China’s major industrial enterprises experienced a notable acceleration in profit growth during the first five months of 2026, supported by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) related electronics and new energy materials, official figures revealed.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) collectively reported profits totaling 3.14 trillion yuan from January to May, marking an 18.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year. This growth exceeded the 18.2 percent rise recorded in the first four months. In May alone, industrial profits advanced by 21.1 percent.
Industrial revenue increased 5.5 percent year-on-year in the January-May period, accelerating by 0.3 percentage points from the January-April timeframe. NBS statistician Yu Weining attributed this trend to sustained industrial production and continued increases in producer prices.
Equipment manufacturing remained a primary contributor to industrial profit growth, rising 14.1 percent and accounting for 5.2 percentage points of the overall expansion. Within this sector, the electronics industry posted a 10.9 percent increase in profits, representing 43.1 percent of total industrial profit gains. This surge reflects heightened global demand for high-end computing and memory products amid the ongoing AI boom.
The raw materials manufacturing sector also demonstrated robust profit gains, with an 83.1 percent increase contributing 10.2 percentage points to total industrial profit growth. Elevated copper and aluminum prices, driven by demand from new energy and AI industries, propelled nonferrous metals sector profits up by 117.1 percent. Meanwhile, the petroleum processing industry returned to profitability, and the chemical sector saw a 71.6 percent rise in profits.
High-tech manufacturing maintained a double-digit profit growth trajectory, advancing 44.7 percent and contributing 8 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth. Specific subsectors such as optoelectronic device manufacturing and discrete device manufacturing posted profit increases of 53.8 percent and 40.6 percent, respectively.
Cost pressures on companies continued to ease during the period. Enterprises spent 88.95 yuan in costs for every 100 yuan of operating revenue, a reduction of 0.59 yuan compared with the previous year, indicating improved operational efficiency amid rising profitability.