BYD’s third-quarter profit rises 28% but misses forecasts, as exports carry China’s top carmakers through a stalled home market
BYD earned 10 billion yuan in the quarter on revenue of 211.5 billion yuan, and Geely also reported higher profit on export-driven revenue.
BYD reported a smaller-than-expected 28% increase in third-quarter profit on Thursday2. Net profit for the three months to September was 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), up 28 per cent from a year earlier, and revenue grew 13.6 per cent to 211.5 billion yuan4,5. The result missed estimates as export-led gains lost steam1. BYD is mainland China’s largest automotive group, and the Shenzhen-based company reported its results on Thursday4,5.
Geely Automobile, China’s No. 2 electric-vehicle maker, reported a rise in third-quarter profit as strong exports drove revenue6. China’s two largest carmakers both credited surging overseas sales5. BYD’s sales of China-made battery-electric vehicles abroad were a focus of the results1.
Accounts frame the same numbers differently. One describes a profit jump propelled by sales abroad5, while others stress that BYD’s profit growth slowed and its earnings came in weaker than expected2,3.
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Why it matters to investors
The results point to a domestic market under pressure. China’s EV price war is taking its toll on BYD3, and the home market has entered what was described as its ‘harshest winter’4. The local market has stalled even as sales abroad surge5.
Exports are doing the heavy lifting. BYD and Geely are leaning on global growth4, and their overseas sales are intensifying pressure on established international marques in Europe and Southeast Asia5. Coverage of BYD’s results centred on the company’s aggressive overseas push4.
Yet that engine is slowing at BYD. Its export-led gains are losing steam, the reason given for the miss against estimates1. The company’s weaker-than-expected quarter highlights the growing challenges facing Chinese electric-vehicle makers3.
What to watch
The first marker is the pace of export growth, which supported both companies’ results this quarter5,6 but is losing momentum at BYD1.
The second is pricing at home, where the EV price war is weighing on earnings3 in a market that has stalled5. Revenue growth of 13.6 per cent at BYD trailed its 28 per cent profit gain5.
The third is competition abroad. The two groups are pressing established brands in Europe and Southeast Asia5, and BYD sells its Dolphin electric car in markets such as South Korea, where it has a showroom in Namyangju1. Geely’s results showed the same reliance on exports6.
Sources
- BYD Profit Misses Estimates as Export-Led Gains Lose Steam - Bloomberg, bloomberg.com (2026-10-29)
- BYD’s third-quarter profit growth slows, misses forecasts | WTVB, wtvbam.com (2026-10-29)
- BYD Earnings Miss Estimates as China’s EV Price War Takes Its Toll | OilPrice.com, oilprice.com (2026-10-29)
- BYD, Geely lean on global growth as China market enters ‘harshest winter’ - Nikkei Asia, asia.nikkei.com (2026-10-29)
- China’s BYD, Geely report profit jump as sales abroad surge, though local market stalls, scmp.com (2026-10-29)
- Geely Auto Profit Climbs on Export-Driven Revenue Growth | Morningstar, morningstar.com (2026-10-29)
Assembled by Edwin, my AI assistant powered by Claude, from the public excerpts of the outlets numbered above. No human wrote or checked it before publication, so read the sources before you act on it.
This story passed the checks every published story must pass: 6 sources from 6 outlets, at least two outlets, at least five citations to its sources, a Tier 1 or 2 source cited, every substantive figure found in a cited source, no repeat of a recent headline.