China Corporate Profits

Profits at China’s industrial firms rose 1.9% yoy to CNY 5.95 trillion in the first ten months of 2025, easing from a 3.2% growth in the prior period as demand softened and pricing pressures persisted. Private-sector earnings weakened sharply (1.9% vs 5.1% in Jan–September), while state-owned enterprises were broadly flat after the prior 0.3% decline. By industry, profits grew for non-ferrous metal smelting (14.0%), electricity and heat production (13.1%), computers and communications (12.8%), agriculture (8.5%), electrical machinery (7.0%), general manufacturing (6.2%), special equipment (5.0%), and auto (4.4%). In contrast, profits fell sharply in coal mining (-49.2%), oil and gas (-12.5%), textiles (-6.1%), and chemicals (-5.4%). Simultaneously, ferrous metal smelting shifted to profit while fuel processing cut losses. In October alone, profits dropped 5.5% yoy, reversing a 21.6% jump in September and marking the first fall in three months.