8:00 36Kr Briefing | Xu Jiayin was sentenced to life imprisonment; Unitree's share price plummeted, winners of the new share placement said they fortunately sold all their holdings; Yunnan has stipulated that people infected with AIDS must inform their spouses.
Today's Hotspot Overview
- No deployment required for one-click invocation, National Supercomputing Internet launches GLM-5.3 API
- Ministry of Commerce responds to the US's imposition of tariffs on drones
- Shanghai adjusts the policy on the minimum down payment ratio for commercial personal housing loans
- TSMC has completed development and verification of the A16 process, targeting mass production in Q4
- "Big Short" Burry expresses bearish views on NVIDIA, and strongly supports emerging AI chip player Etched
TOP 3 Major News
Xu Jiayin was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the first-instance verdict of the cases involving Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate and other entities was pronounced
On the morning of August 20, 2026, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province publicly delivered the first-instance judgment for the cases of the defendant unit Evergrande Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Evergrande Group), the defendant unit Evergrande Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Evergrande Real Estate) and the defendant Xu Jiayin. Evergrande Group is given combined punishment for several crimes and fined 8.82 billion RMB; Evergrande Real Estate is fined 7 billion RMB; Xu Jiayin is given combined punishment for several crimes, sentenced to life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life, and all his personal property is confiscated; the illegal gains will be further recovered, and the insufficient part will be ordered to be refunded. (CCTV News)
Unitree plummeted by 19%, some share allotment winners said they were glad to have sold all their holdings
On August 20, Unitree Technology opened 6.51% lower. By market close, its share price plunged by nearly 19%, with the total market value falling below 280 billion yuan. On August 19, the stock opened at 1100 yuan per share, marking a 629% increase, and the maximum floating profit for one allotted lot exceeded 470,000 yuan. However, the share price quickly fell from the high point after opening, with intensified volatility. Faced with the market trend on August 20, multiple allotted investors who cleared their positions on the first trading day said frankly that they felt "very fortunate". Li Meng (pseudonym), who has traded stocks for seven or eight years, told China News Finance: "I originally thought I sold too few shares and suffered a loss, but looking back today, I'm so glad I sold all of them!" She recalled that if she placed a sell order at a slightly lower price at the opening, she could have earned more than 400,000 yuan. In the end, she sold 500 shares in two batches when the share price fell to around 899 yuan, making a net profit of over 373,200 yuan. Li Meng revealed that the proceeds will be used to buy national debt or fixed-income wealth management products, and she will continue to participate in new share subscriptions.
Another allotted investor named Xiao Zhi from Fujian also cleared all her positions on the first listing day, making a profit of about 380,000 yuan. She said she has always adhered to the strategy of "selling immediately on the first trading day". She previously earned more than 130,000 yuan from her allotted shares of Hyray Medicine, and recently won new share allotments of Changxin and Unitree in a row. "I'm really lucky with unexpected windfalls." However, she made it clear that she will not buy shares of Unitree Technology again, "I will withdraw the money and use it directly, and I don't plan to buy more stocks." (China News Finance, Yicai)
Yunnan has stipulated that people living with HIV must inform their spouses of their infection, while lawyers say there are no national regulations yet on the notification of HIV infection
On August 20, the topic of "HIV test results must not be disclosed to spouses" hit the hot search list and sparked heated discussions among netizens. Some netizens posted that "to protect the privacy of people living with HIV, doctors in our hospital must strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and must not disclose HIV test results to the patient's spouse and family members. A reporter from Jiupai News noted that the *Yunnan Provincial AIDS Prevention and Control Regulations*, which came into effect on March 1, 2021, stipulate in Article 20 that infected persons and patients shall promptly inform their spouses or sexual partners of the fact of HIV infection; if the person concerned fails to do so, medical and health institutions have the right to make the notification. Article 57 stipulates that infected persons who fail to promptly inform their spouses, sexual partners and other groups at exposure risk of the fact of HIV infection shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.
Zhang Jianqi, a lawyer from Zhejiang Wulian Law Firm, said that according to the current *Regulations on the Prevention and Control of AIDS*, medical institutions and relevant parties with access to the information are obligated to keep confidentiality without the consent of the patient, and must not disclose the patient's infection status to the public, a measure designed to protect the privacy right of people living with HIV. Meanwhile, Article 39 of the Regulations clearly requires that infected persons shall voluntarily inform their spouses of their infection status, which is a statutory obligation imposed on the infected persons themselves. Some people ask what the hospital should do when it finds out through testing that a patient is infected with HIV, but the patient himself has not performed the notification obligation. Lawyer Zhang said that there are no clear provisions on this in current national laws and administrative regulations, which means hospitals are not granted the right to proactively inform the spouse. On the contrary, the Regulations impose restrictions on the confidentiality responsibility of hospitals, emphasizing that without the patient's consent, hospitals must keep the secret for the patient and must not inform others without permission. Therefore, from the perspective of the unity of rights and obligations, hospitals do not assume the legal obligation to proactively inform the patient's spouse at the present stage. (Jiupai News)
Cutting-edge AI
OpenAI says the registration and login functions of ChatGPT.com are unavailable and are under repair
News on August 20 shows that OpenAI's system status page indicates that all registration and login functions of ChatGPT.com are currently unavailable. The company stated that it is working to implement mitigation measures. (JIEMIAN NEWS)
Baidu ERNIE Assistant Launches Task Engine 2.0, Daily Active Users Increased by 83% Year-on-Year
36Kr has learned that on August 20, Baidu App launched a number of product upgrades. ERNIE Assistant has been upgraded to Task Engine 2.0, which covers high-frequency scenarios for user groups and is completely free of charge. This task engine can independently plan and execute according to user goals without manual intervention in the whole process. It is reported that in June this year, the daily active users of ERNIE Assistant increased by 83% year-on-year, and the average daily number of conversation rounds more than doubled.
Zero-deployment one-click invocation, National Supercomputing Internet launches GLM-5.3 API
36Kr learned that on August 19, the National Supercomputing Internet launched the API invocation service for GLM-5.3, the new-generation foundational model of Zhipu AI. Enterprises and developers do not need to carry out cumbersome environment configuration, and can invoke this flagship model with one click after logging in to the Supercomputing Internet.
Xiyu Technology Launches MiniMax Design
36Kr has learned from Xiyu Technology that the company has launched MiniMax Design. MiniMax Design is a Harness that turns the capabilities of multimodal models into practically usable productivity. After users put forward creation demands, it can understand the objectives, break down tasks, call corresponding models and Skills, and complete the whole process from material processing, generation and editing to final delivery.
Big Companies / Major Events
Ministry of Commerce Responds to US Imposition of Tariffs on Drones
He Yadong, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said when answering questions concerning the US imposition of tariffs on drones at the regular press conference held on the 20th that we have noted the US decision to levy Section 232 tariffs on drones and their components. The Chinese side has always held that the US Section 232 measures are unilateralist and protectionist practices implemented in the name of "national security". In fact, drones exported from China to the United States are mainly applied in civilian scenarios including agriculture, equipment inspection, film, television and entertainment. He Yadong pointed out that the US Section 232 measures generalize the concept of national security, apply differentiated tariff rates to trading partners, treat relevant Chinese products in a discriminatory manner, seriously harm the interests of Chinese enterprises, disrupt the cooperation order of the global drone industrial and supply chain, and further undermine the fair competition market environment. The Chinese side firmly opposes such practices. We urge the US side to immediately revoke the relevant Section 232 tariff measures. (Xinhua News Agency)
Wang Xingxing: For Embodied Intelligence to Cross the ChatGPT Moment, the Key Lies in the Alignment Between Models and Robots
On August 20, at the main forum of the 2026 World Robot Conference, Wang Xingxing, Chairman, General Manager and Chief Technology Officer of Unitree Robotics, stated that the core challenge for embodied intelligence to step over the ChatGPT moment is the alignment between the input and output of AI models and real robots. (Jiemian News)
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower across the board, with large-cap technology stocks generally declining
36 Kr learned that at the close of trading on August 20, the three major U.S. stock indexes dropped collectively: the Nasdaq fell 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.31%, and the S&P 500 index fell 0.86%. Large-cap tech stocks were broadly down: Amazon fell more than 2%, Apple, Tesla and Google rose more than 1%, while Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta posted slight declines. Walmart fell by more than 9%, notching its largest single-day drop since May 2022. Most popular Chinese concept stocks in the U.S. market declined: iQiyi fell over 8%, NetEase fell nearly 6%, Weibo dropped more than 4%, Bilibili fell over 3%, NIO fell more than 1%, Baidu and Pinduoduo saw slight drops. Alibaba and Li Auto rose more than 1%, while JD and XPeng Inc. posted slight gains.
Eddie Wu, Alibaba Group: The return on capital expenditure (Capex) for AI computing power is highly certain, and the Capex investment can be recovered within three years
36Kr learned that on August 20, Alibaba Group released its financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. In this quarter, the annual recurring revenue (ARR) of Alibaba's AI-related products exceeded 49.5 billion RMB (7.3 billion US dollars), accounting for 35% of the external commercial revenue of Alibaba Cloud, and the gross profit margin of AI-related products is significantly higher than the average level of cloud products. At the analyst conference call, Group CEO Eddie Wu stated that the return on Capex investment in AI computing power is highly certain, and the Capex investment can be recovered within three years. Considering that the gross profit margin of AI-related products is still rising, the payback period is expected to be shortened to 2.5 years or even 2 years in the future.
Cambricon Falls Below the 1000 Yuan Mark in Intraday Trading
36Kr has learned that on August 20, Cambricon's intraday drop exceeded 5%, its stock price fell below the 1000 yuan mark and touched a minimum of 995 yuan. It closed at 1010.88 yuan, down 3.77%, with a nearly 40% retracement from its June peak of 1620 yuan.
Wang Xingxing, Unitree Robotics: The company is advancing the self-evolution of physical AI robot models
Wang Xingxing, Chairman of Unitree Robotics, stated at the forum that over the past years, AI has been mostly applied in programming and development, but its application in the robotics field is still insufficient. Therefore, what the company has been promoting recently is to directly realize the self-evolution of physical AI robot models. "We adopt the most cutting-edge top-tier large AI models as the driving force, then we set corresponding rules, experience, constraints and tools, to enable it to search for the latest papers, top research outcomes and all kinds of optimal open-source solutions on the Internet independently, so that it can program on its own and generate the control code for its own robots." Wang Xingxing said that after the control code is generated, it can run in the simulation environment, or generate and call relevant large models to control a physical robot, complete deployment tests on the physical robot, and then carry out evaluation and scoring. (CLS)
Bank of Nanjing Responds to Year-on-Year Rise in Credit Impairment Losses in the First Half of the Year: Mainly Aims to Step up Risk Disposal and Clearance Efforts
Statistics show that as of the end of June, the non-performing loan ratio of Bank of Nanjing fell by 0.01 percentage point compared with the end of last year to 0.82%; the provision coverage ratio decreased by 7.51 percentage points compared with the end of last year to 306.11%; the credit impairment loss in the first half of the year rose by 34.77% year on year. In response to this, Qiang Ying, independent director of Bank of Nanjing, stated at the 2026 semi-annual performance briefing that the year-on-year increase of credit impairment loss in the first half of the year is mainly out of the consideration of stepping up risk disposal and clearance efforts. In the future, the company will continue to adhere to long-term steady and high-quality development, so as to maintain a sufficient risk safety buffer and a moderate profitability level. As the company's independent director, Qiang Ying said that she will actively participate in the company's scientific decision-making, urge the company to abide by national laws, regulations and policies, promote high-quality transformation, supervise conflicts of interest between major shareholders and the company, protect the rights and interests of minority shareholders, and earnestly perform the duties of loyalty and diligence. (Securities Times)
2026 Annual Box Office Exceeds 26.5 Billion Yuan, the Number of Screenings and Audience Attendance in the Summer Movie Season Hits New Highs
According to data from online platforms, as of now, the total annual film box office of 2026 (including pre-sales) has exceeded 26.5 billion yuan, with over 670 million moviegoers and more than 96 million total screenings. (CCTV News)
Shanghai adjusts the minimum down payment ratio policy for commercial personal housing loans
36Kr learned that the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China, together with the Shanghai Office of the National Administration of Financial Regulation, issued the Notice on Adjusting the Policy of Minimum Down Payment Ratio for Commercial Personal Housing Loans in Shanghai, making the following adjustments to the commercial personal housing loan policy in Shanghai: optimize the personal housing credit policy and adjust the lower limit of the down payment ratio for second-home loans. For the purchase of housing outside the outer ring (including the areas where differentiated policies were originally implemented), the minimum down payment ratio for commercial personal housing loans for second homes is adjusted to 15%, and 25% for other areas. Banking financial institutions shall, in accordance with the lower limit requirements specified in this Notice, reasonably determine the specific down payment ratio level for each loan in combination with factors such as their own operating conditions and customer risk status. In the specific implementation, all banks shall fully consider factors such as pending transactions to effectively bring convenience to the public. This Notice shall come into force as of August 21, 2026.
Black Myth: Zhong Kui Ultra-Long In-Game Demo Unveiled for the First Time
On August 20, Black Myth posted on its official Weibo account that Black Myth: Zhong Kui, the second work of the Black Myth series developed by Game Science, released a brand new 15-minute in-game gameplay demo today, showcasing the protagonist's combat performance and partial story clips for the first time. The post stated that this video is recorded from the work-in-progress version, and the screen aspect ratio is set to 21:9 during operation. As the product is still in the early stage of research and development, the final released content may be different.
Feng Ji, Founder and CEO of Game Science, released a long article on the same day: "The in-game operation video of Black Myth: Zhong Kui is released. As usual I should say something, but I can't give any spoilers. So I simply sorted out some internal work principles of Game Science, and managed to put together ten points, which can be regarded as the reflection and review of my past career, and also a reminder for subsequent projects." (Yicai)
Wang Ning of Pop Mart: The company will launch a share repurchase plan of RMB 2-5 billion within the next 6 months
36Kr has learned that Wang Ning, founder of Pop Mart, stated at the interim results conference call that the group will launch a share repurchase plan of no less than RMB 2 billion and no more than RMB 5 billion in the next six months, which is also the first time it has announced a share repurchase plan at a results conference. As of April 2026, the company's accumulated repurchase amount is approximately HK$1.744 billion.
Samsung Foundry adjusts its technology roadmap, with 1.4nm process mass production delayed to 2029
Samsung Foundry recently updated its technology roadmap at the SAFE Forum 2026, adjusting the mass production timeline of the 1.4nm process. It has now announced that the 1.4nm process is scheduled to achieve mass production in 2029, which is about one year later than TSMC (TSMC's A14 program is set to enter mass production as scheduled in 2028). Samsung Foundry initially stated in a press release in 2022 that the 2nm process would be put into mass production in 2025 and the 1.4nm process would be mass produced in 2027. (CLS)
TSMC A16 Process Completes Development and Verification, Targeting Mass Production in Q4
According to reports, TSMC has completed the development and verification of its 1.6nm-class A16 process, and plans to start mass production in the fourth quarter of this year. This process adopts the backside power delivery network technology "Super Power Rail (SPR)", which separates power lines from signal lines and supplies power from the back of the wafer to reduce wiring bottlenecks, improve energy efficiency and performance, while maintaining compatibility with existing designs. The A16 is targeted at the AI and high-performance computing markets. Compared with the enhanced 2nm process N2P, the A16 delivers an 8%-10% performance boost at the same power consumption, a 15%-20% reduction in power consumption at the same performance level, and an 8%-10% increase in chip density. The A16 is regarded as an intermediate node for the transition to the 1.4nm-class A14, which is targeted for mass production in 2028. (Sina Finance)
OpenAI's Latest Move Against Anthropic: Pledges Not to Retain Customer Data
OpenAI has promised not to retain the data of enterprise customers using its artificial intelligence models, and meanwhile improve product security capabilities, in a bid to grab customers from its competitor Anthropic. A number of enterprises are dissatisfied with the practice that Claude's developer stores their own business data. The ChatGPT developer stated on August 19 that it has opened the preview of new technologies to some customers. This technology is capable of identifying behavior patterns and security risks across multiple rounds of model interaction behaviors. In the past, AI security systems could only monitor individual interaction records one by one. If part of customer data is not retained, it is very difficult to ensure that the tools are used in compliance; the new solution is designed to break through this limitation. (Sina Finance)
Samsung Reportedly to Unveil 100 Trillion KRW Shareholder Return Plan
On August 20, according to reports, Samsung will announce a 100 trillion won shareholder return plan. (Jiemian News)
Bitcoin is approaching $70,000, and the single-day liquidation scale of short positions hits a record high in history
Affected by the rapid rise of Bitcoin price, short sellers in the cryptocurrency market have encountered a record concentrated liquidation. According to market data, within the 24 hours ending on August 20 this year, the total liquidation amount of short positions reached about 2.74 billion US dollars, exceeding the short losses during the market slump in October 2025, and setting the largest single-day short liquidation scale since records began in 2021. Data from CoinGlass shows that the price of Bitcoin once touched nearly $69,900 during the Asian trading session, rebounding by more than $5,700 from the low point of about $64,100 on August 19, hitting this level for the first time since early June. As of press time, Bitcoin is quoted above $69,100, with a 24-hour increase of about 8%. (Sina Finance)
"Big Short" Burry Takes Bearish View on Nvidia and Throws His Weight Behind Emerging AI Chip Player Etched
Michael Burry, the investor known as "Big Short", has once again expressed a bearish view on Nvidia, noting that AI chip company Etched is its formidable rival. The latter's chips deliver 10 times higher performance at lower costs. Around 15% of Etched's employees come from Nvidia. The company completed a $700 million financing round on August 18 with a valuation of 21 billion U.S. dollars, and its chips were put into operation in only 44 days. (CLS)
SK Hynix Reaches Tentative Preliminary Agreement on Remuneration and Bonuses with the Labor Union
It is reported that SK Hynix has reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement on wages and bonuses with the labor union, which includes a 6.3% pay rise and adjustments to its profit-sharing bonus system. Under the proposed plan, 40% of the profit-sharing bonus will be paid in cash and 60% in the form of stocks. For the stock bonus, 40% of the stocks can be sold in the same year of grant, and the remaining 20% will be sold on a deferred basis. The agreement also includes an increase in employee welfare points. The labor union plans to hold a representative vote as soon as possible to finalize the agreement. (Sina Finance)
Micron Establishes Research Laboratory in the U.S. with $10 Billion Investment Support Over the Next Decade
Micron Technology announced that it has set up Micron Research Laboratory in Idaho, the United States, which will receive $10 billion in investment support over the next ten years. The laboratory aims to support cutting-edge research in key technology fields, covering critical storage technologies, advanced storage and computing architectures, packaging, and future semiconductor manufacturing. (Jiemian News)
Foxconn Launches Urgent Recruitment Drive for iPhone 18 Mass Production
On August 20, as Apple's autumn launch event is approaching, contract manufacturer Foxconn is rolling out a large-scale urgent recruitment campaign, offering a maximum sign-on bonus of 7,800 yuan for new hires, with recruitment postings on multiple job platforms marked with "Urgent Hire" labels. On August 20, a recruitment supervisor from Shenzhen Foxconn revealed that the new Apple products are about to hit the market, and the factory is in its peak recruitment season. Citing public information from Minnan Network, Apple is expected to hold its special autumn event on September 9, breaking its nearly 20-year tradition of releasing all new iPhone models at once, and will only launch three high-end models including the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and its first foldable-screen iPhone, while the standard iPhone 18 will be postponed to the spring of 2027 for release. (Red Star Capital Bureau)
Anthropic's IPO size is expected to match or even surpass the record set by SpaceX
Anthropic PBC expects its IPO scale to at least reach the record level set by SpaceX, and may even be higher. Sources revealed that Anthropic is calculating relevant data and preparing to publicly submit documents for a potential large-scale IPO as soon as the end of this month. The recent investor briefing led by Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao did not directly address the valuation issue. Statistics show that SpaceX raised 75 billion U.S. dollars in the initial IPO stage, setting a global record for the scale of new share issuance. When the over-allotment option is included, the final fundraising size increased to 86.2 billion U.S. dollars. (CLS)
Hidden Risks of US Congressional Staff Using AI to Draft Bills
According to a recent report by the US media Politico, an increasing number of US congressional staff and external teams have begun to use artificial intelligence to draft legislative proposals, but these proposals are often full of errors, including wrong citations of legal provisions, confused legal definitions, improper wording and other problems. Wade Ballou, who once worked in the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the US Congress, said, "All departments of the US government have started to apply artificial intelligence tools, but directly applying this error-prone technology to legal texts may cause great hidden dangers. (CCTV International)
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google, is reportedly developing custom chips in-house for its robotaxis
On August 20, according to reports, Waymo under Google has independently developed a custom chip, aiming to improve the performance of its robotaxis, and expand its chip supply sources from third-party companies such as NVIDIA to self-developed channels. This Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip has been put into mass production in Waymo's latest generation of robotaxis, which will enhance the vehicle's response speed and navigation capabilities. Waymo stated that the computing power of this chip exceeds 1000 TOPS, and it is manufactured using TSMC's 5-nanometer process. (Jiemian News)
SpaceX completes its 100th rocket launch this year, and this mission will send 24 SpaceX Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit
At 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on August 19, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the United States. This is the 97th Falcon 9 launch carried out by SpaceX this year, and also the 100th launch mission completed by the company in 2026. Most of SpaceX's launch missions this year are used to expand the Starlink satellite network. At present, this huge satellite constellation has nearly 11,000 operating satellites. Up to now, 74 of SpaceX's launch missions this year have been used to deploy Starlink satellites.
If everything advances in accordance with SpaceX's plan, this figure will also increase significantly in the next few years. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, once said that the company hopes to achieve multiple launches of Starship per day, so as to raise the annual number of launches to about 1000. (IT Home)
Ongoing Listing Process
Junlebao updates its prospectus
36 Kr learned from the filings of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that on August 20, Junlebao Dairy Group Co., Ltd. has resubmitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited and Morgan Stanley Asia Limited as joint sponsors.
Large Company Financial Reports
Alibaba Releases Financial Report for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2027
36Kr learned that Alibaba has released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. According to the report, Alibaba's revenue in the first quarter reached 269 billion yuan, compared with 247.652 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year. Among them, Alibaba Cloud's external commercial revenue accelerated to grow by 45%, hitting the highest growth rate in 22 quarters; adjusted EBITA increased by 133% year-on-year, and the EBITA profit margin rose to 12%; revenue from AI-related products achieved triple-digit year-on-year growth for the 12th consecutive quarter, and AI has become a definite engine driving the growth of the cloud business. In the large consumption sector, instant retail revenue increased by 45% year-on-year, the market share of Taobao Flash Shopping remains stable, and UE continues to improve quarter-on-quarter.
Pop Mart: H1 revenue hits 17.17 billion RMB, rising 23.8% year on year
36Kr has learned that Pop Mart released its 2026 semi-annual report, posting a total revenue of 17.17 billion RMB in the first half of the year, a 23.8% year-on-year increase. Its adjusted net profit reached 5.16 billion RMB, with an adjusted net profit margin of 30% and gross profit margin of 69.7%. According to the semi-annual report, Pop Mart runs 676 offline physical stores and 2827 robot vending stores across the globe, with the total number of accumulated registered members worldwide exceeding 100 million. In the Chinese market, it operates 455 stores, generating a revenue of 12.2 billion RMB and recording a 47.3% year-on-year growth.
China Telecom: Net profit of RMB 19.588 billion in H1 2026, down 14.9% year on year
36Kr learned from the announcement of China Telecom that its revenue in the first half of 2026 was RMB 259 billion, down 3.9% year on year; its net profit in the first half of 2026 reached RMB 19.588 billion, down 14.9% year on year.
NetEase: Revenue of the second quarter hits 30.1 billion yuan, rising 7.9% year on year
36Kr learns that NetEase has released its financial report for the second quarter of 2026. The financial report shows that NetEase achieved a revenue of 30.1 billion yuan in the second quarter, with a 7.9% year-on-year growth; the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the company is 7 billion yuan. Its operating profit reaches 12.1 billion yuan, compared with 9.1 billion yuan in the same period of last year; the R&D investment amounts to 4.6 billion yuan, and the R&D investment intensity is 15%. Among all segments, the net revenue from games and related value-added services is 25 billion yuan, growing 9.7% year on year; the net revenue of Youdao is 1.5 billion yuan, with positive operating profit for eight consecutive quarters; the net revenue of NetEase Cloud Music is 2 billion yuan, remaining flat year on year.
NetEase Cloud Music: Revenue in the first half of the year reached 4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%
36Kr has learned that NetEase Cloud Music released its performance report for the first half of 2026. Its revenue in the first half of the year hit 4 billion yuan, up 3.4% year on year, and the gross profit margin rose to 37.2%. In the first half of the year, the DAU/MAU ratio of NetEase Cloud Music stayed above 30%, presenting an upward trend both year-on-year and month-on-month.
The Estée Lauder Companies: Fiscal 2026 Sales Hit 15 Billion US Dollars, Up 5% Year Over Year
36Kr learned that The Estée Lauder Companies released its fourth-quarter and full-year financial reports for fiscal 2026. The full-year organic sales increased by 3%, and total sales reached 15 billion US dollars, representing a 5% year-over-year growth. The growth rate of organic sales in the fourth quarter accelerated to 5%, achieving growth for four consecutive quarters. Gross margin increased by 150 basis points to 75.5%, and adjusted earnings per share rose 66% to 2.51 US dollars. Organic net sales in the Chinese mainland market increased by 7% in the fourth quarter and 9% for the full year. Organic net sales in the Chinese mainland market increased by 7% in the fourth quarter and 9% for the full year.
Yanjing Beer: Net profit in the first half of the year is 1.399 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 26.86%
36Kr learned from the announcement released by Yanjing Beer that the company realized operating revenue of 9.031 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, up 5.53% year on year; the net profit attributable to shareholders reached 1.399 billion yuan, growing by 26.86% year on year.
Walmart's second-quarter revenue hits $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year on year
Walmart announced on August 20 that its second-quarter revenue reached $187.94 billion, a 5.9% year-on-year increase, versus the market estimate of $186.87 billion. Its adjusted earnings per share stood at $0.81, beating the expected $0.74, and operating cash flow reached $19.7 billion. The company expects full-year adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.80 to $2.87, compared with its previous forecast of $2.75 to $2.85, while the market consensus estimate is $2.90. (Jiemian News)
iFlytek: Revenue in the first half of the year hits 11.623 billion yuan, up 6.52% year on year
36Kr has learned that iFlytek disclosed its 2026 semi-annual report. The financial report shows that in the first half of this year, the company achieved revenue of 11.623 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.52%; the net profit attributable to shareholders rose 14.68% year on year; the R&D investment reached 3.007 billion yuan, up 25.73% year on year. In addition, the total sales payment recovered by the company in the first half of the year reached 11.896 billion yuan, an increase of more than 1.5 billion yuan compared with the same period last year.
Li Ning: Revenue in the first half of the year reached 15.24 billion yuan, up 2.8% year-on-year
36Kr learned that on August 20, Li Ning Company released its 2026 interim results, with revenue hitting 15.24 billion yuan, a 2.8% year-on-year increase. Gross profit was 7.75 billion yuan, up 4.5% from the same period last year; the overall gross margin was 50.9%, up 0.9 percentage points year-on-year; net profit was 1.82 billion yuan, with a net profit margin of 11.9%.
Ping An of China: Net profit in the first half of the year reached 92.585 billion yuan, up 36.1% year on year
36Kr learned from the announcement of Ping An of China that the company achieved operating revenue of 615.351 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, with a year-on-year growth of 12.6%; the net profit attributable to shareholders reached 92.585 billion yuan, up 36.1% year on year.
Investment and Financing
"Atomic Matrix" Secures Hundreds of Millions of RMB in Series A+ Financing
36Kr has learned that Hangzhou Atomic Matrix Computing Co., Ltd. (MatriQ, hereinafter referred to as "Atomic Matrix") has announced the completion of hundreds of millions of RMB in Series A+ financing. This round of financing is jointly invested by multiple institutions including Yunfeng Fund, 37 Interactive Entertainment, Puhua Capital, Caitong Capital, Shanghai Semiconductor Industry Investment, Tangxing Capital, Borui Capital, Hechuang Capital and Haibang Investment, and the existing shareholder Minsilver International continues to increase its stake.
"Titanium Motion Technology" Completes a New Round of Financing
36Kr has learned that AI marketing technology company "Titanium Motion Technology" has announced the completion of a new round of financing. This round of financing is led by Huatai General Atlantic Fund, with follow-on investments from institutions including Kunpeng Guangyuan, GAC Capital and GSR Ventures.
Cool Products
Unitree releases bionic 7-axis dexterous robotic arm with a starting price of 9900 yuan
36Kr learned that Unitree Robotics has launched a bionic 7-axis dexterous robotic arm, which adopts high-precision seven-axis bionic joints, is priced starting at 9900 yuan, and has a self-weight of 5.5kg.
Samsung Announces to Launch the Latest Galaxy S26 Model Next Week
South Korea's Samsung Electronics said on August 20 that it will release the latest model of its Galaxy S26 smartphone series next week. The company noted that the launch event will be held online on August 27. Samsung has not directly announced the official name of the product, but the soon-to-be-released device is rumored to be the Galaxy S26 FE. (Sina Finance)
Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance Officially Unveils Xiangjie G9
36Kr has learned that Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance has officially released the Xiangjie G9, which is equipped with the industry-first Huawei All-Terrain Turion Platform, Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance intelligent all-terrain system, 800V fully active disconnectable stabilizer bar, and Huawei Nebula Communication 3.0 space-air-ground integrated network.
Collated | Grape