Earning 200 million yuan daily, CATL is going crazy!

Author: Maple Leaf

Earning 200 million daily, China’s leading battery company has gone completely “crazy”!

China’s absolute new energy overlord, earning over 70 billion yuan annually, with more than 30 billion yuan in dividends igniting the market, 260,000 shareholders celebrating together.

With a 7 billion yuan dividend payout, Zeng Yuqun, from a small rural town in Ningde, has completed a legendary super comeback from a farmer’s son to the “godfather” of the new energy industry.

Getting a payout of nearly 7 billion yuan, Zeng Yuqun’s journey from a small town in Ningde to industry titan is a legendary story of resilience and bold bets.

AI’s ultimate goal is computing power, which relies on energy storage; and the core of new energy vehicles is also batteries and energy storage. In this century of great change, energy will always be the foundational technology for operation and development.

Ningde Times, holding the “lifeblood of energy,” is the steady “seller” riding the wave of the new energy boom.

This confidence stems from its solid industry position—9 consecutive years as the global leader in power battery market share, and 5 years as the top in energy storage battery shipments!

Backed by dual championships, Ningde Times delivered a explosive performance in 2025, earning huge profits.

01

On the evening of March 9, Ningde Times released its 2025 financial report: total revenue of 423.702 billion yuan, up 17.04% year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of 72.201 billion yuan, a 42.28% increase. Averaged out, it’s nearly 2 billion yuan net profit per day!

Even more impressive, Ningde Times announced its highest-ever dividend plan: distributing 69.57 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares to all shareholders, totaling 31.5 billion yuan, accounting for 44% of the annual net profit.

As the actual controller, Zeng Yuqun alone received about 7.075 billion yuan in dividends. This figure far exceeds the annual profits of many new energy vehicle startups—last year, Leapmotor’s profit was only 183 million yuan in the first three quarters, Li Auto 1.118 billion yuan, and Seres 5.312 billion yuan. Many car companies’ profits for a whole year are less than what Zeng Yuqun took in dividends.

Even with the auto industry’s efforts to resist internal competition in 2025, and profits of listed car companies generally rebounding, most still appear “thin” compared to Ningde Times’ performance.

According to Red Star Capital Bureau, Ningde Times’ net profit in 2025 surpassed the combined profits of 13 car companies. Its Q4 net profit alone exceeded 23 billion yuan, firmly holding the top spot in China’s auto industry for net profit.

In the fiercely competitive global market, how does Ningde Times achieve both revenue and profit growth?

The answer lies in solid market data: in 2025, its global installed capacity of power batteries reached 464.7 GWh, maintaining the top spot worldwide for nine years; energy storage battery sales hit 121 GWh, ranking first globally for five years.

The impressive financial report also ignited capital market enthusiasm. As of March 10, Ningde Times’ A-shares (300750.SZ) rose 5.26% to 376.3 yuan per share, with a market value of about 1.72 trillion yuan; Hong Kong stocks (03750.HK) rose 9.34% to 550 HKD per share, with a market value of approximately 2.51 trillion HKD.

With advantages in both tracks, Ningde’s 2026 performance is even more anticipated.

From founding to becoming an industry leader, and now a private giant worth trillions, Ningde Times’ rise is a perfect storm of seizing the historic opportunity of the new energy wave, and founder Zeng Yuqun’s repeated bold “bets.”

02

In Zeng Yuqun’s office, hangs a striking phrase—“Strong Gambling Spirit.”

This Fujian entrepreneur once said: “Everyone knows Fujian people love to fight for success, but just fighting isn’t enough—that’s physical effort; gambling is mental effort.”

This “gambling spirit” runs through his entrepreneurial career: quitting a stable job, entering the monopolized battery industry; spinning off the power battery team, returning home to found Ningde Times; daring to face unknown risks, resolutely choosing to go overseas… Every step is an adventure others dare not take, but he always “bets” right.

Born in 1968 in Ningde, Fujian, Zeng Yuqun was an ordinary farmer’s son but showed extraordinary academic talent from a young age, quickly mastering his subjects and having to “skip grades” for further education.

At 17, he successfully entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University, laying a solid foundation for his future career.

After graduation, Zeng Yuqun held a coveted “iron rice bowl” but resolutely resigned and moved south to Guangdong, working as a technician at a magnetoelectric plant, becoming one of the first local talents in OEM manufacturing. His professional focus and dedication made him the youngest engineering director at just 31, and the first mainland Chinese director in the company.

But a stable life never satisfied his desire to venture further.

In fall 1999, Zeng Yuqun teamed up with Liang Shaokang and Chen Tanghua to establish ATL (Amperex Technology Limited).

This startup quickly made a name in the industry: in 2004, ATL solved the technical challenge of short cycle life in Apple’s MP3 lithium batteries, successfully entering Apple’s supply chain; after Samsung’s battery “explosion incident,” ATL became Samsung’s preferred supplier, establishing a firm foothold in the industry.

However, fate had other plans.

In 2005, the three major shareholders of ATL suddenly proposed to withdraw their investment, plunging the company into crisis. The company had to seek new investors. Ultimately, Japan’s TDK Group, an old partner of the founders, acquired 100% of ATL for $100 million, turning the company into a fully Japanese enterprise.

The hard-earned results were handed over, leaving Zeng Yuqun with deep dissatisfaction: why couldn’t he build a Chinese battery industry of his own?

This obsession laid the groundwork for Ningde Times’ birth.

03

To ordinary people, stability is the greatest confidence in facing an unknown future, but outstanding people seem to “love to gamble,” inherently radiating “self-confidence,” especially when they are determined to succeed.

In 2010, China launched its new energy vehicle subsidy policy, officially kicking off the electric vehicle revolution, bringing unprecedented opportunities to the power battery market.

By the end of 2011, after more than a decade working abroad, Zeng Yuqun returned to Ningde with a dream of creating a Chinese domestic battery brand, focusing on high-energy-density, low-cost ternary lithium batteries.

This time, he again caught the industry’s wind.

In 2015, China’s new energy vehicle market exploded for the first time, and Ningde Times seized the opportunity: battery production soared from 0.27 GWh in 2014 to 2.19 GWh, an over 8-fold increase; net profit jumped from 50 million yuan to 930 million yuan, entering a period of rapid growth in new energy.

In 2017, after six years of accumulation, Ningde Times burst onto the scene, surpassing Panasonic, Tesla’s core supplier, to top the global power battery rankings.

Unlike ATL, Ningde Times is a 100% Chinese company, making its top position even more significant for the industry.

That year, Ningde Times’ annual revenue exceeded 20 billion yuan, with net profit reaching 3.878 billion yuan.

In June 2018, Ningde Times successfully listed on the Growth Enterprise Market, with its stock price soaring and market value approaching 2 trillion yuan. By then, its power batteries were renowned worldwide, even Tesla eager to become its customer.

Since 2017, Ningde Times has continuously outperformed Japanese Panasonic, Korean LG Energy Solution, and other international giants, maintaining the global number one position in power batteries for nine consecutive years, earning the nickname “Battery King.”

A small-town farmer’s son from Ningde, after more than a decade of hard work, returned home to start a business, and in just seven years, built a world-class power battery giant.

This achievement, seemingly impossible for most, was made possible by Zeng Yuqun’s unwavering determination.

04

“We not only want to be the world’s number one, but also the version 2.0 of number one—high-quality development, earning respect worldwide.” Today, Zeng Yuqun has finally achieved his goal.

This respect stems from the collective rise of Chinese battery companies and Ningde Times’ continuous leadership.

By 2025, among the top ten global power battery manufacturers, six are Chinese companies—Ningde Times (first), BYD (second), CALB (fourth), Gotion High-tech (fifth), EVE Energy (eighth), and CATL (tenth). Their combined market share exceeded 70.4% for the first time, leaving only four spots for Japanese and Korean firms.

Among them, Ningde Times leads with a 39.2% global market share (2025), up 1.2 percentage points from the previous year, maintaining its nine-year dominance.

In energy storage, Ningde Times is also the absolute leader:

From 2021 to 2025, it has ranked first in global energy storage battery shipments for five consecutive years, with revenue jumping from 189 million yuan in 2018 to nearly 62.4 billion yuan in 2025, achieving hundreds of times growth.

Ningde’s dual-track brilliance is no accident but the result of heavy R&D investment. In 2025, R&D expenses reached 22.147 billion yuan, up 19.02%; over the past 20+ years, total R&D investment exceeded 80 billion yuan, with more than 21,000 R&D personnel and over 50,000 patents.

As AI fever sweeps the world, demand for computing power is exponential, and the end of computing power is electricity, which depends on energy storage; the popularity of new energy vehicles makes power batteries an essential need. Under the dual opportunities of new energy and AI, Ningde Times, holding both core technologies, is undoubtedly one of the biggest beneficiaries.

Looking ahead, Zeng Yuqun has set new goals: “We cannot stay at the current level. We will leverage more AI to increase R&D investment, push Chinese products worldwide, and promote Chinese technology and standards globally.”

From a farmer’s son in Ningde to a global industry leader in new energy, Zeng Yuqun’s rise is a personal legend; Ningde Times’ nine-year dominance is a microcosm of China’s new energy industry rise.

Driven by technology and energy, this Chinese new energy era has only just begun.