CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited) has seen its total market capitalisation surpass 2 trillion yuan (290 billion USD), marking a historic milestone for the world’s biggest battery manufacturer.

On April 16, CATL’s stock opened higher and surged more than 6% at one point, reaching 460 yuan (66.67 USD) per share and pushing the company’s market value to approximately 2.1 trillion yuan (300 billion USD). The stock closes at 453.98 yuan (65.74 USD) per share, maintaining a market cap above the 2 trillion yuan threshold.

This achievement places CATL among an elite group of only six A-share companies with market capitalisations exceeding 2 trillion yuan, joining the ranks of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, PetroChina, and China Mobile. CATL is the only non-state-owned company among them.

Dominant global position

According to data from international research firm SNE Research, CATL commanded a 39.2% global market share in power batteries in 2025, maintaining its top position for nine consecutive years. The company leads second-place BYD by nearly 12 percentage points. In the energy storage battery segment, CATL holds a 30.4% global market share, ranking first for five straight years.

A journey of growth

CATL listed on the ChiNext board on June 11, 2018, with an opening day closing price of 36.20 yuan (5.25 USD) per share and a market cap of 78.64 billion yuan (11.4 billion USD). Within just nine days of listing, CATL’s market value surpassed that of BYD.

The company experienced significant growth during the 2021 new energy vehicle boom, when domestic NEV sales surged 157% to 3.5 million units. By December 2021, CATL’s market cap reached 1.6 trillion yuan (about 230 billion USD).

However, the stock faced challenges in early 2022 amid a broader sector correction, briefly falling below the 1 trillion yuan mark in April that year. The company reclaimed trillion-yuan status in September 2024 following a policy-driven market recovery.

Strong 2025 performance

As low-end industry capacity gradually cleared and domestic and international energy storage demand exceeded expectations, CATL’s 2025 production utilisation rate reached 96.9%.

Financial performance strengthened significantly in 2025, with power battery and energy storage battery gross margins reaching 23.8% and 26.7%, respectively. Annual revenue totalled 423.7 billion yuan (about 610 billion USD), up 17% year-over-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders reached 72.2 billion yuan (about 10.5 billion USD), representing a 42.3% increase.

According to the China Energy Storage Alliance, quoted by Caixin, Chinese energy storage companies secured 366 GWh of new overseas orders in 2025, a 144% year-over-year increase, with approximately 200 GWh added in the second half alone.

Strategic outlook: energy storage to match power batteries

CATL maintains an optimistic outlook for energy storage demand. At an industry forum in March, John H. Kwon, CATL’s Global General Counsel, noted that the company’s current business ratio stands at approximately 80% power batteries to 20% energy storage batteries.

“We believe that within three years, this ratio will reach 50:50. After that, the energy storage battery business could even surpass the power battery business,” Kwon stated.

The construction boom of AI data centres worldwide has further elevated demand prospects for lithium batteries. Jia Jun, a senior engineer at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, indicated that China’s communication energy storage installed capacity reached 24.5 GWh in 2024. By 2028, the global energy storage market supporting AI data centres is expected to reach tens of GWh, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding that of traditional data centre energy storage by more than 50%.

According to CABIA data, CATL ranks first in the power battery market this year with a 48.3% market share, followed by BYD in second place with 17%, and CALB in third with 5.9%. According to CPCA, CATL’s share surpassed 50% already in Q1 2026.

Editor’s comment

It is worth noting that when we calculate CATL’s market capitalisation, we use its A-share market capitalisation, while its H-share market capitalisation has approximately a 38% premium compared to its A-shares.

This is very rare among Chinese stocks. Taking BYD as an example, its H-share price is 6% lower than its A-share price. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which ranks first in A-share market capitalisation as mentioned above, has an H-share market capitalization 18% lower than its A-share market capitalisation. In fact, almost all A+H listed stocks have their H-shares trading lower than their A-shares.

The main investors in A-shares are from mainland China, with many restrictions for foreign investors, while H-shares are open to global investors. CATL’s high premium of H-shares over A-shares indicates strong enthusiasm from global investors for this company.