First-half profit still fell 21% as domestic demand stayed weak
BYD reported a 30% jump in second-quarter net profit to 8.25 billion yuan, driven by overseas expansion that lifted margins even as the world’s largest electric-vehicle maker’s first-half profit fell 21% on weak domestic demand.
The Shenzhen-based company said Friday that net profit for the first six months of 2026 reached 12.33 billion yuan, equivalent to $1.83 billion, down from a year earlier. Revenue for the period fell 7.1% to 344.82 billion yuan.
A Wall Street Journal calculation worked out the second-quarter figures from the company’s half-year and first-quarter results. That put second-quarter net profit at 8.25 billion yuan, a 30% year-over-year jump, after subtracting first-quarter net profit of 4.08 billion yuan. Second-quarter revenue came in at 194.59 billion yuan, down 3.2% from the prior-year period, after subtracting first-quarter revenue of 150.23 billion yuan.
Both measures fell short of market expectations. A Visible Alpha-compiled consensus had forecast quarterly net profit of 8.99 billion yuan on revenue of 216.55 billion yuan for the three months ended June.
The results come as BYD’s growth engine is shifting overseas, where the company has found faster growth and higher margins. Exports now account for a rising share of total sales volume as the EV maker bets on overseas growth, particularly in Europe and Latin America, to drive its next phase of expansion.
Margins reflected that shift, standing at 18.85% in the first half, up from 18.01% a year earlier.
The Shenzhen-based company has been working to put soft domestic sales in its rear-view mirror following an intense price war and slowing demand in the world’s largest auto market.
BYD is the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles by volume. The Friday release marked the company’s first-half 2026 results.