On August 27, shares of Cambricon Technologies (688256.SH), China's leading AI chipmaker, briefly overtook Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) to become the most expensive stock on the A-share market. At 13:37 Beijing time, Cambricon's share price jumped 9.93% to ¥1,461, surpassing Moutai. By press time, the stock had eased back to around ¥1,372.

The rally followed Cambricon's 2025 half-year results released late on August 26, which showed revenue of RMB 2.88 billion for the first six months, up 4,348% year-on-year. Net profit reached RMB 1.04 billion, a sharp turnaround from a RMB 530 million loss in the same period last year. Gross profit rose 3,866% to RMB 1.61 billion, while operating cash flow swung to RMB 911 million from negative RMB 631 million a year earlier.

Cambricon attributed the surge to rapid market expansion and growing adoption of its AI processors across telecom, finance, internet, and other sectors. The company noted that all key profitability metrics turned positive due to "substantial growth in operating income."

Despite the strong results, inventory reached RMB 2.69 billion at the end of June, up 52% from the end of last year. Research and development expenses rose 2% to RMB 456 million, representing 15.9% of revenue, though the ratio fell sharply as sales growth far outpaced investment. As of June 30, the company employed 792 R&D staff—nearly 78% of its workforce—with more than 80% holding master's degrees or above.

Cambricon reported 2,774 cumulative patent applications by mid-2025, with 1,599 already granted, along with 65 software copyrights and six integrated circuit layout designs. Its product portfolio spans cloud, edge, and licensed IP solutions, with cloud products contributing nearly all revenue in the first half.

The company also highlighted progress in supporting large-model AI applications. Its platforms expanded support for DeepSeek, Qwen, and Hunyuan models, with significant improvements in parallel training efficiency and inference performance. Cambricon said these advances allowed its systems to maintain long-term stability in demanding commercial deployments.

Earlier this month, Cambricon secured approval from the Shanghai Stock Exchange to raise up to RMB 39.85 billion through a targeted A-share issuance. Proceeds will be invested in large-model chip and software platform projects, as well as working capital.

Fueled by earnings momentum and AI demand, Cambricon's market capitalization recently topped RMB 580 billion—20 times higher than three years ago—cementing its status as the most valuable company on Shanghai's STAR Market.