AI hardware is starting to hand in its exam papers.

From October 8 to 9, before the official release of the Q3 financial reports, performance previews have pushed AI hardware to the spotlight. 

Xingyun Technology estimates that its attributable net profit for the first three quarters will range from 240 million yuan to 290 million yuan, against a loss of 72.323 million yuan in the same period of last year. Amlogic Co., Ltd. expects its net profit for the first three quarters to be between 1.26 billion yuan and 1.31 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 80.58% to 87.74%. 

Kingboard Electronics expects its net profit for the third quarter to range from 912 million yuan to 1.089 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 205.46% to 264.74%. Benchuan Intelligent estimates that its net profit for the first three quarters will be between 96 million yuan and 144 million yuan, up 190.24% to 335.36% year on year. 

Put together, these figures convey a straightforward message: the AI hardware narrative is starting to face scrutiny from the income statement. Over the past two years, the market first priced in expectations, then orders, and now it is turning its focus to delivery, gross margin and cash flow.

Performance previews are only preliminary, unaudited estimates, but they have drawn a clear line. Companies that can demonstrate solid revenue, profit and order structures are translating AI demand into figures on their financial statements; those that only tout concepts will find it increasingly difficult to ride the current market rally. 

01. Orders Are Reflected in the Income Statement

Amlogic's preview is quite representative. The company estimates that its operating revenue for the first three quarters will range from 7.08 billion yuan to 7.18 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 39.61% to 41.59%; its attributable net profit will hit 1.26 billion yuan to 1.31 billion yuan, up 80.58% to 87.74% year on year.   

Among them, the attributable net profit for the third quarter is estimated to be 649 million yuan to 699 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 222.67% to 247.52%, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 48.36% to 59.79%. The quarterly profit growth has accelerated significantly. 

The company gives very specific reasons: the shipment volume of its smart set-top box SoC chips consistently ranks first globally, its smart TV SoC chips are continuously adopted by leading global terminal brands, and the rollout of high-end TV SoC products among key customers continues to advance. The company also expects its annual operating revenue to exceed 10 billion yuan this year, though this is only a preliminary estimate at the operational level and does not constitute a performance commitment. 

The signal from Kingboard Electronics is more closely tied to AI servers. The company estimates that its attributable net profit for the third quarter will range from 912 million yuan to 1.089 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 205.46% to 264.74%. 

The announcement states that the mass production and shipment of high-performance PCBs in the high-speed communication and AI data infrastructure sectors has accelerated, which, combined with optimized order structure and cost reduction and efficiency improvement, drives revenue and profit growth. As of the end of the reporting period, the company has a full backlog of orders in the fields of AI servers, data centers and high-speed optical modules, with high capacity utilization and high product yield. 

Guanghe Technology also attributes its growth to computing power PCBs. The company estimates that its net profit for the first three quarters will range from 1.45 billion yuan to 1.5 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 100.33% to 107.23%.

The reasons include focusing on the computing power PCB market covering general-purpose servers, AI servers, switching products and acceleration cards, and the Thailand plant has completed core customer certification and started to make profits. Overseas production capacity no longer only reports construction progress, but also begins to contribute to profits. 

Benchuan Intelligent is smaller in scale but follows a similar direction. The company estimates that its net profit for the first three quarters will range from 96 million yuan to 144 million yuan, up 190.24% to 335.36% year on year. 

The announcement mentions that the revenue proportion of high-end high-value-added PCB products such as high-layer boards, high-order HDI, embedded components and buried copper has increased, while low gross margin orders have been cleared out, and resources are concentrated on serving high-credit, high-value customers.

These companies share one thing in common: AI demand is built on their existing production capacity, customer base and product upgrades, and the changes in their financial statements stem from shipment volume, product structure and capacity utilization. What the market will look at next is how many quarters this improvement can last, and whether it can survive price fluctuations and the capacity expansion cycle. 

02. Xingyun Technology Presents Another Sample

The turnaround of Xingyun Technology has drawn more attention. The company estimates that its attributable net profit for the first three quarters will range from 240 million yuan to 290 million yuan, and its non-recurring profit and loss net profit will be between 245 million yuan and 295 million yuan. After excluding the amortization of about 58 million yuan from the first phase of equity incentive in 2026, the attributable net profit is estimated to be 290 million yuan to 330 million yuan. 

The core reason stated in the announcement is the strong market demand for AI computing power infrastructure, which leads to explosive growth in server sales business. Head customers such as Customer V, Customer VB and Customer VC have negotiated to raise the lease prices for existing signed orders, and the first batch of delivered and deployed server clusters have officially started leasing and recognized lease revenue since August. 

This preview also discloses the capital arrangement. During the reporting period, Xingyun Technology and its subsidiaries have applied for a total credit line of 21.544 billion yuan from financial and non-financial institutions, and have signed financing and credit contracts totaling 6.589 billion yuan to ensure order delivery. 

iFinD data shows that Xingyun Technology achieved an operating revenue of 254 million yuan in the first half of 2026, with an attributable net profit of 12.0154 million yuan, and a net cash flow from operating activities of 194 million yuan. As of the end of June, the company had total assets of 3.445 billion yuan, total liabilities of 2.534 billion yuan, and an asset-liability ratio of 73.58%. 

At the same point in time, the company had monetary funds of 642 million yuan and short-term borrowings of 349 million yuan. The closing price on October 9 was 34.46 yuan, up about 523% from 5.53 yuan on January 5, the first trading day of 2026. The market has already priced in a large number of expectations in advance. 

This type of company has high profit elasticity, but its problems are also more concentrated. Server procurement and leasing require a large amount of capital. After profit improvement, the company still has to face financing costs, depreciation, equipment iteration and customer concentration risks. 

The increase in lease prices can bring short-term gross margin, but whether it can be turned into long-term pricing power depends on the supply and demand of computing power, customer renewal and capital cost. The report card submitted by Xingyun Technology is more complex: profits are starting to be realized, while expansion is also starting to occupy more capital. 

03. High Growth Varies by Context

On the same night, Dongyue Silicone Material estimates that its net profit for the first three quarters will range from 547 million yuan to 567 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 19050% to 19750%. This growth rate is very noticeable, but the announcement also clarifies that the third quarter of 2025 was affected by the "7·20" fire accident, resulting in a loss of 39.3374 million yuan in that period, the attributable net profit for the first three quarters of 2025 was only 2.8567 million yuan, so the profit indicators of the current period are not comparable with those of the same period of last year. 

The company estimates that non-recurring gains and losses will affect the net profit by about 42 million yuan. Calculated based on the preview range, the net profit for the third quarter is estimated to be 118 million yuan to 138 million yuan, down 41% to 49% quarter on quarter compared with the 235 million yuan in the second quarter.

This comparison also applies to the AI hardware sector. High growth is driven by multiple factors: order growth, product price increase, structure optimization, low base effect, and one-off gains and losses. After the official disclosure of the Q3 reports, the market will not only ask how high the growth rate is, but also trace where the growth comes from, whether it can last into the fourth quarter, and whether it has been converted into cash. 

Cash flow will be the first test. iFinD data shows that Amlogic achieved an attributable net profit of 611 million yuan in the first half of the year, its net cash flow from operating activities was negative 502 million yuan, and its inventory stood at 3.539 billion yuan. 

Kingboard Electronics recorded an attributable net profit of 602 million yuan in the first half of the year, a net cash flow from operating activities of 604 million yuan, accounts receivable of 5.268 billion yuan, and inventory of 3.531 billion yuan. These figures cannot directly indicate risks, but they illustrate one point: orders converted into revenue still need to be turned into payment collections and cash. 

Inventory and accounts receivable will occupy capital, and will also amplify the consequences of demand fluctuations. If the stockpiling of goods corresponds to confirmed orders, it can be converted into revenue later; if customers adjust their procurement pace, the pressure will fall back onto the balance sheet. 

The second test is customer structure. The demand for AI servers, data centers and high-speed optical modules is concentrated in a small number of leading customers. Full order backlog can bring high capacity utilization, but it also brings pressure on bargaining and delivery. Once customers adjust their procurement pace, quarterly profits will fluctuate. 

The third test is capital expenditure. PCB manufacturing, server leasing and chip design all require upfront investment. Profits look good during the production line ramp-up period, but the pressure from depreciation, interest and inventory will emerge later. 

According to the scheduled arrangement, the disclosure of Q3 reports will start on October 10, and 134 companies will take the lead in releasing their official Q3 reports in the first 10 trading days after the holiday. The AI hardware sector has just submitted its first preview answer sheet with good scores, but the exam has only just begun. What will really widen the gap in the next phase is who can maintain gross margin while the order cycle continues to advance, recover cash after capacity expansion and stockpiling, and find a second source of growth beyond the leading customers. 

This article is from the WeChat official account "Qidian Pai", written by Li Yan, and published with authorization from 36Kr.