CATL, the world’s largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles, closed 2025 with a net profit of 10.4 billion euros at the exchange rate, 42% more than the previous year. It controls almost 40% of the global market and there is no rival in sight that can overshadow it. It is also a consequence of the transition we are experiencing. We tell you all the details.
Why does it matter? When talking about the transition to electric vehicles, the focus usually falls on car manufacturers, but there is a company that makes money from practically all of them, regardless of who sells the most cars. And CATL It’s something like NVIDIA of the automotive sector. If an electric car has a battery, there is almost a 40% chance that it is yours. And the percentage is increasing.
The numbers. The company recently published its annual results. The report showed total revenues of 423.7 billion yuan (about 58 billion euros), 17% more than in 2024. Net profit reached 72.2 billion yuan, nearly 10.4 billion euros, which represents a jump of 42% and the highest annual growth in three years.
In the fourth quarter alone, profit increased 57% year-on-year, beating forecasts by a wide margin. The electric car battery business represents 75% of revenue. On the other hand, energy storage, another of its businesses, contributes another 15%. As a consequence, its cash flow grows by 37%, to 133.2 billion yuan.
Market share. According to data According to South Korean analysis firm SNE Research, CATL closed 2025 with a 39.2% share of the global electric vehicle battery market, up from 38% the previous year. It is the ninth consecutive year in which it leads the global ranking. In fact, it is the only company in the world with a share greater than 30%. Its sales of lithium ion batteries have reached 661 GWh, 39% more. Power batteries (those in cars) totaled 541 GWh, and stationary storage batteries, 121 GWh.
Korea loses ground. The three large South Korean battery manufacturers, LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI, have seen their accumulated share fall by 10.4% last January, according to collect Automotive World analysis. There are several reasons for this, but the most notable have to do above all with changes in US trade policy, which have weakened supply chains in its local market, and increasing dependency of global automakers on Chinese suppliers for offering lower-cost products. CATL gains share abroad and on top of that its direct competitors lose it.
Your most profitable business is outside China. Precisely, income from abroad represents more than 30% of CATL’s total, and its gross margin in those markets reaches 31.4%, compared to the 24% it obtains in China. In other words, the more you sell abroad, the more you earn for each battery. And that turns its international expansion not only into a volume growth strategy, but also into an engine that offers increasingly greater profitability.
Beyond the electric car. “The new energy industry is at a new historic turning point,” counted the company’s president, Zeng Yuqun, at the meeting with investors. Here he points to electric aviation, ships, data centers and large-scale energy storage as new fronts for the company’s expansion.
CATL already leads the global market for batteries for stationary storage for the fifth consecutive year. At the end of 2025, it had six large R&D centers and 24 factories around the world, with an installed capacity of 772 GWh and another 321 GWh under construction.
Two shadows in the painting. Although it is all good news for the company, there are also nuances. And the gross margins in car batteries and storage were slightly reduced in 2025 due to pressure on raw material costs and the price war in the sector. The company has also recorded asset impairment losses of around 9 billion yuan, linked in part to the suspension of its activity at the Jianxiawo lithium mine, paralyzed since August due to a licensing conflict. Production is expected to resume in June this year.
On the other hand, we must not lose sight of its direct competitor in the domestic market: BYD and its new Blade battery second generation, which according to the company, is capable of charging from 10% to 97% in nine minutes, which could put CATL in a bind in the ultra-fast charging segment. Although for now BYD too has its own problems in China, since its share in batteries has fallen slightly and has accumulated six consecutive months of decline in domestic sales.
Cover image | CHUTTERSNAP and CATL
In Xataka | Finding the cheapest gas station in your area is very simple thanks to this very powerful tool
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings