Unitree Robotics, the Hangzhou-based robot maker that listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market in August, reported third-quarter revenue of 665 million yuan, up 69.93% from a year earlier, in its first quarterly report as a public company, according to TechNode and Global Times. Over the first nine months, spending on research and on sales rose far faster than revenue, and profit excluding one-time items fell. Global Times says the results were released on Wednesday, October 28.

The quarter in numbers

TechNode, citing the Chinese-language STAR Market Daily, reports that revenue for the first nine months of 2026 was 1.817 billion yuan, up 55.71%. Global Times converts that to about $255 million. Growth accelerated during the year: Global Times says third-quarter revenue grew 69.93%, compared with 48.54% growth in the first half.

Lens could not open the South China Morning Post’s report on the results, which carries the headline that revenue surged about 70% while AI investment weighed on net profit. The figures below come from TechNode and Global Times, which agree on revenue but differ on one profit number.

Profit: a large gain and a decline at the same time

Profit tells two stories depending on how it is measured. TechNode reports that net profit attributable to shareholders for the first nine months was 387 million yuan, up 270.54%, and says the company partly attributed that rise to a large share-based payment expense booked a year earlier, which lowered the comparison base. Excluding non-recurring items, profit for the nine months was 349 million yuan, down 18.78%, according to both TechNode and Global Times.

The two outlets give different third-quarter profit figures. TechNode lists third-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders as 113 million yuan. Global Times lists third-quarter net profit as 105 million yuan, down 17.42%. Lens did not find a filing to reconcile the two numbers, which may reflect different definitions, and both outlets’ nine-month figures match.

Spending on research and sales

Research and development spending for the nine months was 263 million yuan, up 191.48% and equal to 14.47% of revenue, TechNode and Global Times report. Global Times says the company tied the increase mainly to work on embodied AI models and computing power. TechNode adds that Unitree is expanding beyond robot hardware into embodied AI models and applications.

Global Times also reports sales expenses of 230 million yuan, up 202.4%, which rose from 6.51% to 12.65% of revenue. Operating cash flow declined, which the company linked to higher payments for purchases, services, sales and R&D as revenue expanded. Both spending lines grew at more than three times the pace of the 55.71% revenue gain over the nine months. Lens analysis: that is the pattern the South China Morning Post’s headline points to, with investment in AI models and sales capacity absorbing part of the revenue growth.

The share price since the listing

Unitree began trading on the STAR Market on August 19, which Global Times describes as the first listing of a humanoid robot maker on that board. Humanoid Guide reported that the offering was priced at 150.8 yuan per share, valuing the company at about 61 billion yuan, with 40.45 million new shares, about 10% of the enlarged share capital, and a funding target of 6.1 billion yuan. It said the valuation was above an earlier reported target of up to 50 billion yuan and that DeepSeek is among the strategic investors named in the filing.

The stock has been volatile since. Global Times says it fell by more than half from its debut peak, reached a low of about 404 yuan on October 15, and then rebounded by more than 70%. Analysts quoted by Global Times described the earlier decline as a repricing after a high initial valuation, not a sign of weaker technology. On October 23, the day after a Unitree humanoid lost part of a leg during a demonstration in Hangzhou, shares rose 20% to close at 624 yuan, for a market value of about 252.38 billion yuan, Global Times reported, citing Beijing Daily.

On October 28, the day the results came out, the shares closed at 695.90 yuan, for a market value of 281.5 billion yuan, according to Global Times. Lens analysis: that is about 4.6 times the offering price, and about 106 times third-quarter revenue if the quarter is simply multiplied by four, which gives 2.66 billion yuan. The multiple shows how much of the valuation rests on expected growth in humanoid robots and not on current sales.

What the numbers do not show

The reports Lens opened give no breakdown of revenue by product line, customer type or unit shipments. TechNode’s August analysis of Unitree’s GD01, a roughly 2.7-meter piloted mech, describes a company whose earlier robots were mainly for research, education and industrial use, with the Go series of robot dogs aimed at consumers, and the G1 and H-series humanoids. The same article says the industry’s focus is shifting from mobility stunts toward useful tasks in logistics, manufacturing, inspection and rescue, and lists cost, safety standards, battery life and the maturity of commercial applications as remaining challenges.

An aggregator site, Magica, reported that Unitree’s 2025 revenue was nearly 1.7 billion yuan, more than four times the prior year, with adjusted net profit of about 600 million yuan, and that demand has been concentrated in universities and government-backed projects, with the company’s prospectus warning that broad commercial adoption is uncertain. Lens could not confirm those figures against the prospectus.

Analysts quoted by Global Times framed the report as a test of commercialization. Zhou Mi of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation said continued R&D is essential because key technology paths are not settled and suggested the profit decline could come from changes in revenue and costs and from expansion across segments and markets. Wang Peng of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences said the results give a concrete basis for judging Unitree’s commercial performance. Huatai Securities named actual shipments, order pace and revenue recognition as the indicators of whether the industry is moving into large-scale production.

What to watch

The next report will show whether revenue growth stays near 70% as the comparison base rises, and whether sales and R&D spending keep growing faster than revenue. Investors will also look for the shipment and order data that Huatai described, which the coverage Lens opened does not report. Global Times notes that Morgan Stanley nearly doubled its 2026 forecast for China’s humanoid robot shipments in June, to 50,000 units, so industry volumes are an outside benchmark for Unitree’s own numbers.

Sources

Image: Shanghai Financial Centre and Stock Exchange, China (P-033800-00-24).jpg by Europäische Kommission - Audiovisueller Dienst, Gabriel Gauffre, CE - Service audiovisuel, EC - Audiovisual Service, AFP-Services, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative photo; it does not show the events described.