The Zhitong Finance App learned that Zhongyuan Securities released a research report stating that it maintains the lithium battery industry's “better than the market” investment rating. In the first half of 2026, China's power, energy storage and consumer battery shipments accounted for 52.50%, 40.42% and 7.08% respectively. Based on the development trend of the lithium battery industry, the development characteristics of the NEV industry at home and abroad, the price trend of the lithium battery industry chain, and the performance overview of the segments, it is recommended to continue to focus on the three main lines.
The main views of Zhongyuan Securities are as follows:
The 2026 lithium battery index trend is weaker than the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index
Since 2026, the trend of the lithium battery index has been weaker than the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index. As of October 9, the lithium battery index fell 8.04%, outperforming the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index by 1.29 percentage points.
The growth rate of sector performance increased, and the total performance of lithium batteries in Henan shares was low
In 2025, the lithium battery sector's revenue was 2.53 trillion yuan, up 12.26% year on year; net profit was 158.134 billion yuan, up 41.69% year on year. In the first half of 2026, the sector's revenue was 1.49 trillion yuan, up 30.26% year on year. Positive growth companies accounted for 85.85%; net profit was 124.742 billion yuan, up 83.02% year on year, and positive growth accounted for 71.70% of the company. The total number of targets of the three Yustock lithium battery companies accounted for 2.83% of the lithium battery sector; the overall revenue and net profit scale of Yustock lithium batteries was small. Among them, the total revenue share of Yustock lithium batteries fluctuated around 1.1%, while net profit fluctuated greatly. In 2025, the total revenue of Yustock lithium batteries increased 13.38% year-on-year, with net profit loss; in the first half of 2026, total revenue increased by 34.68%, and net profit of 239 million yuan.
Energy storage shipments are growing at a high rate, and power shipments continue to grow
In the first half of 2026, China's power, energy storage and consumer battery shipments accounted for 52.50%, 40.42% and 7.08% respectively, with power batteries accounting for 1.07 percentage points higher than the first quarter; energy storage battery shipments were 485 GWh, an increase of more than 80% year on year. Annual shipments are expected to exceed 1 TWh, an increase of about 60% year on year. From January to August 2026, China sold 10.649 million new energy vehicles, up 11.02% year on year, accounting for a total of 52.43%, of which 3.433 million units were exported, up 128.11% year on year; China's total output of power and energy storage batteries was 1523.9 GWh, up 60.10% year on year, of which 259.0 GWh were exported, and exports accounted for 18.7% of the cumulative sales volume.
The average price of the industry chain is generally rising at high frequencies
Since 2026, the average price of major materials in the lithium battery industry chain has risen overall compared to 2025. The logic is that demand continues to grow, some production capacity has been cleared due to years of price adjustments in the industrial chain, and the operating rate has increased, but there are differences in the logic of different product segments. As of October 8, the price of lithium carbonate was 122,000 yuan/ton, up 1.67% from the beginning of 2026, and the price of lithium hydroxide rose 3.11% from the beginning of the year.
Risk warning: the domestic and foreign macroeconomic downturn exceeded expectations; sales of new energy vehicles fell short of expectations; implementation of industry policies fell short of expectations; industry competition intensified; prices in the segment fluctuated sharply; systemic risks.