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# Cambricon sales up 104% as inventory hits RMB11.7 billion
- URL: https://www.sotkn.com/catalyst/cambricon-q3-sales-104-percent-inventory-rmb11-7-billion/
- Published: 2026-10-24T11:29:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T11:29:29.000Z
- Description: Cambricon's third-quarter sales doubled to RMB3.53 billion, but RMB11.66 billion of inventory, about 2.8 times nine months of costs, shows China's leading AI chip designer buying supply years ahead and paying for it in a write-down and thinner cash.
- Author: Sean
- Tags: #desk-catalyst, #step-semiconductors

Stack step

Stack layer

Semiconductors (China AI accelerators)

Status

Tightening (inventory of RMB11.66 billion and prepayments of RMB3.04 billion lock in supply ahead of sales; an aged-stock write-down shows the cost)

Market

China

Event date

23 Oct 2026

Confidence

Filed (Cambricon third-quarter report and exchange notices)

Cambricon's third-quarter sales rose 104% to RMB3.53 billion, but the bigger number in its filing is RMB11.66 billion of inventory, about 2.8 times what its products cost it in nine months, which tells us China's leading AI chip designer is buying supply years ahead and paying for that with a write-down, thinner cash and a much larger pile of bills owed to suppliers.

## What happened?

- **The quarter:** On the evening of 23 October 2026, Cambricon Technologies, the Shanghai-listed designer of AI accelerator chips and boards, filed its third-quarter report. Revenue was RMB3.53 billion, up 104.47% from a year earlier. Net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB1.40 billion, up 147.74%.
- **Nine months:** Revenue for January to September was RMB9.53 billion, up 106.76%, and net profit was RMB3.71 billion, up 131.49%. Cambricon said nine-month profit is already 80.38% above its profit for the whole of 2025.
- **The balance sheet:** At 30 September inventory stood at RMB11.66 billion, up from RMB4.94 billion at the end of 2025\. Prepayments to suppliers were RMB3.04 billion, from RMB0.74 billion. Notes payable, short-term bills issued to suppliers, rose to RMB4.97 billion from RMB0.35 billion.
- **The write-down:** In a separate notice the same evening, Cambricon booked a RMB501.6 million inventory write-down for the nine months. It said the main reason was that it had built a "strategic" stock of raw materials earlier, and as that stock aged the provision grew.

## Why does it matter?

**The direct signal.** Demand for Chinese-designed AI accelerators is still doubling. Cambricon's quarter is in line with what [Hygon showed earlier this week](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-hygon-q3-hbm-october-2026/) and with the push to fill large domestic accelerator pools such as [Huawei's first Ascend 950DT cluster](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-ascend-950dt-10000-card-pool-october-2026/). Nine-month gross margin, our arithmetic from the income statement, was about 56.5%, against about 55.3% a year earlier, so faster sales have not come at a lower margin. Cambricon said the same in a notice on its operations.

**The second-order signal: the stuck step is supply, not customers.** A chip designer does not own a fab. It has to book wafers, memory, substrates and assembly in advance, and for a Chinese designer much of that capacity is scarce and has to be found at home. Cambricon's balance sheet shows it has chosen to buy that supply early and in bulk:

- Our arithmetic: RMB11.66 billion of inventory is about 2.8 times the RMB4.14 billion it booked as cost of sales from January to September, or roughly 25 months of goods at this year's nine-month pace.
- Inventory is about 1.2 times nine-month revenue. A year-end stock of RMB4.94 billion was already large; it has since grown 2.4 times.
- Prepayments of RMB3.04 billion, four times the year-end level, mean more supply is paid for but not yet delivered.

Cambricon does not say which raw materials it stockpiled or from whom. That is the part we cannot see.

**The cost of buying early.** Supply bought early is not free. The RMB501.6 million write-down equals about 12% of nine-month profit before the charge, our arithmetic. Cash spent on purchases of goods and services was RMB8.99 billion in nine months, about twice the year before, and operating cash flow turned negative in the third quarter, at minus RMB83.7 million, even as profit hit a record. Cash and short-term financial assets together fell to about RMB4.37 billion from about RMB5.58 billion at the end of 2025, our arithmetic. Total liabilities rose to RMB7.24 billion from RMB1.59 billion, almost all of it bills and payables to suppliers; the company had no short-term bank borrowing at quarter end.

**The pattern.** This is the same squeeze we have tracked in Chinese memory, where [CXMT's nine-month profit](https://www.sotkn.com/catalyst/cxmt-q3-2026-131b-nine-month-profit-q3-flat/) rose sharply on scarce supply. When a layer of the stack is short, the companies that can pay up front secure the inputs, and the balance sheet, not the income statement, is where that first shows.

## What does it change?

**Near term (to the end of 2026)**

- **The target sets the bar for the fourth quarter.** Cambricon restated the floors in its July share incentive plan: 2026 revenue of at least RMB13.5 billion, at least RMB40.5 billion over 2026 and 2027 combined, and at least RMB100 billion over 2026 to 2028\. Our arithmetic: hitting the 2026 floor needs at least about RMB3.97 billion in the fourth quarter, roughly 12.5% more than the third quarter.
- **The stock has to turn into shipments.** Cambricon said it will push sales and speed up inventory turnover to cut inventory risk. If fourth-quarter sales rise and inventory falls, the stockpile was a timing bet that paid. If inventory keeps rising faster than sales, more write-downs are likely.
- **Payment terms matter more.** With RMB4.97 billion of notes payable, the timing of customer collections now matters to cash. Receivables were RMB938 million at quarter end against RMB671 million at the end of 2025.

**Longer term (2027 and 2028)**

- **The incentive floors imply a much larger business.** Our arithmetic, if 2026 lands exactly on its floor: 2027 revenue of at least RMB27 billion and 2028 of at least RMB59.5 billion. Those are targets for share vesting, not guidance, but they show how much supply Cambricon expects to need.
- **Spending on its own assets is rising.** Cash paid for fixed and intangible assets was RMB788 million in nine months, against RMB329 million a year earlier. Research and development spending in the quarter was RMB523 million, up 73.66%.
- **What we cannot see yet:** who the customers are, which inputs are in the stockpile, how much is finished boards versus chips or raw materials, and whether the write-down is a one-off or a recurring cost of buying early.

| Metric                           | Value                                                               | Source name                    | Date        |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ----------- |
| Revenue, Q3 2026                 | RMB3.53 billion, up 104.47%                                         | Cambricon third-quarter report | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Net profit attributable, Q3 2026 | RMB1.40 billion, up 147.74%                                         | Cambricon third-quarter report | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Inventory, 30 Sep 2026           | RMB11.66 billion (RMB4.94 billion at end-2025)                      | Cambricon third-quarter report | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Prepayments, 30 Sep 2026         | RMB3.04 billion (RMB0.74 billion at end-2025)                       | Cambricon third-quarter report | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Inventory write-down, 9M 2026    | RMB501.6 million, tied to aged raw-material stock                   | Cambricon impairment notice    | 24 Oct 2026 |
| Revenue floors in share plan     | 2026 at least RMB13.5 billion; 2026 to 2028 at least RMB100 billion | Cambricon operations notice    | 24 Oct 2026 |

## What should we watch next?

- **Moore Threads' third-quarter report, scheduled for 29 October.** The Shanghai Stock Exchange disclosure schedule lists that date. It is the next read on whether other Chinese GPU designers are also carrying swelling stock and prepayments.
- **SK hynix results on 28 October and CXMT's formal report by 31 October.** Memory is one of the scarce inputs for any AI accelerator; signs of easier memory supply would reduce the need to stockpile. Both dates are on our [Catalyst calendar](https://www.sotkn.com/catalyst/calendar/).
- **Cambricon's fourth quarter.** Whether revenue clears about RMB3.97 billion and whether inventory starts to fall.
- **What would weaken the catalyst:** a second large write-down, inventory growing faster than sales again, or operating cash flow staying negative while profit rises.

Also on the tape

- **22 Oct:** INNIO said a US developer of large data center campuses placed a 620 MW follow-on order for containerised Jenbacher gas engines, taking that customer to about 1.72 GW (INNIO).
- **21 Oct:** Soluna and Applied Digital agreed to form a 51/49 venture to build a 50 MW AI data center next to a 150 MW wind farm in Briscoe County, Texas (Soluna).
- **15 Oct:** MetaX forecast nine-month revenue of RMB2.54 billion to RMB3.11 billion, up 105.6% to 151.3%, and a return to profit (MetaX).
- **Calendar:** Moore Threads is scheduled to publish its third-quarter report on 29 October 2026 (Shanghai Stock Exchange schedule).

## FAQ

**What did Cambricon report on 23 October 2026?**  
Third-quarter revenue of RMB3.53 billion, up 104.47%, and net profit of RMB1.40 billion, up 147.74%. Nine-month revenue was RMB9.53 billion and net profit RMB3.71 billion.

**What does Cambricon make?**  
AI accelerator chips for data centres and edge devices, plus boards, servers, processor designs and software. It designs the chips and relies on outside factories to make them.

**Why is a large inventory a signal?**  
A chip designer that holds far more stock than it sells in a year is buying supply early, usually because that supply is hard to get. It protects future shipments but ties up cash and risks write-downs if the stock ages.

**Is Cambricon's RMB100 billion figure a forecast?**  
No. It is the cumulative 2026 to 2028 revenue floor in its share incentive plan, which Cambricon restated on 24 October. It is a vesting condition, not guidance.

**Takeaway:** Cambricon's sales doubled, but its RMB11.66 billion stockpile says the harder part of China's AI chip build is securing supply, and that it is already paying for it in write-downs and cash.

## References

1. [Cambricon Technologies, "2026 Third Quarter Report"](https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/2026-10-24/1225620944.PDF?ref=sotkn.com), published 23 Oct 2026 (cninfo, 24 Oct). Revenue, profit, balance sheet, income statement and cash flow.
2. [Cambricon Technologies, notice 2026-038 on asset impairment provisions for the first three quarters of 2026](https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/2026-10-24/1225620959.PDF?ref=sotkn.com), 24 Oct 2026\. The RMB501.6 million inventory write-down and its reason.
3. [Cambricon Technologies, notice 2026-042 on recent operations](https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/2026-10-24/1225621664.PDF?ref=sotkn.com), 24 Oct 2026\. Margin comment and the 2026 to 2028 revenue floors.
4. [MetaX Integrated Circuits, notice 2026-040, voluntary nine-month 2026 results forecast](https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/2026-10-16/1225607704.PDF?ref=sotkn.com), Oct 2026\. Revenue and profit ranges.
5. [INNIO, "Follow-on order brings orders from INNIO data center customer to 1.72 GW"](https://www.innio.com/en/news-media/press-releases/innio-secures-620-mw-data-center-follow-on-order/?ref=sotkn.com), 22 Oct 2026\. The 620 MW order.
6. [Soluna Holdings, "Soluna Agrees to Form Strategic Partnership with Applied Digital to Develop Wind-Powered AI Data Center in Texas"](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/soluna-agrees-to-form-strategic-partnership-with-applied-digital-to-develop-wind-powered-ai-data-center-in-texas-302915005.html?ref=sotkn.com), 21 Oct 2026\. The 50 MW venture.
7. [10jqka, Shanghai Stock Exchange third-quarter disclosure schedule for Moore Threads (688795)](http://data.10jqka.com.cn/financial/yypl/op/code/code/688795/?ref=sotkn.com), checked 24 Oct 2026\. The 29 October date.

Not investment advice. Do your own research. The inventory multiples, months of stock, margin, liquidity, write-down share and fourth-quarter and 2027 to 2028 floors are our arithmetic from Cambricon's filings.