Big jump in sales, but momentum cooled
CXMT reported 118.7 billion yuan in revenue for the three months ended September, a 613% leap from a year earlier. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the increase was 19.3% from June, far below the more than 90% climb from Q1 to Q2, a signal that the AI-boosted rally in Chinese memory chip prices might be losing momentum.
Profit flipped too. The company moved from a loss to 54.4 billion yuan in net income, after expanding aggressively to strengthen its position as a worldwide provider of conventional DRAM.
Why the demand mix matters
AI has pulled high-bandwidth memory into the spotlight, and memory makers have prioritized those chips. Thanks to constrained supply, the company's focus on conventional DRAM for consumer electronics and server customers pushed its global market share to 10% at the end of the second quarter; a year earlier it was 4%.
But steep price increases carry a cost. Clients are pushing back, and smartphone makers including Xiaomi and Oppo have cut output of low-end models. "Consumer electronics still make up roughly 30-40% of global memory demand, and we think this pushback will lead to earnings plateauing over the next few quarters." Yu said. TrendForce expects the pace of conventional memory price increases to slow during the second half of 2026.
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Tech roadmap, competition, and the buyback plan
CXMT is validating a newer generation of DRAM samples, while allocating 11 billion yuan to research over the first nine months - up 73% year over year. It is rolling out incremental upgrades, including a fifth-generation production platform to improve cost effectiveness, and this month revealed a 4F² memory cell design that helped spark a broader selloff in memory stocks.
Longer term, CXMT is trying to enter top-tier HBM for AI accelerators and is exploring ways to advance manufacturing without US-sanctioned equipment. Even so, "it is not yet at a stage to fundamentally shift the market's competition dynamics," said MS Hwang at Counterpoint Research. The company plans to repurchase shares worth up to 2 billion yuan, with half earmarked for employee stock incentives.
The bottom line for portfolios
Investors are watching CXMT closely as Beijing backs local chip champions to compete in AI with the US and to lessen dependence on Samsung and Micron. The company's report landed alongside big numbers from SK Hynix and Samsung, underscoring tight supply across memory - even as growth rates cool and pricing power faces resistance.
For portfolios, the hinge is clear. CXMT's near term depends on conventional DRAM pricing and client willingness to absorb higher costs, while the upside case turns on validation milestones, market share gains, and progress toward HBM. Watch how those trends intersect with the planned buyback and any demand cooling into late 2026.
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