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Amid the wave of Hong Kong stock listings, Roborock, a leading brand in the robotic vacuum cleaner market, officially submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in late June, embarking on its journey for a secondary listing.

Chang Jing, the founder of Roborock, hails from Yueyang, Hunan. Born in 1982, he graduated from South China University of Technology with a major in computer science. After leaving Baidu in 2014, he founded Roborock. Just three months after its establishment, Roborock received investment from Xiaomi and became a part of the Xiaomi ecosystem.

In early 2020, after six years of operation, Roborock successfully listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board. During its development, Roborock managed to reduce its reliance on Xiaomi and emerged as a well - known domestic brand in the robotic vacuum cleaner market.

In terms of revenue composition, in 2024, the revenue from intelligent robotic vacuum cleaners and their related accessories accounted for 91% of Roborock's total revenue, with a sales volume of 3.45 million units, making it the primary source of income.

The main financial situation of Roborock. Source: Roborock's prospectus

During the recent 618 shopping festival (from May 12th to June 15th, according to Aowei Cloud Network data), Roborock's robotic vacuum cleaners ranked first in the market with a share of 32.76%.

The national subsidy policy has also contributed to the rapid growth of the robotic vacuum cleaner industry. According to statistics from the International Data Corporation (IDC), in the first quarter of 2025, Roborock shipped 982,000 units globally, maintaining its leading position in terms of shipment volume with a market share of 19.3%, a year - on - year increase of 50.7%.

However, contradicting the impressive sales reports are the recent widespread rumors of layoffs. Multiple media outlets reported that Roborock's washing machine division is undergoing large - scale layoffs. Some employees have revealed on social media that the layoff ratio is quite high, affecting product project teams, supply chain teams, and overseas business lines in Nanjing and Shenzhen. In response, Roborock's customer service stated that all business operations are progressing as planned, and the company is continuously investing resources in team building and capacity improvement.

Although Roborock's sales volume is still rising, the robotic vacuum cleaner industry has entered a highly competitive "red ocean" stage. Data from the prospectus shows that Roborock is currently facing a situation of "increasing revenue but not profit."

More importantly, many smart hardware manufacturers are entering the robotic vacuum cleaner market, intensifying the competition in terms of both products and prices. The latest news is that DJI's robotic vacuum cleaners have started mass production, and the launched product is a combined sweeping and mopping robot. This undoubtedly poses a strong challenge to Roborock.

As the robotic vacuum cleaner industry enters a highly competitive phase, the market needs a "catfish" to bring fresh experiences. For Roborock, more efforts are required to maintain its current market position.

Annual Sales Exceeding 10 Billion, the "King" of Robotic Vacuum Cleaners Aims for the Hong Kong Stock Market

Five years after its listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, Roborock is seeking to achieve new heights on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The prospectus shows that from 2022 to 2024, Roborock's revenues were 6.61 billion yuan, 8.639 billion yuan, and 11.918 billion yuan respectively. During the same period, its net profits were 1.184 billion yuan, 2.051 billion yuan, and 1.977 billion yuan respectively, and the gross profit margins were 47.9%, 54.1%, and 50.4% respectively.

Roborock's gross profit margin and net profit margin. Source: Roborock's prospectus

Over the three - year period, Roborock successfully doubled its revenue to nearly 12 billion yuan, but its net profit showed a downward trend. In the first quarter of 2025, the situation of "increasing revenue but not profit" was even more prominent. The revenue in this quarter was 3.428 billion yuan, an 86% increase compared to the same period last year, but the net profit was 267 million yuan, a 33% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Changes in Roborock's gross profit margin/net profit margin from 2022 - 2025. Source: Yiniu.com

There are three main reasons behind Roborock's situation of increasing revenue but not profit. Firstly, the prices of major raw materials for robotic vacuum cleaners, such as chips, lithium - ion batteries, and motors, have risen, directly increasing production costs. This is a common problem faced by the entire industry.

Secondly, Roborock's R & D expenses have increased significantly. From 2022 to 2024, R & D expenses were 489 million yuan, 619 million yuan, and 971 million yuan respectively, with a cumulative increase of 98.6% over the three - year period, almost doubling. This is mainly because in recent years, on the one hand, Roborock has been launching various new features for its robotic vacuum cleaners to capture market share; on the other hand, it has been expanding its product categories by launching products such as washer - dryers and floor scrubbers, which all require substantial R & D investment.

Thirdly, the intensifying competition in the robotic vacuum cleaner market, including price wars, has compressed the overall profit margin of the brand.

Although Roborock is actively expanding into other product categories, intelligent robotic vacuum cleaners and related accessories remain the primary source of revenue. From 2022 to 2024, the revenue from intelligent robotic vacuum cleaners and related accessories was 6.346 billion yuan, 8.085 billion yuan, and 10.848 billion yuan respectively, accounting for 96%, 93.6%, and 91% of the total revenue respectively.

Roborock's main revenue sources. Source: Roborock's prospectus

In the prospectus, Roborock mentioned that the global intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner market is relatively concentrated. The products of the world's top five brands account for 73.1% and 61.5% of the market in terms of GMV and sales volume respectively. In 2024, Roborock's intelligent robotic vacuum cleaners accounted for 23.4% of the market in terms of GMV and 16.7% in terms of sales volume, ranking first in both indicators in the global intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner industry.

As a leading brand in the industry, Roborock's stock price once exceeded 1,400 yuan per share, and its market value exceeded 100 billion yuan. However, currently, the stock price is hovering around 150 yuan per share, and the market value is less than 40 billion yuan, a significant decline from its peak. The low stock price is related to performance fluctuations, intensified market competition, and also the share - reduction actions of the founder.

From 2023 to 2024, Chang Jing reduced his stake in the company multiple times, cashing out nearly 900 million yuan in total, which dissatisfied investors. To regain investors' confidence, Chang Jing has repeatedly promised not to reduce his stake in the company for the next year.

DJI Enters the Market, Intensifying Industry Competition

The robotic vacuum cleaner industry has become a core area for technology giants to expand their business boundaries.

Although Roborock currently ranks first in the global intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner industry in terms of both GMV and sales volume, its market moat is under siege from all sides.

Looking at the industry players, the robotic vacuum cleaner market is currently divided among independent brands such as Ecovacs, Roborock, Dreame, and Yunjing, as well as large home appliance manufacturers like Xiaomi, Midea, and Haier. This is mainly because the market penetration rate is relatively low. Relevant data shows that compared with overseas markets, the penetration rate of robotic vacuum cleaners in China is 6.9%, lower than 15% in the United States and 8% in Germany and Japan.

Secondly, the robotic vacuum cleaner industry has an attractive gross profit margin. Roborock's average gross profit margin has been stable at around 50% in the past three years, and Ecovacs' has been stable at around 45%. In contrast, the average gross profit margin of ordinary home appliances is around 20%, which explains why home appliance manufacturers like Midea and Haier have launched their own robotic vacuum cleaners.

Gross profit and gross profit margin of Roborock's different products. Source: Roborock's prospectus

Fang Hongbo, the chairman of Midea Group, mentioned in an interview with "LatePost" that "the robotic vacuum cleaner business has been losing money, with a loss of over 200 million yuan last year. However, this is a global business that every country needs, and it is an emerging industry. So, even if it's not performing well and incurring losses, we will continue. We'll keep going and see how it turns out in the end."

The latest news is that DJI, a giant in the drone industry, has started mass - producing its robotic vacuum cleaners, which are expected to be launched in the middle of this year. As the robotic vacuum cleaner industry currently lacks significant innovation, it remains to be seen whether DJI, as an absolute leader in the drone field, can bring disruptive technologies and become a new variable in the industry.

With the gradual improvement of the robotic vacuum cleaner industry and the increasing number of brands entering the market, the industry has entered a stage of price wars and feature - centric competition. A notable change is that when searching for "robotic vacuum cleaners" on the Tmall platform, the price of robotic vacuum cleaners, which used to be around 5,000 - 6,000 yuan, has now generally dropped to 2,000 - 3,000 yuan. After the national subsidy, the actual price of Ecovacs' N20 robotic vacuum cleaner is only 996 yuan.

Facing the intense competition, all industry players are competing in terms of product features, and Roborock is no exception. For example, Roborock has launched a robotic vacuum cleaner with a bionic manipulator, promoting it with the slogan "Move and Sweep, Master Storage," and it also has features such as adjustable chassis height and anti - entanglement cutting cleaning.

As the robotic vacuum cleaner industry fully enters the "red ocean" stage, Roborock is looking for new ways out, with overseas expansion and product category expansion being the two core directions.

Selling Washing Machines, Expanding Overseas Markets, and the Founder's Dream of Entering the Automotive Industry

Starting from robotic vacuum cleaners, Roborock is now expanding into a full - range cleaning appliance manufacturer.

In 2024, Roborock launched the Z1 and Q1 series of washer - dryers, featuring molecular sieve low - temperature drying technology, aiming to carve out a new niche in the highly competitive home appliance market.

The prospectus shows that in 2024, the revenue from other smart home cleaning products such as washer - dryers and floor scrubbers reached 1.07 billion yuan, accounting for 9% of the total revenue.

Although these home appliance products such as floor scrubbers and washer - dryers have brought additional revenue to Roborock, the gross profit margins of these two product lines are generally low, which has directly pulled down Roborock's overall gross profit margin.

Roborock's other smart home cleaning products. Source: Roborock's prospectus

The prospectus shows that the gross profit margin of Roborock's other smart home cleaning products (including floor scrubbers, washer - dryers, etc.) decreased from 42.1% in 2023 to 33.0% in 2024.

This means that the more floor scrubbers, washer - dryers, and other such products Roborock sells, the lower the gross profit margin will be, and it may even drag down the company's overall gross profit margin. The prospectus shows that Roborock's overall gross profit margin was 50.4% in 2024, compared to 54.1% in 2023, and other smart home cleaning products are one of the reasons for the decline in the overall gross profit margin.

In the short term, Roborock's non - core products such as floor scrubbers and washer - dryers will not significantly affect the company's overall revenue. Against the backdrop of intense competition in the domestic market, Roborock has identified overseas markets as an important growth engine.

The prospectus shows that in 2024, Roborock's revenue from China was 5.531 billion yuan, accounting for 46.4% of the total revenue, while the revenue from overseas markets was 6.387 billion yuan, accounting for 53.6%, exceeding the revenue from the Chinese market.

Revenue proportion from China and overseas markets for Roborock. Source: Roborock's prospectus

Specifically, according to data from CIC, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany were the top five global intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner markets in 2024. In 2024, Roborock ranked among the top three intelligent robotic vacuum cleaner brands in these five markets (in terms of GMV and sales volume), and it ranked first in Germany and South Korea.

In addition, Roborock is also expanding into more emerging markets such as Latin America and the Middle East, and vigorously