions for the recovery of corporate profits.

Most industries saw profit growth, with over 60% of industries rebounding. In January and February, among 41 major industrial categories, 24 industries experienced year-on-year profit growth, accounting for 58.5% of the total; 26 industries saw profit growth accelerate compared to the previous year or a narrowing of declines, with the recovery rate exceeding 60%.

The “ballast stone” role of the equipment manufacturing industry is evident, and the profit structure of industrial enterprises continues to optimize. In January and February, the operating income of the equipment manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 8.9% year-on-year, exceeding the overall growth of all industrial enterprises above designated size by 3.6 percentage points. Rapid growth in operating income drove profits in the equipment manufacturing industry above designated size to increase by 23.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 15.8 percentage points compared to the previous year; profits from the equipment manufacturing industry above designated size accounted for 30.4% of all industrial enterprises above designated size, an increase of 2.0 percentage points year-on-year, indicating a continuous optimization of the profit structure. By industry, 5 out of 8 industries in equipment manufacturing reported profit growth, with significant increases in the electronics, railway, shipbuilding, aerospace, and electrical machinery industries, with year-on-year profit growth rates of 203.5%, 11.4%, and 6.2%, respectively.

High-tech manufacturing profits grew rapidly, enhancing its leading role. In January and February, profits in the high-tech manufacturing sector above designated size increased by 58.7% year-on-year, accelerating by 45.4 percentage points compared to the previous year; this contributed to a 7.9 percentage point increase in profits for all industrial enterprises above designated size, with the driving effect strengthened by 5.5 percentage points compared to the previous year. By industry, the manufacturing of intelligent products is developing positively, with profits from the manufacturing of intelligent unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligent vehicle-mounted equipment, and other intelligent consumer devices growing by 59.3%, 50.0%, and 31.3%, respectively; rapid development in the semiconductor industry has driven profit growth in chain industries, with profits in semiconductor discrete device manufacturing, optoelectronic device manufacturing, and electronic circuit manufacturing increasing by 130.5%, 56.1%, and 19.5%, respectively.

New momentum has significantly boosted profits in related raw material manufacturing industries. In January and February, driven by the rapid development and increased demand in industries related to new momentum, profits in the raw material manufacturing sector above designated size increased by 88.3% year-on-year, an acceleration of 71.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. By industry, profits in the non-ferrous sector grew by 148.2%, with profits from aluminum rolling, non-ferrous metal alloy manufacturing, and copper rolling growing by 264.0%, 205.1%, and 50.8%, respectively; profits in the chemical industry grew by 35.9%, with profits from inorganic salt manufacturing, inorganic acid manufacturing, and organic fertilizers and microbial fertilizers manufacturing growing by 518.5%, 306.3%, and 38.5%, respectively.

The unit cost for industrial enterprises has decreased, and profit margins have improved. In January and February, the cost per 100 yuan of operating income for industrial enterprises above designated size was 84.83 yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.24 yuan, marking the first year-on-year decline in cumulative costs for industrial enterprises since 2022; the profit margin for operating income was 4.92%, an increase of 0.43 percentage points year-on-year.

Profits have improved across enterprises of different sizes, with private enterprises seeing a rebound in profit growth rate. By size, in January and February, profits for medium-sized industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 31.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 27.3 percentage points compared to the previous year; large and small enterprises saw profits shift from declines of 0.2% and 0.8% in the previous year to growth rates of 8.7% and 17.1%, respectively. By type of enterprise, state-controlled enterprises saw profits increase by 5.3% year-on-year, compared to a decline of 3.9% in the previous year; private enterprises saw profits grow by 37.2%, remaining flat in the previous year.

Overall, while profits for industrial enterprises above designated size have grown rapidly, it is important to recognize that the international environment is volatile, with rising external risks, especially the spillover risks of geopolitical conflicts, and numerous factors contributing to instability and uncertainty. Meanwhile, the recovery of profits in industries during the domestic economic transition remains uneven. In the next stage, it is necessary to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and the deployment of the national two sessions, continue to expand domestic demand, optimize supply, develop new types of productive forces tailored to local conditions, advance the construction of a unified national market, and promote the sustained and healthy development of the industrial economy.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Industrial Enterprises