Over a thousand annual reports released: cash dividends become the "standard"

Wind data shows that as of 4:00 p.m. on April 1, there were 1,185 A-share listed companies that have disclosed their 2025 annual reports to the public. Among them, 795 listed companies achieved a year-on-year increase in 2025 operating revenue, accounting for about 67.09%; 726 listed companies saw a year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company, accounting for about 61.27%. From the perspective of dividends, according to Wind data, as of now, 930 listed companies have disclosed their 2025 dividend plans to the public, and cash dividends have become the “standard” for profit distribution among A shares.

Strong performance from leading companies

Annual report disclosures are entering an accelerated phase. On the evening of April 1, multiple listed companies, including SAIC Motor, Hengyu Xintong, and Ningbo Port, disclosed their 2025 annual reports to the public.

The 2025 annual report disclosed by SAIC Motor on the evening of April 1 shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 646.152 billion, up 5.22% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of approximately RMB 10.106 billion, up 506.45% year over year. The company plans to distribute cash dividends of RMB 2.66 per 10 shares (tax included), totaling RMB 3.039 billion. This time, it will not increase share capital by converting capital public reserve funds into share capital.

A review by a reporter from the China Securities Journal found that among listed companies that have already disclosed their 2025 annual reports, industry-leading companies generally performed quite strongly. For example, niche leaders such as Contemporary Amperex Technology, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Zijin Mining, and AAC Technologies, all recorded fairly obvious growth in performance in 2025.

For example, the 2025 annual report of AAC Technologies shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 38.24 billion, up 60.25% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of approximately RMB 10.797 billion, up 108.78% year over year. The company plans to distribute cash dividends of RMB 10 per 10 shares to all shareholders (tax included). The company stated that during the reporting period, benefiting from strong investment by terminal customers in computing power infrastructure, product shipments grew quickly. In particular, the proportion of high-speed optical modules continued to increase. Moreover, as product solutions were continuously optimized and operating efficiency continued to improve, both operating revenue and net profit achieved substantial growth compared with the same period last year.

It is worth noting that some companies reported stronger full-year performance growth, but because their results in the fourth quarter of 2025 fell short of expectations, after the results were released, the stock price saw some decline.

The 2025 annual report disclosed by Sungrow Power Supply on the evening of March 31 shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 89.184 billion, up 14.55% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of approximately RMB 13.461 billion, up 21.97% year over year. In 2025, the company’s R&D investment reached RMB 4.175 billion, up 31.97% year over year. In terms of business, in 2025 the company’s main profit contribution came from photovoltaic inverters and energy storage businesses. Sungrow Power Supply said that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the company’s gross margin fell from around 36% to around 23%, with the decline influenced by factors such as changes in revenue mix. Wind data shows that as of the close on April 1, Sungrow Power Supply’s stock price was RMB 134.45 per share, down 10.82%.

Paying close attention to cash dividends

From the dividend perspective, Wind data shows that as of now, 930 listed companies have disclosed their 2025 dividend plans, and 688 listed companies plan to distribute cash dividends of more than RMB 1 per 10 shares (tax included), while 57 listed companies plan to distribute cash dividends of more than RMB 10 per 10 shares (tax included). Among them, companies such as Gigabyte (G-bit), Contemporary Amperex Technology, Futu (TK), Midea Group, and Keda Li rank among the top in cash dividends per 10 shares.

Gigabyte, nicknamed the “game sector Maotai,” released its 2025 annual report on the evening of March 26. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 6.205 billion, up 67.89% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of approximately RMB 1.794 billion, up 89.82% year over year. The company plans to distribute cash dividends of RMB 70 per 10 shares (tax included) to all shareholders.

In some companies’ 2025 annual reports, they mention that they will continue a high proportion dividend policy. For example, Contemporary Amperex Technology achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 423.702 billion in 2025, up 17.04% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of approximately RMB 72.201 billion, up 42.28% year over year. The company plans to distribute cash dividends of RMB 69.57 per 10 shares (tax included) to all shareholders. In its 2025 annual report, Contemporary Amperex Technology stated that it will continue its policy of high-proportion dividends: it has implemented cash dividends at 50% of net profit for three consecutive years. After this year’s dividends are completed, the cumulative dividends will be close to RMB 100 billion. While expanding its business driven by high-intensity technological innovation, it continues to deliver tangible returns to shareholders through cash dividends.

After some companies paid interim dividends, they continued with large-scale dividend payouts during the year. Midea Group achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 458.5 billion in 2025, up 12.11% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of approximately RMB 43.95 billion, up 14.03% year over year. The company mentioned in its annual report that the 2025 profit distribution plan is: distribute cash dividends of RMB 43 per 10 shares (tax included). The interim profit distribution plan for 2025, which provided cash dividends of RMB 5 per 10 shares (tax included), has already been implemented. The year-end 2025 profit distribution plan provides cash dividends of RMB 38 per 10 shares (tax included), and there will be no conversion of capital public reserve funds into share capital.

Intensive institutional research

Many listed companies receive intensive institutional research. Institutions generally pay close attention to areas such as the outlook for listed companies’ 2026 performance development and the specific measures for cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

In a recently disclosed investor relations activity record, Keailin stated that it expects the 2026 operating revenue growth rate to be 19%-22%, using a RMB-denominated growth rate. While doing a good job in foreign exchange settlement arrangements, the company is also studying various hedging instruments to manage and control the adverse effects of exchange-rate volatility. Keailin expects that the gross margin of its emerging businesses in 2026 will continue to improve compared with 2025. The factors driving higher gross margin include the continued improvement in overseas revenue mix, capacity utilization, delivery capability, and technical capability.

According to Keailin’s 2025 annual report, in 2025, Keailin achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB 6.67 billion, up 14.91% year over year; and achieved net profit attributable to owners of the parent company of approximately RMB 1.133 billion, up 19.35% year over year.

Regarding its 2026 cost reduction targets and the cost-reduction path, Muyuan Foods stated in the latest disclosed investor relations activity record that in 2025, the company’s average full cost of pig farming was approximately RMB 12 per kg, down RMB 2 per kg year over year, achieving the cost reduction target set at the beginning of the year, mainly thanks to results achieved by frontline teams in areas such as production and veterinary services. The company has confidence in further reducing the full cost of pig farming. Considering that feed raw material prices may rise slightly, the company’s 2026 cost target is to bring the full-year average cost down to below RMB 11.5 per kg.