On April 12, multiple A-share listed companies released their first-quarter earnings guidance. Among them, Venus Star announced that it expects net profit attributable to shareholders in the first quarter of 2026 to be between 38 million and 54 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 2,279.31% to 3,281.13%.
As mid-April arrives, the A-share market has entered a period of intensive earnings verification. Driven by sustained macroeconomic recovery and deep structural transformation, listed companies have demonstrated strong profit resilience. As of 4:00 p.m. on April 12, 87 listed companies had disclosed their first-quarter earnings guidance, with 71 reporting positive forecasts (including significant increases, slight increases, continued profitability, and turning losses into profits), accounting for 86.59%. Ten companies projected net profit growth exceeding 1,000%.
In terms of sector distribution, companies with explosive earnings are highly concentrated in three core areas: the AI industry chain, non-ferrous metals, and energy storage lithium batteries. The growth drivers can be attributed to two main factors: the technological revolution represented by the surge in AI computing demand, and the broad-based rise in product prices driven by continuously optimized supply-demand dynamics.
The AI computing boom has ignited a performance feast for "hard tech" companies. The first quarter of 2026 has undoubtedly been a highlight moment for AI-related hard technology.
Due to sustained demand from AI and data centers, the global memory chip market experienced a historic price surge in the first quarter of 2026. According to the latest data from TrendForce, contract prices for standard DRAM increased by 90% to 95% quarter-on-quarter, server DRAM prices rose by about 90%, and NAND Flash contract prices increased by 55% to 60%.
Against this backdrop, A-share memory industry chain companies saw explosive earnings growth. Memory distribution leader Shannon Core Creative expects to achieve a net profit of 1.14 billion to 1.48 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 6,714.72% to 8,747.18%. Notably, this figure not only sets a record for the company's best quarterly performance but also significantly exceeds its total net profit of 544 million yuan for the entire year of 2025.
Regarding the earnings surge, Shannon Core Creative stated that it was mainly due to robust growth in demand for generative AI applications, continued improvement in the global memory industry's prosperity, significant price increases for enterprise storage products, and a marked enhancement in the company's profitability.
Memory chip manufacturers also delivered strong performances. Deming Li's first-quarter earnings guidance indicates that the company expects operating revenue of 7.3 billion to 7.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 483.05% to 522.98%, and a net profit of 3.15 billion to 3.65 billion yuan, turning a profit compared to a loss in the same period last year, with growth exceeding 4,600%. The profit for the single quarter is nearly five times that of the entire year of 2025.
Deming Li similarly stated that continuous price increases for memory chips in the first quarter, combined with advantages from strategically stockpiled raw materials, significantly boosted profitability. Breakthroughs were also made in market expansion in areas such as data centers and consumer electronics, leading to a notable increase in product shipments.
Beyond memory, the chip testing segment also experienced a surge. Qiang Yi Co., Ltd. expects first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to be between 106 million and 121 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 654.79% to 761.60%. The company stated that it benefited from the rapid growth in global AI computing chip testing demand and the overall semiconductor industry entering an upward cycle, with sustained volume growth in orders for mature MEMS probe cards.
The optical module and PCB sectors also showed strong performance. Dongshan Precision expects first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to be between 1 billion and 1.15 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 119.36% to 152.27%. The company pointed out that strong AI computing demand is driving accelerated investment in AI infrastructure, and Source Photonics' optical module products are continuously being adopted by new major clients, becoming a new core profit growth driver.
Apart from the AI wave, influenced by factors such as rising product prices, the non-ferrous metals sector became another major area for earnings growth forecasts in the first quarter of 2026.
Since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict on February 28, LME aluminum prices once surged to $3,546.5 per ton, hitting a nearly four-year high. Although prices have fluctuated and retreated due to recurring geopolitical tensions and inflation expectations, they remain high. Year-to-date, LME aluminum prices have increased by 17.1%.
Against this backdrop, electrolytic aluminum leader Shenhuo Co., Ltd. expects first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to be 2.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 217.68%. The company stated that this was due to factors including a year-on-year increase in electrolytic aluminum product prices and a year-on-year decrease in the price of key raw material alumina, significantly enhancing the profitability of the electrolytic aluminum segment.
Tianshan Aluminum expects first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to be 2.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 107.92%. The company noted that partial capacity of its 1.4 million-ton green, low-carbon energy efficiency improvement project for electrolytic aluminum commenced production, leading to an approximately 10% year-on-year increase in production and sales volume. Concurrently, electrolytic aluminum product sales prices rose about 17% year-on-year, while production costs were effectively controlled and decreased year-on-year, resulting in synergistic effects from volume and price.
Beyond aluminum, companies in the tungsten industry chain also benefited from rising product prices. As a leader in the cemented carbide tool industry, OKE expects first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to be between 180 million and 220 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2,248.89% to 2,770.86%, potentially reaching a record high since its listing.
OKE stated that the price of tungsten carbide, the main raw material for cemented carbide tools, continued to rise significantly. Leveraging its capital and scale advantages, the company achieved increases in both product volume and price. However, OKE also noted that its performance in the first quarter of 2025 was relatively low, contributing to the pronounced year-on-year growth.
It is noteworthy that since the second quarter of 2025, the average price of tungsten carbide rose from 340 yuan per kilogram to 1,035 yuan per kilogram by year-end, an increase of over 200% within two quarters. Entering the first quarter of 2026, the price continued to climb to 2,290 yuan per kilogram, doubling again.
In the first quarter of 2026, the new energy industry chain demonstrated strong recovery momentum, with upstream lithium battery material companies experiencing soaring earnings.
In terms of projected growth rates, among the disclosed earnings forecasts, Tianhua New Energy leads with an astonishing expected net profit growth of 27,517.53% to 32,120.45% year-on-year.
Notably, Tianhua New Energy's first-quarter 2026 net profit attributable to shareholders is expected to increase by 143.90% to 184.55% quarter-on-quarter; adjusted net profit is expected to grow by 254.03% to 314.52% quarter-on-quarter, approaching historical growth rates seen since 2022. The projected minimum adjusted net profit of 878 million yuan for the first quarter of this year already exceeds the sum of the past two years.
Tianhua New Energy attributed this to a significant increase in profits from its lithium battery materials business, driven by growing downstream demand for energy storage and power batteries during the reporting period. Additionally, the company estimates that non-recurring gains and losses will impact first-quarter 2026 net profit attributable to shareholders by approximately 22 million yuan.
Similarly benefiting from increases in both business volume and prices is leading electrolyte additive company Fuxiang Pharmaceutical. Its earnings guidance shows an expected first-quarter 2026 net profit of 52 million to 75 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2,222.67% to 3,250.01%. Stimulated by the news of significant earnings growth, Fuxiang Pharmaceutical's stock price surged rapidly after opening on March 24, hitting the 20% daily limit increase in just 1 minute and 51 seconds, accumulating a weekly gain of over 27%.
Fuxiang Pharmaceutical clearly stated that the substantial earnings growth was primarily due to the continuous improvement in the new energy industry's景气度, steady growth in power battery market demand, and the rapid explosion in energy storage battery market demand, driving sustained increases in upstream lithium battery material demand. The company's lithium battery electrolyte additive business is performing well, with core products like VC and FEC experiencing increases in both volume and price, thereby driving significant year-on-year earnings growth.
Despite the high rate of positive earnings forecasts for the first quarter, structural differentiation remains evident. Of the 87 companies, 58 forecast significant growth, 13 forecast slight growth, 2 forecast continued profitability, and 3 forecast turning losses into profits. Conversely, 4 forecast a slight decrease, 3 forecast a decrease, 1 forecast an initial loss, and 2 forecast continued losses.
The pharmaceutical and biological sector shows clear divergence. While companies like Haisco and Fuxiang Pharmaceutical achieved high growth, Guoyao Modern expects a net profit decline of over 65%.
Guoyao Modern pointed out that since the second half of 2025, the global active pharmaceutical ingredient industry has faced pressures from accelerated localization and reshoring, overcapacity in domestic antibiotics, the ongoing impact of centralized procurement policies, and decreased demand from some key clients.
Confronted with these challenges, Guoyao Modern proactively pursued market share by sacrificing price for volume. The decline in prices led to a significant drop in the gross profit margin for its pharmaceutical intermediate and API segment, falling from 32.65% in the same period last year to 15.35%, resulting in a year-on-year decrease of over 50% in net profit attributable to shareholders.
The gaming industry also faces challenges. Glacier Network expects a first-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders of 9.5 million to 13.5 million yuan, shifting from profit to loss. The company stated that continuous large-scale market promotion for new SLG games led to a significant increase in sales expenses, while revenue from mature games naturally declined, and new game revenue increments were insufficient to fully offset the difference.
Automotive parts manufacturer Feilong Auto Parts expects first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to decrease by 42.92% to 59.23% year-on-year, affected by multiple factors: foreign exchange losses of approximately 25 million yuan due to RMB exchange rate fluctuations, an impact of about 10 million yuan from adjustments to US tariff policies, approximately 10 million yuan in initial costs for overseas production bases, and ongoing price reduction pressures transmitted through the upstream and downstream产业链 amidst fierce competition in the new energy vehicle industry.
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