5 product recalls in 2 years!
On one hand, there are five product recalls within two years, and on the other hand, the Hong Kong listing plan has been launched. The "power bank leader" has been quite busy recently.
Recently, according to media reports, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. (300866.SZ) has initiated the Hong Kong listing process, planning to raise $500 million (approximately 35.9 billion yuan).
However, the timing of this "A+H" capital layout is quite delicate: just two months ago, this "power bank leader" had to recall more than 2.27 million power banks globally due to upstream battery cell suppliers privately changing materials. This is already the fifth recall within two years. As soon as the recall storm ended, the horn of Hong Kong listing has quietly sounded.
Although the company's net profit in Q1 2025 still surged nearly 60%, operating cash flow suddenly "turned negative." Bai Wenxi, Vice Chairman of China Enterprise Capital Alliance, pointed out that refunds, destruction and inventory impairment brought by recalls have not been fully reflected in the accounts, and are expected to continue impacting profit performance for the next 2-3 quarters.
According to Wind information, the company is expected to announce its 2025 interim results on August 29. This "report card" involved in the recall storm will be revealed in 9 days.
Now, this overseas star founded by former Google engineer Yang Meng, who once dominated Amazon with a "cost-effectiveness + branding" strategy, is trying to tell a new story: Will Hong Kong stock investors favor a company that is in the midst of "ongoing recalls"?
As of August 20, the company's share price closed at 145.74 yuan per share, with a market capitalization of 78.14 billion yuan.
"Power Bank Leader" Chooses Hong Kong Listing After 5 Product Recalls in 2 Years
Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd., crowned as the "power bank leader," was established in 2011. The company mainly focuses on the design, research and development, and sales of smart accessories and smart hardware. Products range from power banks to phone cases, mainly sold through online platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Tmall, and JD.com, as well as offline retailers like Walmart and Best Buy. It has become one of Amazon's largest sellers.
In 2020, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. went public on China's ChiNext board. On the first day of listing, the stock price surged 121.44%, closing at 146.86 yuan per share, with a total market value once approaching 60 billion yuan, enjoying great success.
Five years later, the company announced plans to list in Hong Kong, aiming to establish an "A+H" platform.
First, on July 16, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. issued an announcement stating that to expand global strategic layout and enhance brand influence, it is researching and demonstrating equity financing matters in the Hong Kong capital market.
On August 18, according to media reports, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. has officially launched its Hong Kong listing plan, planning to raise approximately $500 million (about 3.9 billion Hong Kong dollars). The company has appointed CICC, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan as joint sponsors, targeting completion of listing by February 2026 (before Chinese New Year).
Just two months before the Hong Kong listing news emerged, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. had just experienced a product crisis.
In June 2025, due to upstream battery cell suppliers privately changing core materials, causing products to have "overheating and combustion risks," Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. recalled over 2.27 million power banks globally, covering the three major markets of China, the US, and Japan (1.158 million units in the US, 713,000 units in China, 416,000 units in Japan), with production dates spanning from 2016 to 2025.
This is not Anker's first recall. Since February 2023, the company has initiated at least four product recalls due to battery safety hazards:
In February 2023, Anker announced the recall of Anker 535 power banks (A1366) manufactured between July 2022 and October 2022, involving 4,671 units, due to manufacturing anomalies causing overheating risks.
In June 2024, the company recalled Anker 321 power banks (model A1112) produced after March 2023 due to fire hazards. In September, it recalled models A1647, A1642, A1652 power banks manufactured between December 2023 and April 2024, involving 4,501 units due to battery cell welding defects; In December, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. recalled a Soundcore Bluetooth speaker in the US, mainly due to battery hazards.
According to incomplete statistics, over the past two years, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. has cumulatively initiated five rounds of product recalls, involving a total of nearly 2.3 million units, with recall scope covering major markets including China, the US, and Japan. The single recall of over 2 million units in 2025 pushed it to the center of public opinion.
What's more controversial is the "double standard" question regarding recall processing solutions: US users can conveniently choose $30 gift cards or replacements, while domestic users were once required to record videos of "soaking power banks in salt water for 24 hours" to process refunds or exchanges. Some netizens questioned: "How dare I soak batteries in water? Won't they explode during soaking?"
On social media platforms and complaint platforms, there are also many consumer complaints about Anker power bank products, mostly involving quality defects, false advertising, product overheating, and after-sales service issues.
Regarding this, Bai Wenxi, Chief Economist of China Enterprise Capital Alliance China Region, stated that Anker's proactive recalls received some praise, but related questions have appeared on social media, and brand trust crisis is spreading.
Adding insult to injury, China's Civil Aviation Administration issued a notice on June 28, clearly prohibiting passengers from carrying power banks without 3C certification, unclear labeling, or belonging to recalled batches on flights. A shock affecting the upstream and downstream of the 10-billion-yuan "power bank" market is spreading. As the industry leader in power banks, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. is inevitably affected.
How Big is the Recall "Shock Wave"?
As charging products account for half of Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd.'s revenue (charging products accounted for 51% of revenue in 2024), this large-scale global recall can be said to have multi-dimensional impact on the company.
For this recall, the company provided three solutions: vouchers, replacements, and refunds. If calculated based on the refund solution, recalling approximately 1.87 million products in domestic and foreign markets combined (710,000 in China + 1.16 million in the US), direct losses would exceed 200 million yuan.
"Refund costs should only include amounts returned to consumers, while subsequent disposal of recalled products may still require additional expenses," said Shen Meng, Director of Xiangsung Capital.
Although in Q1 2025, the company's revenue increased 36.91% year-on-year to 5.993 billion yuan, and net profit attributable to shareholders surged 59.57% to 496 million yuan, net cash flow from operating activities has turned to -288 million yuan, compared to 181 million yuan in the same period of 2024.
Bai Wenxi stated that this recall involves large refunds, inventory impairment, and additional logistics and destruction costs, which will further intensify cash flow pressure and also impact current or retrospective profits.
Shen Meng further stated that safety issues will not only cause financial pressure but also lead to operational difficulties, including new product investment and return processing issues. Most importantly, it weakens the enterprise's cash flow and capital turnover capability.
However, in July 2025, Xiong Kang, Vice President of Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. and head of charging and energy storage business, revealed in an interview that among the more than 200,000 users who applied for recalls, about 70% chose replacement or vouchers, meaning about 70% of recall users chose to continue trusting Anker.
However, capital markets are most sensitive to risks. Starting from June 19, before the recall announcement was released, stock prices fell on 5 out of 7 trading days. On June 20, the company's stock price closed at 107.68 yuan per share, with market value falling to 57.2 billion yuan.
However, stock prices subsequently rebounded. Based on the closing price on June 20 when the recall announcement was released, as of August 20, the company's stock price has risen 35.35%, closing at 145.74 yuan per share, with market value simultaneously rising 36.61% to 78.14 billion yuan.
Shen Meng stated that mandatory constraints from policies at multiple domestic airports prohibiting carrying involved model power banks belong to force majeure faced by enterprises, so they will inevitably have huge impact on consumers. However, if recalled products have no hidden dangers, then reproducing and testing according to new mandatory requirements may still recover certain economic losses.
It can be said that for Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd., the real test falls on Q2. The recall incident occurred in June, and its full financial impact may be concentrated in subsequent performance. Shen Meng further stated that recall procedures take time, so the impact on corporate finances will be more reflected in the next quarter, but it still belongs to non-recurring gains and losses, which will not impact the enterprise's future development logic.
"It is expected to take 2-3 quarters to gradually rebuild consumer trust through continuous product safety investment, transparent communication, and user education," Bai Wenxi emphasized.
Against this background, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. plans to list in Hong Kong in early 2026, planning to raise approximately $500 million. Regarding this, Bai Wenxi believes that choosing to complete listing in February 2026 (before Chinese New Year) may be to avoid the performance trough period and strive for better valuations after market sentiment recovery.
Of course, it's also related to Hong Kong stock market enthusiasm. Shen Meng stated: "Currently, the Hong Kong stock market is highly enthusiastic, with high interest in new stocks from large mainland enterprises, allowing low-cost capital raising."
Founder is "Post-80s Peking University Scholar," Received Over 1.3 billion in Dividends with Wife Over 5 Years
Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. founder Yang Meng grew up in an ordinary family in Changsha. At age 17, he entered Peking University's computer science program with excellent academic performance, then went to the US for further study, obtaining a doctoral degree.
After completing his studies, Yang Meng joined Google as a senior software engineer. In 2011, while still working at Google's US headquarters, he began using spare time to try operating Amazon e-commerce projects.
Once, when his personal laptop needed battery replacement, he discovered while searching on the platform that available products were almost polarized: one category was expensive original batteries, another was cheap but quality-uncertain non-brand products.
This discovery made him keenly aware of the missing middle-price market segment. Yang Meng thus conceived the idea of starting a business and quickly resigned from Google to return to China.
Through further research, Yang Meng noticed that leading sales in battery categories were still high-priced original and low-priced white-label products. He decided to launch reliable quality, more competitively priced mid-range battery products.
This strategy quickly worked. After product launch, it quickly accumulated initial users. Subsequently, with rapid growth in the smartphone market, Anker expanded its product line to power banks.
In 2011, Yang Meng established Hunan Haiyi E-commerce Co., Ltd. in Changsha, later renamed Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd., and registered the brand Anker. In the startup phase, the company relied on domestic supply chain advantages to engage in foreign trade OEM, mainly laptop batteries and other products, successfully opening overseas markets with quality close to original products and lower prices, obtaining considerable revenue.
But Yang Meng was not satisfied with the OEM model. He believed this business had low technical barriers and would easily fall into price competition long-term, while building independent brands was the path to sustainable development.
Starting in 2012, multiple self-developed Anker power banks gradually launched. In 2015, Anker successfully became the number one charging category sales brand globally on Amazon and entered over 3,000 Walmart stores across the US for sales.
Around 2019, its data cable products passed Apple's MFi (Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod) certification, becoming the first authorized charging accessory brand under this system, and products were able to enter Apple's official direct sales channels.
The company subsequently went public successfully in 2020, beginning its capital journey. From corporate governance structure, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. has relatively high equity concentration. According to the 2024 annual report, the company's top ten shareholders hold nearly 80% combined. Among them, Chairman Yang Meng personally holds 43.78%, General Manager Zhao Dongping holds 11.94%, Hong Kong Central Clearing Limited holds 9.17%, and natural persons Wu Wenlong and He Li hold 4.23% and 3.68% respectively.
Worth noting is that Yang Meng and shareholder He Li are husband and wife, jointly holding 44.77% of the company's equity. Since listing, Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. has continuously rewarded shareholders. According to Wind data, the company's cumulative cash dividend total has reached 3.067 billion yuan. Based on this calculation, Yang Meng and his wife's dividend income over the past 5 years is approximately 1.373 billion yuan.
From Google elite to "power bank tycoon," Yang Meng led Anker Innovations Technology Co.,Ltd. to once become "industry leader" through self-research and innovation, but now stumbled due to recalls. Are you optimistic about the "power bank leader's" Hong Kong listing?
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