A Comprehensive Interpretation of the 2026 Mid-Year Earnings Forecasts: Which Industries Are Truly Profitable, and Which Are Just Inflated?

【Answer 1】 Thanks for the invitation—I’ll reserve a spot first. Now filling it in. Every mid-July, A-share markets stage the same drama: once the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s mandatory deadline for mid-year earnings forecasts passes, over a thousand companies rush to release their results—some celebrating, others lamenting. Yet what truly matters is never simply *who* posted strong earnings—but rather, *why* the stock prices of those very companies often begin falling despite solid performance. The 2026 mid-year reporting season is especially emblematic. As of July 18, the market had issued 1,736 mid-year earnings forecasts (including three duplicate disclosures; covering 1,733 actual listed companies. For consistency, this article uses the figure of 1,736 records). I dissected all 1,736 forecasts—layer by layer—by industry, earnings quality, and valuation positioning. The key conclusion comes first: this is an earnings season of *extreme divergence*—31.8% of companies reported losses, while 17.7% posted over 100% year-on-year growth; the median earnings growth stood at 60%, yet the mean was inflated to 205.9%, heavily distorted by a handful of extreme outliers. Real opportunities lie precisely at the intersection of *verified earnings* and *undervalued expectations*; real risks lurk where *peak earnings* meet *fully priced-in expectations*—a crowded trade. All conclusions herein are derived from statistical analysis of these 1,736 authentic records. This is not investment advice—only a framework for sector-level judgment. I. Panoramic Overview: What Picture Do These 1,736 Forecasts Actually Paint? 1.1 Profit/Loss Structure: A 31.8% Loss Rate—Among the Highest for Recent Mid-Year Seasons Let’s start with a summary table—it may challenge your intuition about the so-called “mid-year rally”: Table 1: Overall Profit/Loss Structure of 2026 Mid-Year Earnings Forecasts (1,736 Records) Category Number of Companies Share Loss (including first-time and continuing losses) 552 31.8% High Growth (YoY increase >100%) 308 17.7% Positive Growth (0–100%) 261 15.0% Decline (with quantified drop) 222 12.8% Narrowed Losses 196 11.3% Turnaround to Profit 187 10.8% No Growth Range Disclosed 10 0.6% Total 1,736 100% Several figures merit deeper reflection: First, 552 loss-making companies (31.8%) plus 196 with narrowed losses total 748 firms—43.1% of the sample—that remain unprofitable, nearly half the market. Second, the 187 companies achieving a turnaround to profit represent the group with potentially highest upside—but also the most heterogeneous: Is the turnaround driven by core operations or accounting maneuvers? We’ll unpack that in Section II. Third, a critical data-structure issue must be clarified: Among the 1,736 records, only 1,010 disclosed YoY net profit growth rates; the remaining 726 (loss-making, narrowed-loss, and turnaround cases) reported only absolute amounts—not percentages—as required by exchange rules. Thus, any calculation of *average growth* can only draw from those 1,010 firms, while the silent majority—the very core of distressed-recovery research—is automatically excluded from conventional statistics. Most research reports focus solely on the subset with numbers—a systemic bias in itself. 1.2 Growth Distribution: A Mean of 205.9% Is Misleading; the Median of 60% Reflects Reality

[NetEconomy Monthly Report] August AI Sector Review: Unitree Went Public—Its Market Cap Shrunk by ¥200 Billion Within One Week; Changxin Technology’s Market Cap Surpassed ¥4 Trillion

【Answer 2】 On August 11, Lingzhu—a zero-barrier AI creation and interactive application platform—announced completion of its seed round financing. The round was led by renowned angel investor Wei Haijun, who previously invested in Musical.ly—the predecessor of TikTok. Ommo Technologies, a spatial intelligence company, closed a multimillion-dollar Series A round. The round was co-led by Hong Kong-based Dingpei Group and an unnamed prominent fund, with Conjun Capital participating as a follow-on investor. Xihu Xincheng, a large-language-model (LLM) enterprise, secured hundreds of millions of RMB in its Series B+ financing round, focusing on emotional companionship and mental health applications. On August 6, Hangzhou-based LLM firm Xihu Xincheng announced completion of its Series B+ funding round, raising several hundred million RMB. (3) Financial Reports Qunke Technology’s H1 2026 Revenue Reached RMB 405 Million, Up 1.5% Year-on-Year For the six months ended June 30, 2026, revenue totaled RMB 405 million, up 1.5% year-on-year. MiniMax’s H1 2026 Revenue Hit USD 117 Million, Up 283.1% Year-on-Year On the evening of August 26, MiniMax released its 2026 interim financial report: revenue for the first half reached approximately USD 117 million, up 283.1% year-on-year—equivalent to 1.5 times its full-year 2025 revenue in just six months. Dmall Digital’s H1 2026 Revenue Reached RMB 1.155 Billion, Up 7.1%; Net Profit Hit RMB 100 Million, Up 66% On August 12, Dmall Digital Co., Ltd. reported H1 2026 revenue of RMB 1.155 billion, up 7.1% year-on-year; gross profit amounted to RMB 429 million. Tencent Released Its Q2 2026 Financial Results: Revenue Hit RMB 204.8 Billion, Up 11% Year-on-Year On August 12, Tencent released its Q2 and first-half 2026 financial results. Q2 revenue totaled RMB 204.8 billion, up 11% year-on-year; net profit reached RMB 58 billion. VI. AI Industry Applications (1) AI + Retail & E-Commerce Alibaba’s AI Store Assistant ‘Xiao Mi’ to Debut at Beijing CITF, Unveiling Its “1+4” Product Suite On August 11, the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CITF) was announced to take place from September 9–13 at Shougang Park in Beijing. Under the theme “Global Services, Mutual Benefits and Shared Growth,” Alibaba’s AI Store Assistant ‘Xiao Mi’ will appear at the fair and officially launch its “1+4” product suite—designed to help domestic and international brands seize opportunities in China’s e-commerce market. Pinduoduo Issued “Notice on Further Standardizing Compliant Use of AI-Generated Images by Merchants” On August 13, Pinduoduo released its “Notice on Further Standardizing Compliant Use of AI-Generated Images by Merchants,” launching a special governance initiative targeting merchants’ use of AI-generated images. The platform will focus on rectifying four key issues: (i) AI-generated product images inconsistent with actual items; (ii) fabricated AI-generated usage scenarios or effects; (iii) noncompliant text generated by AI; and (iv) failure to label AI-generated content as required. Meituan Launched Its 2027 “Beidou Program,” Recruiting Top-Tier AI Talent Globally

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Westlake Chemical Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 net income of $260 million and EBITDA of $679 million. Strong performance was driven by higher sales prices in Performance and Essential Materials segments.

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