With the release of Eoptolink's interim report on the evening of August 24th, the mid-year financial results for the trio of optical module leaders—Innolight, Eoptolink, and TFC Communications—are now fully disclosed. Against the backdrop of accelerating global AI infrastructure buildout, these three companies delivered robust half-year results, with combined revenue exceeding 65.5 billion yuan and combined net profits surpassing 22.3 billion yuan. Notably, their quarter-on-quarter growth rates in Q2 generally improved compared to Q1, confirming that the optical module industry's momentum continues to climb rather than peaking as some had feared. In the A-share market, Innolight, Eoptolink, and TFC Communications remain highly sought after, with the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence ETF HuaBao (159363) attracting growing attention.
Key Financial Highlights from the 'Easy, Middle, Sky' Trio
Innolight Technology (300308) stands as the undisputed leader in high-end optical modules. In H1, the company posted revenue of 78 billion yuan, a remarkable 182.49% year-on-year surge, with net profits reaching 13.65 billion yuan, up 241.70%. The explosive growth is primarily driven by the continued ramp-up of 800G and 1.6T high-end optical module shipments, with its 1.6T silicon photonics modules entering mass production and commanding a leading market share. As the product mix shifts toward higher-margin segments, the company's optical module gross margin has climbed to 46.59%.
Eoptolink Technology (300502) is recognized as a pioneer in silicon photonics and LPO technologies. The company achieved H1 revenue of 1 billion yuan, up 100.34% year-on-year, with net profits of 7.53 billion yuan, representing a 90.98% increase. Notably, its Q2 net profit grew approximately 70% quarter-on-quarter, the fastest pace among the three. Currently, 800G products are the primary shipment driver, while 1.6T shipments are growing significantly each quarter. The proportion of silicon photonics-based products is steadily increasing, further optimizing the product structure.
TFC Communications (300394) serves as the 'hidden champion' in passive components. As an upstream 'picks-and-shovels' supplier in the optical communications chain, the company reported H1 revenue of 28 billion yuan, a 15.15% year-on-year increase, with net profits of 1.2 billion yuan, up 33.92%. While its growth is more moderate, the passive optical components business has emerged as a core growth driver, with revenue jumping 77% year-on-year and boasting a gross margin as high as 71.90%.
Common Threads Amid Divergent Performance: 1.6T Ramp-Up and Structural Upgrades
While the three companies differ in scale and growth rates, the commonalities are far more significant than the differences. On the surface, Innolight leads with its massive revenue base and net profit that has already surpassed its full-year 2025 figures, cementing its global dominance. Eoptolink demonstrates strong elasticity with revenue surpassing 20 billion yuan and net profit growing over 90%, while TFC Communications shows more tempered growth due to its upstream component positioning.
Commonality one centers on the 1.6T ramp-up. As AI computing expands from training clusters to inference and supercomputing, bandwidth demands per rack have surged, driving a transition from 800G to 1.6T optical modules. Innolight has confirmed that 1.6T shipments are growing quarter-on-quarter, contributing to improved Q2 gross margins, with both 800G and 1.6T products shipping in volume. Eoptolink's high-margin 1.6T products are steadily ramping, becoming a key variable in lifting its profit center. TFC Communications, as an upstream optical component supplier, directly benefits from the配套 demand for higher-speed products, with orders growing in tandem with downstream shipments.
Commonality two involves structural upgrades. All three companies are migrating toward higher-speed, higher-value products, leading to improved earnings quality. Innolight's optical module gross margin has risen significantly, Eoptolink maintains a comprehensive gross margin in the high-40s range, and TFC Communications boasts a net margin exceeding 42%, highlighting its advantageous upstream 'shovel seller' position.
The conclusion is clear: growth rate differences stem from 'positioning'—leader, high-growth, and upstream—but the growth engine is identical: AI computing is driving the optical module transition from 800G to 1.6T, with structural upgrades delivering both volume and margin expansion.
Industry Trends: Lengthening Demand Visibility and the Dawn of CPO/NPO
Demand visibility is extending significantly. Historically, optical module demand was subject to quarterly fluctuations, but it is now becoming visible across years. Innolight revealed during its earnings call that order demand remains robust, with next year's orders expected to maintain rapid growth compared to this year. Global tech giants are increasing AI capital expenditures, with 800G solidifying its mainstream position and 1.6T entering a phase of non-linear growth. A critical signal worth noting: Innolight's optical module sales volume grew 109.8% year-on-year in H1, with a production-to-sales ratio exceeding 100%, indicating genuine demand driving full-capacity production rather than inventory build-up.
CPO and NPO are opening new chapters. Nvidia recently announced the mass production of CPO (co-packaged optics), where switching chips and optical engines are co-packaged to significantly reduce power consumption and latency—a critical foundation for next-generation clusters with tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of GPUs. Meanwhile, NPO (near-packaged optics) is emerging as a 'second growth curve' for optical modules, opening entirely new incremental markets on the scale-up side. In the short term, stable 800G volumes combined with 1.6T ramp-up ensure high earnings certainty for leaders. In the medium term, CPO/NPO mass production will break through power and bandwidth bottlenecks, reshaping the value chain. In the long term, silicon photonics and LPO routes will coexist, with technology benefits concentrating among leaders with strong customer relationships and delivery capabilities. Optical interconnect is accelerating its shift from 'pluggable modules' to 'opto-electronic co-packaging,' moving the industry's potential from 'thematic expectations' to 'order fulfillment.'
Investment Strategy: One-Stop Exposure via High-'Light' ETF
Looking at the broader picture, the H1 volume ramp-up of 1.6T optical modules has validated the traditional path's high prosperity. Combined with the anticipated mass production and delivery of next-generation products like CPO/NPO in H2, traditional pluggable modules and new technologies are shipping simultaneously, propelling the industry into a 'dual-line growth' trajectory. As AI computing clusters continue upgrading from 400G to 800G to 1.6T, the value weight of optical interconnect in total computing costs is expected to rise steadily, making the high-'light' theme worthy of close attention.
For investment vehicles, the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence ETF HuaBao (159363) focuses on optical module and CPO leaders while also covering AI applications. The underlying index holds approximately 40% combined weight in Innolight, Eoptolink, and TFC Communications, positioning it as a core vehicle for AI computing power exposure. The ETF has seen average daily trading volume exceeding 1.1 billion yuan this year, offering strong liquidity. Off-market feeder funds are also available: Class A (023407) and Class C (023408).
Data sources include the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and Wind. As of August 21, 2026, according to the Guozheng Index, the top three constituent stocks of the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index are Eoptolink (13.77% weight), Innolight (13.17%), and TFC Communications (10.56%).
Regarding fees: For the ETF, subscription and redemption agents may charge commissions of up to 0.5% per standard. On-exchange trading fees are subject to actual brokerage charges, with no sales service fee applied. For the feeder funds, Class C shares charge no subscription fee, with redemption fees of 1.5% within 7 days and 0% for holdings of 7 days or more, plus a 0.3% annual sales service fee. Class A shares carry a subscription fee of 1% for amounts under 1 million yuan, 0.6% for 1-2 million yuan, and 1,000 yuan per transaction for amounts of 2 million yuan or above, with redemption fees of 1.5% within 7 days and 0% thereafter, and no sales service fee.
Risk disclosure: The ChiNext Artificial Intelligence ETF HuaBao passively tracks the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index, which has a base date of December 28, 2018, and was published on July 11, 2024. The index's annual returns from 2021 to 2025 were 17.57%, -34.52%, 47.83%, 38.44%, and 106.35%, respectively, with corresponding annualized volatilities of 23.73%, 27.34%, 38.02%, 45.42%, and 41.1%. Index constituent stocks are adjusted periodically according to the index methodology, and historical backtested performance does not indicate future index performance. The index constituents mentioned are for illustration only; individual stock descriptions do not constitute investment advice in any form and do not represent the holdings or trading activities of any fund managed by the fund manager. According to the fund manager's assessment, the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence ETF HuaBao carries a risk rating of R4 (medium-high risk), suitable for investors with an aggressive (C4) or higher risk profile. Please refer to the sales institution for suitability matching opinions. Any information in this article (including but not limited to individual stocks, comments, forecasts, charts, indicators, theories, and any forms of expression) is for reference only. Investors are solely responsible for their own investment decisions. Furthermore, any views, analyses, or forecasts herein do not constitute investment advice to readers and shall not be held liable for any direct or indirect losses arising from the use of this content. Fund investment involves risks; past performance of funds does not represent future performance, and the performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not constitute a guarantee of fund performance. Please invest cautiously.
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