Over 130 A-share firms forecast better Q3 results on AI demand and price rises
In short
Wind data showed 132 of 159 A-share companies that had issued third-quarter forecasts by 18:00 on October 18 expected better results, or 83.02%. A later count to October 19 had 134 of 161. CLS, citing Shanghai Securities News, named AI-chain demand and recovering chemical prices as the main drivers.
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CLS (财联社) reported on October 19, citing Wind data, that 159 A-share companies had issued third-quarter earnings forecasts by 18:00 on October 18. Of these, 132 expected better results: 98 forecast profit increases, 13 forecast a return to profit and 21 forecast slight increases. That put the share of positive forecasts at 83.02%. The report was credited to Shanghai Securities News (上证报). Yicai (第一财经) ran the same headline. [ 1 , 2 ]
According to CLS, 61 companies expected net profit attributable to shareholders to rise more than 100% year on year, among them Hengli Petrochemical (恒力石化), Lianxun Yiqi (联讯仪器), Fudan Microelectronics (复旦微电) and Hanyu Pharmaceutical (翰宇药业). Seven of them expected increases of more than tenfold. [ 1 ]
CLS said the growth came mainly from two lines. One was strong demand across the AI industry chain, including computing power, servers, optical modules, PCBs and semiconductors, which it said lifted orders and profits. The other was a recovery in cyclical product prices such as chemicals, where supply and demand improved in some segments and margins recovered. CLS added that fast-growing overseas business gave extra support to the electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and computing sectors. [ 1 ]
Jiemian (界面新闻) and 36Kr (36氪) later published a short report with newer figures from Wind. By the time of writing on October 19, 161 A-share companies had issued forecasts for the first three quarters of 2026, and 134 expected better results: 121 forecast net profit growth and 13 forecast a return to profit. Announcements from several companies in energy storage, information technology and pharmaceuticals showed overseas business to be an important growth engine. Jiemian credited the text to Securities Daily (证券日报) and 36Kr credited it to Securities Times (证券时报). [ 4 , 5 ]
On October 20 CLS published a separate report on energy and chemicals. It said coal, hydropower, refining, organic silicon and modified plastics companies had posted significant profit growth. Coal producers benefited from higher coal prices under tight supply and demand, some hydropower companies from higher output in the wet season, and chemical companies from recovering product price spreads. Industry experts told CLS that the recovery has temporary elements and that its durability depends on the pace of new capacity, the stability of price spreads and downstream demand. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The business outlets present the early forecasts as broadly positive, with growth tied to AI-related demand, cyclical product prices and overseas business. An industry expert quoted by CLS said part of the recovery is temporary and that its durability is not yet settled.
Key facts
- By 18:00 on October 18, 159 A-share companies had issued third-quarter forecasts, and 132 of them expected better results, including 98 profit increases, 13 returns to profit and 21 slight increases, or 83.02%, according to Wind data cited by CLS. [ 1 ]
- Another count, to the time of writing on October 19, put the figures at 161 companies with forecasts for the first three quarters of 2026 and 134 with better results: 121 expecting net profit growth and 13 expecting a return to profit. [ 4 , 5 ]
- 61 companies, including Hengli Petrochemical (恒力石化), Lianxun Yiqi (联讯仪器), Fudan Microelectronics (复旦微电) and Hanyu Pharmaceutical (翰宇药业), expected net profit attributable to shareholders to grow more than 100% year on year; 7 of them expected growth of more than tenfold. [ 1 ]
- CLS named two main drivers: strong demand in the AI chain (computing power, servers, optical modules, PCBs, semiconductors) and a recovery in cyclical product prices such as chemicals. [ 1 ]
- Overseas business was cited as a further source of growth in electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and computing, and as an important growth engine at energy storage, information technology and pharmaceutical companies. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
- On October 20 CLS reported significant profit gains at energy and chemical companies, including coal, hydropower, refining, organic silicon and modified plastics. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The exact number of companies with positive forecasts differs between reports. CLS gave 132 of 159 as of 18:00 on October 18, while Jiemian and 36Kr gave 134 of 161 as of October 19. The documents do not say whether this is only a difference in cutoff time.
- The credited source of the Jiemian and 36Kr text differs. The two texts are almost identical, but Jiemian credits Securities Daily and 36Kr credits Securities Times.
- Whether the profit recovery in energy and chemicals will last. Industry experts cited by CLS said the recovery has temporary elements and that its continuation depends on capacity rollout, price spreads and downstream demand; this is a single-source view.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Cutoff of the Wind count (October 18) showing 132 of 159 companies with positive forecasts. [ 1 ]
- CLS published its report on more than 130 positive forecasts (October 19). [ 1 ]
- Yicai published a report under the same headline (October 19). [ 2 ]
- CLS published its report on energy and chemical companies' forecasts (October 20). [ 3 ]
- Jiemian published the count of 134 of 161 companies (October 20). [ 4 ]
- 36Kr published the same count (October 20). [ 5 ]