Earn 2,300 yuan per second! CATL delivers the strongest annual report

CATL

Author | Janson

Editor | Zhihao

CATL’s 2025 “Higher Revenue and Greater Profit” strategy continues to drive growth in both power batteries and energy storage businesses.

News from Car and Tech on March 10: Last night, CATL delivered its strongest financial report in recent years. For 2025, CATL’s net profit reached 72.2 billion yuan, a 42.28% increase year-over-year.

Calculating this, CATL earns nearly 2,300 yuan every second in 2025, and in the time it takes to take a sip of water, the company records 20,000 yuan in revenue.

At the same time, CATL’s operating cash flow reached 133.22 billion yuan.

▲ CATL’s 2025 Annual Revenue

From a production perspective, CATL also reached a new level in 2025, with lithium battery capacity hitting 772 GWh and shipments totaling 661 GWh.

Overall, the annual report signals at least four key messages:

1. CATL’s scale is still expanding, with increasing sales, revenue, and overseas market share;

2. Net profit growth significantly outpaces revenue, indicating stronger profit elasticity;

3. CATL’s globalization and capital operations are entering an “accelerated” phase;

4. Solid-state battery business is progressing steadily, but no further details are available yet.

5. Higher Revenue Also Means Higher Profit, with Profit Outpacing Cash Flow

Looking at specific financial data, CATL’s total revenue for 2025 was 423.7 billion yuan, up 17.04% year-over-year, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 72.2 billion yuan, up 42.28%.

▲ CATL’s 2025 Financial Data

Additionally, CATL’s non-recurring profit attributable to shareholders reached 64.51 billion yuan, a 43.37% increase.

Quarterly, CATL’s revenue and profit showed a trend of faster growth in the latter part of the year.

In Q4, revenue was 140.63 billion yuan, with a net profit of 23.17 billion yuan, accounting for a larger proportion of the annual total.

Compared to Q1’s revenue of 84.7 billion yuan and net profit of 13.96 billion yuan, Q2’s revenue was 94.18 billion yuan with 16.52 billion yuan in profit, and Q3’s revenue was 104.19 billion yuan with 18.55 billion yuan in profit, showing a quarter-over-quarter strengthening trend.

▲ CATL’s Quarterly Financial Data for 2025

Meanwhile, CATL’s net operating cash flow increased significantly, while cash flow from investing activities was -94.48 billion yuan, mainly due to increased purchases of financial products.

The cash flow from financing activities was -6.31 billion yuan, with a key factor being funds raised from the H-share IPO.

R&D investment remained high, with R&D expenses reaching 21.15 billion yuan in 2025, up 19.02% year-over-year, accounting for 5.23% of revenue. Currently, there are 22,901 R&D personnel.

▲ CATL’s R&D Investment and Workforce Composition in 2025

2. Power Batteries Remain the Mainstay, Energy Storage Becomes the Second Growth Curve

Breaking down revenue by business segment, in 2025, CATL still primarily relies on power batteries, with energy storage being the fastest-growing segment outside of power batteries.

▲ CATL’s Business Segment Performance in 2025

In power battery systems, revenue was 316.51 billion yuan, up 25.08% year-over-year, accounting for 74.70% of total revenue, with a gross margin of 23.84%.

In energy storage systems, revenue was 62.44 billion yuan, up 8.99%, representing 14.74% of total revenue, with a gross margin of 26.71%.

Additionally, in battery materials and recycling, revenue was 21.86 billion yuan, down 23.83%, accounting for 5.16% of total revenue, with a gross margin of 27.27%.

From a profitability perspective, energy storage’s gross margin of 26.71% exceeds that of power batteries at 23.84%.

Although revenue from materials and recycling declined, gross margins remain relatively high.

In terms of domestic and international revenue, in 2025, overseas revenue continued to account for over 30%.

Specifically, domestic revenue was 294.06 billion yuan, representing 69.40% of total, with a gross margin of 24.00%; overseas revenue reached 129.64 billion yuan, or 30.60%, with a gross margin of 31.44%.

Globally, according to SNE Research, CATL’s market share of global power batteries increased by 1.2 percentage points to 39.2%, maintaining the top position for nine consecutive years, with overseas market share rising to 30%.

▲ CATL Energy Storage System

In energy storage, CATL has maintained the world’s No. 1 market share for five consecutive years.

In its 2025 annual report, CATL committed to achieving carbon neutrality in its core operations.

Currently, CATL leverages zero-carbon electricity and energy efficiency optimization in factories to successfully realize operational carbon neutrality and continues to promote green, low-carbon transformation across the value chain.

3. Shipment and Capacity Continue to Rise, Globalization and Shareholder Returns Advance in Parallel

Beyond revenue, CATL’s shipment volume and capacity in 2025 remain strong, with lithium-ion battery shipments reaching 661 GWh, up 39.16% year-over-year.

▲ CATL’s Battery Shipment Data for 2025

In specific business areas, power battery shipments were 541 GWh, up 41.85%; energy storage battery shipments were 121 GWh, up 29.13%.

On the capacity side, in 2025, CATL’s lithium battery capacity was 772 GWh, with an additional 321 GWh under construction, achieving a utilization rate of 96.9%.

▲ CATL’s Capacity Layout in 2025

Regarding new business development, CATL has recently emphasized its focus on solid-state batteries. While progress details are limited, industry and experts recognize its potential. Commercialization of solid-state batteries still requires time, and the market should adopt a rational view of scaling.

In energy storage, CATL initially relied on cell advantages, but aims to enhance system solutions, including improving DC and AC side capabilities and grid integration. To support this, CATL has signed numerous strategic cooperation agreements to build an ecosystem.

In terms of globalization, CATL completed its H-share listing on May 20, 2025, issuing 155.9 million shares at HKD 263 per share (about RMB 231.44), raising approximately HKD 41 billion (about RMB 36.08 billion), with funds designated for Hungary project construction and operational costs.

For shareholder returns, the annual report disclosed continued high dividend payouts, with a plan to distribute 69.57 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares based on 4,531,886,650 shares, emphasizing “three consecutive years of cash dividends equal to 50% of net profit.”

Additionally, CATL disclosed share repurchase progress, with a total repurchase amount of 4.386 billion yuan during the period.

Operationally, CATL also provided latest data on battery swapping and emerging businesses: by the end of 2025, 1,325 swap stations had been built (including over 1,000 for Qiaokeli swap and over 300 for Qiji swap), with a total of 1.15 million swap services and about 80 million kWh of exchanged energy.

Conclusion: CATL Delivers Its Strongest Annual Report

Overall, the key to CATL’s 2025 annual report is not a single metric but a more complete closed-loop system.

High shipment growth drives revenue increase, faster profit growth indicates improved profitability quality, operating cash flow continues to strengthen, and R&D and globalization investments remain steady.

Currently, CATL is advancing into the next stage of competition through simultaneous scaling, technological innovation, and capital deployment.