STAR Market Reports 26.6% Net Profit Surge in 2025, R&D Intensity Stays Near 13% for Seven Consecutive Years

As of April 30, 2026, all 608 listed companies on the STAR Market have completed their 2025 annual report disclosures, delivering a stellar scorecard that once again affirms the powerful momentum driving China's science and technology innovation sector toward greater excellence. Against a backdrop of lingering global economic uncertainty, the STAR Market achieved high-quality growth across the board — most notably a 26.6% year-on-year surge in net profit that has injected firm confidence into capital markets.

Three Core Metrics All Trending Upward

According to China Business Journal, the 608 STAR Market companies collectively generated 1,598.596 billion yuan in revenue for fiscal year 2025, up 10.3% year-on-year and approaching the 1.6 trillion yuan milestone. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 58.624 billion yuan, surging 26.6% year-on-year — growth far outpacing revenue gains and signaling a marked improvement in the board's overall profitability.

Even more noteworthy are the R&D investment figures. STAR Market companies collectively spent 189.247 billion yuan on research and development in 2025, maintaining an R&D intensity (R&D spending as a percentage of revenue) near 13% for the seventh consecutive year. This figure not only far exceeds the average across China's A-share market but also places the STAR Market among the leaders of technology-focused boards in major global capital markets.

AI and Hard Tech Emerge as Primary Growth Engines

From an industry perspective, the STAR Market's rapid net profit growth is inextricably linked to breakthroughs in hard-tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and biopharmaceuticals. In 2025, the global AI industry entered a phase of large-scale commercial deployment, and STAR Market companies involved in AI chips, large model infrastructure, and intelligent manufacturing generally achieved leapfrog growth in performance.

The semiconductor sector benefited from accelerating domestic substitution and surging demand for AI computing power, with several leading companies posting record highs in both revenue and profit. Meanwhile, AI's deep penetration into vertical domains such as healthcare, finance, and autonomous driving also propelled a cohort of application-layer STAR Market companies toward profitable scale.

The fact that net profit growth (26.6%) significantly outpaced revenue growth (10.3%) reflects that STAR Market companies, after years of heavy R&D investment, are progressively entering a harvest phase of technology commercialization and economies of scale. Operating efficiency and cost control capabilities continue to improve as well.

Heavy R&D Investment Builds Long-Term Competitive Moats

Maintaining an R&D intensity of nearly 13% for seven consecutive years is the STAR Market's most distinctive hallmark compared to other boards. Annual R&D spending of 189.247 billion yuan means that the average STAR Market company invested over 310 million yuan in research and development.

This R&D-centric DNA is closely tied to the STAR Market's institutional design. Since its launch in 2019, the board has consistently upheld its "hard tech" positioning, explicitly emphasizing companies' technological innovation capabilities and R&D investment levels in its listing criteria. This institutional orientation has effectively screened and gathered a cohort of enterprises with genuine core technological competitiveness, creating a virtuous cycle: heavy R&D investment drives technological breakthroughs, breakthroughs translate into market advantages, and market advantages fuel continued innovation.

In frontier domains such as large AI models, advanced-node chip manufacturing, and innovative drug development, sustained high-intensity R&D investment is building formidable technological moats — the fundamental driver behind the accelerating profit growth of STAR Market companies.

Outlook: Tech Innovation Dividends Continue to Unfold

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the STAR Market's growth momentum is expected to continue. On one hand, AI technology is at a critical inflection point from "functional" to "exceptional," with new paradigms such as AI agents, embodied intelligence, and AI for Science poised to unlock even larger market opportunities. On the other hand, the Chinese government continues to ramp up policy support for indigenous scientific and technological innovation, further elevating the STAR Market's strategic position as the "home for hard-tech enterprises."

That said, potential risks warrant attention. Global geopolitical uncertainties, intensifying competition over technological roadmaps, and valuation pressures in certain segments could all pose challenges to STAR Market companies' operations and market performance.

Overall, the 2025 annual report data sends a clear signal: China's technology innovation enterprises are moving beyond the investment phase and entering the harvest phase. The STAR Market's trajectory toward greater innovation and excellence is not only generating attractive returns for investors but also providing a solid micro-level foundation for China's high-quality economic transformation.