The STAR Market delivers a solid and impressive report card on developing a strong foundation for "hard technology"

As of April 30, 2026, 608 companies on the STAR Market disclosed their 2025 annual operating performance, delivering an impressive report card that highlights the vitality of new quality productivity development. The “Economic Information Daily” reporter noted that after seven years of refinement, the STAR Market has grown from a “test field” in the capital market to a core main position serving new quality productivity, writing a chapter of China’s technological innovation with “hardcore” data and vibrant practices, injecting strong capital momentum into high-level technological self-reliance and strength.

Steady and Far-reaching Operations, Resilience in Development Highlighted

In 2025, STAR Market companies demonstrated strong development resilience amid complex internal and external environments, with operating scale and quality advancing to new levels, becoming an important engine for China’s high-quality economic development. The overall revenue of the sector surpassed 1.59 trillion yuan, a 10.3% increase over the previous year; over 70% of companies achieved revenue growth, an improvement of 4.93 percentage points from last year, among which 72 companies saw revenue growth of over 50%, 321 companies set new revenue records, and 61 companies surpassed the 5 billion yuan revenue milestone.

Over the past five years, the compound annual growth rate of revenue for STAR Market companies reached 11.7%, with the median revenue rising from 586 million yuan to 916 million yuan, continuously solidifying the foundation for corporate growth. In 2025, the sector’s profitability was even more impressive, with a total net profit attributable to parent company of 15.9k yuan, a 26.6% increase from the previous year; net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses reached 58.62B yuan, a 43.4% jump from last year; nearly 60% of companies achieved net profit growth, 39 companies doubled their net profits, and 52 companies turned losses into profits. This simultaneous improvement in quantity and quality confirms the effectiveness of the system that precisely supports “hard technology” enterprises on the STAR Market and provides a solid industrial foundation for cultivating new quality productivity.

The fundamental quality and efficiency of operations are distinct, demonstrating the high value-added attributes of hard technology enterprises. The median gross profit margin of STAR Market companies reached 35.8%, with profitability and realization capabilities continuously strengthening. In 2025, the net cash flow from operating activities totaled 31.04B yuan, a 33.3% increase over the previous year; the median cash content of net profit was 0.89, up 7.5% from last year. Companies have ample order reserves, with contract liabilities totaling 178.06B yuan, a 10.3% increase, providing reliable support for future performance growth.

Notably, 43 companies voluntarily disclosed supplementary financial indicators based on non-standard accounting standards, such as SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), which disclosed profit before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and profit margins, excluding impacts from different capital structures, depreciation policies, and tax burdens. Adjusted profits and profit margins were 143.27B yuan and 56.1%, respectively, offering investors a more comprehensive dimension for value assessment.

Enhancing Core R&D, Accelerating Industry Breakthroughs

The differentiated institutional arrangements of the STAR Market precisely empower, promoting growth-layer companies to accelerate the release of development momentum, becoming a key source of breakthroughs for new quality productivity. Forty growth-layer companies on the STAR Market saw revenue increase by 37.2% over the previous year, leading the entire market, including 17 companies with revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan, with BeiGene’s revenue surpassing 38 billion yuan, ranking at the forefront of the sector. More encouragingly, the loss ratios of growth-layer companies continued to narrow, with total losses shrinking by 56.2% compared to last year. BeiGene, Cambrian, and NuoCheng Jianhua, among others, achieved their first profits, becoming the first batch of “graduates” from the growth layer. Companies like Junshi Biosciences, Dizhe Medical, and Qi An Xin benefited from industrialization and scaling effects, reducing losses year-on-year.

High R&D investment lays a solid foundation for innovation breakthroughs. The total R&D expenditure of growth-layer companies reached 37.76B yuan, with a median R&D intensity of 43.7%, far exceeding the sector average, demonstrating a persistent pursuit of core technological independence and control. This high-intensity R&D investment is accelerating into industrial competitiveness, driving breakthroughs in key “neck” technologies. For example, Cambrian continuously increased R&D investment in AI chips, achieving its first annual profit, becoming a typical representative of domestic AI chip breakthroughs, providing core hardware support for digital economic development.

Equity incentive systems stimulate talent innovation vitality. As of the first quarter of 2026, a total of 459 STAR Market companies launched 876 equity incentive plans, with a coverage rate of 75.9%. Over 90% of companies chose second-type restricted stocks, precisely targeting core talent needs in technological innovation. LexinTech, listed nearly 7 years, has launched 10 rounds of equity incentive plans, with the latest plan setting assessment indicators closely tied to chip R&D and global market expansion, strengthening long-term incentive effects and providing talent support for continuous innovation. This “investment in people” development philosophy is becoming an important lever for STAR Market companies to enhance innovation efficiency.

Market Ecosystem Upgraded, Dual Empowerment of Investment and Financing

Since the market opened, the STAR Market has adhered to the positioning of “hard technology,” using deepening reforms in investment and financing to build a long-term “investment-financing integration” ecosystem, allowing investors to fully share the dividends of new quality productivity development. Over the past three years, the “Quality and Efficiency Rebound” special action has continuously strengthened the intrinsic motivation of listed companies to reward investors. Nearly 90% of companies disclosed their 2026 action plans, with the STAR 50 and STAR 100 index components achieving full coverage for three consecutive years, demonstrating a strong demonstration effect.

While ensuring high R&D investment, STAR Market companies steadily increased cash dividends, achieving coordinated innovation and returns. In 2025, total cash dividends amounted to 35.58B yuan, a 2.8% increase over last year; multiple dividend payments have become the norm, with 102 companies implementing mid-term dividends. The total number of share repurchase and shareholding increase plans by controlling shareholders and directors reached 128, with a maximum total amount of 39.92B yuan, conveying long-term confidence to the market. This “innovation + return” dual-driven development model not only safeguards long-term innovation capacity but also enhances investors’ sense of gain, laying a solid foundation for healthy capital market development.

The index system and products continue to expand, providing investors with diversified allocation tools. Since 2025, eight stock indices including the STAR Composite Index and STAR Private Enterprise Index have been launched. Currently, there are 33 STAR Market stock indices, forming a complete index system covering broad, thematic, and strategic categories. Related tracking products amount to nearly 290 billion yuan, with over 110 STAR Market ETFs listed. Among them, the STAR 50 products have a combined scale of nearly 137 billion yuan domestically and internationally, making it the fourth-largest broad-based index product and the largest single-market ETF product in China. Meanwhile, the STAR Market continues to strengthen its international appeal, hosting five international promotion events in 2025 and conducting 16 “Discover Value” international investor visits, promoting in-depth exchanges between STAR companies and nearly 300 foreign institutions, fostering a good pattern of two-way investment and financing openness and internal-external circulation.

Notably, in the first quarter of 2026, the STAR Market achieved a strong start, with 605 companies, excluding three multi-region listed red-chip companies, generating a total revenue of 11.97B yuan, a 21.7% year-on-year increase; net profit attributable to parent reached 352.58B yuan, a significant 207% increase year-on-year. These data fully demonstrate the resilience and growth potential of STAR Market enterprises.