Unitree now spends a fifth of quarterly revenue on research, much of it on AI models and compute, so margins rather than sales growth will test its RMB281.5 billion valuation.
Unitree Robotics grew third-quarter revenue 69.93% from a year earlier to RMB665 million, but net profit attributable to shareholders fell 17.37% to RMB113 million, as the Hangzhou humanoid maker poured money into AI models and computing power. The figures, in Unitree’s first quarterly report since it listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market in August, were reported by Reuters and the 21st Century Business Herald on October 28.
Measured against the second quarter, the drop was steeper: the Herald calculated that net profit fell about 49% from the previous quarter. The result was also well below the RMB224 million analysts had forecast, according to Reuters. Profit excluding one-off items fell 17.42% from a year earlier to RMB105 million.
The cause is a deliberate spending choice. Unitree’s third-quarter research and development spending rose 249.58% to RMB127 million, equal to 19.1% of revenue. The company attributed the increase to larger investment in embodied-intelligence models and compute, a bigger research team and new product development. For investors who bought into a robot maker priced well above its earnings, the question is how long that spending runs ahead of margins.
Nine-month results show strong sales and thinner cash generation
For the first nine months of 2026, revenue rose 55.71% to RMB1.817 billion, and net profit attributable to shareholders jumped 270.54% to RMB387 million. That headline growth flatters the business. As Sina Finance set out in a results breakdown republished from Guandian, the comparison period carried a large one-time share-based payment expense. Excluding one-off items, nine-month profit fell 18.78% to RMB349 million.
Operating cash flow over the nine months fell 54.69% to RMB194 million, which the company linked to higher payments for goods, labor, staff, sales and research. Inventory reached RMB1.019 billion at the end of September, up 177.18% from the end of 2025, and receivables rose 143.51% to RMB143 million. Total assets more than tripled to RMB10.156 billion, mostly because of the listing proceeds. Nine-month research spending rose 191.48% to RMB263 million, or 14.47% of revenue.
Unitree said revenue growth came from continued product innovation and a broader lineup. Its range now runs from the G1, H1 and H2 humanoids and the R1 to quadrupeds such as the Go2 and B2.
A valuation built on growth meets a falling profit line
Unitree’s shares closed at RMB695.90 on October 28, up 8.74% on the day, for a market value of about RMB281.5 billion, according to the Herald, which also counted a 54.51% gain over October’s first 15 trading days. That price sits far below the stock’s debut. Unitree sold shares at RMB150.80 in its initial public offering, raising about RMB6.1 billion, and opened on August 19 at RMB1,100, valuing it at about RMB444.9 billion, Jiemian reported at the time.
The stock has swung hard since. It touched an intraday low of RMB404.03 on October 15 before rebounding, and its trailing price-to-earnings ratio still exceeded 360 times on October 20, Ifeng reported, carrying a China News Weekly article. On October 27, the day before the results, Unitree issued an exchange notice warning that the humanoid industry is at an early stage of commercialization and that its valuation could fall. EastFrontier noted earlier how founder Wang Xingxing recast the company’s robotics timeline around advances in AI models, the same bet now showing up in the research line.
Margins already showed pressure before this quarter. First-half gross margin was 56.01%, against 60.16% a year earlier. The quarterly report as covered by the outlets cited here gave no third-quarter gross margin. Liu Chunsheng of the Central University of Finance and Economics told China News Weekly that the market would accept Unitree’s scale advantage more readily if revenue growth brought steady gross margins, falling expense ratios and better operating cash flow.
The fourth quarter will test whether spending turns into products
Reuters described Unitree as one of the few profitable domestic robot makers at a time when regulators are reportedly slowing humanoid-robot listings, which gives its results an outsized role as a reference point for the sector.
Several signals will show whether the research surge pays off. One is gross margin in the full-year results, which would show whether newer, AI-heavier products match the 60.16% margin Unitree reported in the first half of 2025. Another is cash flow: a further fall while inventory keeps climbing would suggest stock is building ahead of demand. The third is product: a humanoid release built on the models Unitree is now funding would be the clearest evidence that the 249.58% jump in spending has a commercial destination.