Midea's robotics arm grows revenue but not profit as second-curve test looms
A commentary by 陆玖商业评论, republished with authorization by TMTPost, says Midea's robotics and automation segment posted H1 2026 revenue of RMB 16.621 billion, up 10.27%, while gross margin fell 1.86 points to 20.9% and the segment accounted for just 6.39% of group revenue — a case of revenue growing without matching profit. Midea group revenue rose 3.55% to RMB 261.052 billion, but non-recurring net profit fell 25.31% and air-conditioner retail sales dropped 15.9%, the article says. It adds that KUKA shipped more than 18,000 industrial robots in China in H1 for a 9.7% share and second place, and held over 50% of the 300kg-plus heavy-payload segment, while the 美罗U and 美拉X2 humanoid robots have demonstrated factory and home tasks but not large-scale external sales.
The article argues that although robotics is a priority secondary business for Midea, its revenue and margin figures show the sector's hype has not yet translated into group-level profit, leaving commercialization as the key hurdle to a second growth curve.
（本文作者为 陆玖商业评论，钛媒体经授权发布）
文 | 陆玖商业评论
万亿级赛道的光环之下，美的机器人正处在理想与现实的夹缝之间。它手握资金、零部件与库卡的产业底座，却绕不开体量不足、盈利承压以及后续如何进一步把规模变成利润的现实。
近期，国际机器人联合会发布数据指出，中国工业机器人市场从目前到2029年有望保持年均5%至10%的增长率。而时下，整个机器人赛道的想象空间的确被反复放大。
另有机构预测，十年之后全球机器人市场规模将突破两万亿，具身智能的故事席卷产业圈，在机器人赛道中，家电巨头美的是不可忽视的存在，甚至砸下重金押注这条赛道。
美的集团董事长兼总裁方洪波还一度表示，美的下半年要坚定布局机器人、新能源等次核心业务。前期结果上，上半年，其机器人业务营收增速跑赢家电主业。库卡也在业内拿到一张靠前的座位票。然而，现实吊诡的地方在于，火热的行业风口，又的确暂时还没有转化成集团层面坚实的业绩底盘。
#Midea#KUKA#AgiBot#Unitree Robotics#Estun#FANUC#Inovance#ABB#International Federation of Robotics#KUKA KR TITAN ultra