The 2025 home appliance financial reports are mixed, and 2026 may be even more challenging.

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Source: Global Tiger Finance App

As leading companies like Midea Group, Haier Smart Home, Hisense Home Appliances successively disclose their 2025 “report cards,” the annual profile of the home appliance industry is gradually becoming clearer.

Overall, this report card can be described as “bittersweet.” The good news is that most leading companies achieved double growth in revenue and profit, demonstrating strong operational resilience; the concern is that behind the seemingly impressive data, the entire industry is under triple pressure from shrinking demand, rising costs, and overseas challenges.

Looking back from the threshold of 2026, investors need to see not only the growth figures but also understand the true value behind the numbers.

The “burdened progress” behind growth

As mentioned in the book “Antifragile,” “The most interesting aspect of evolution is that it relies on antifragility… When exposed to volatility, randomness, chaos, pressure, risk, and uncertainty, they can instead thrive and grow.” Under the current pressure on the home appliance industry, the fact that companies can still show some vitality is undoubtedly another testament to this theory.

Specifically, leading companies still maintain their basic operations. Midea Group and Haier Smart Home achieved double growth in revenue and profit for the year; Hisense Home Appliances, Skyworth Group, and AUX showed mixed results, with some performance declines.

Behind the performance of major companies lies a gradually weakening market environment. According to AVC (All View Cloud) data, in 2025, China’s total retail sales of home appliances (excluding 3C) reached 893.1 billion yuan, down 4.3% year-on-year; in the second half, retail sales were 421.4 billion yuan, down 16% year-on-year.

These figures reflect the reality that the home appliance industry is entering deep waters. The deeper logic is that in 2025, China’s home appliance industry is accelerating reshuffling amid stock competition, with a profound shift in growth logic.

“Waves” in the home appliance industry

In 2025, the policy of replacing old appliances with new ones continued, but the policy’s driving force gradually weakened. In the first half, the residual policy effects still effectively supported market demand; in the second half, the policy’s pull continued to diminish, showing a clear marginal decline, leading the industry to trend from high to low.

As CITIC Securities analyzed, although the national subsidy fund increased to 300 billion yuan in 2025, by the fourth quarter, due to prior demand exhaustion and high base effects, domestic sales pressure for home appliances significantly increased.

Especially entering 2026, policy guidance shifted from “expanding total volume” to “stabilizing total volume and adjusting structure,” with subsidy categories shrinking to core categories like large white goods, supporting only first-tier energy efficiency products. While this structural adjustment benefits industry upgrading, it also means that the previous universal demand surge cannot be easily repeated, and companies must rely on genuine product strength to compete for limited market share.

Meanwhile, rising raw material costs directly test the financial strength of home appliance companies. In 2025, London copper prices rose over 30%, and copper has long been a significant component of raw material costs for products like air conditioners. Additionally, materials like steel and aluminum also saw price increases, which will undoubtedly put pressure on manufacturing.

Overseas markets have always been a growth engine for home appliance giants, but 2025’s overseas expansion was not smooth. Huatai Securities research reports indicate that although some categories remain resilient due to supply chain advantages, large appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators increasingly rely on local production abroad.

In this context, how to leverage long-term consumer mindsets and effectively guide consumers to “upgrade and replace” through old-for-new policies to achieve further growth remains a core challenge for major home appliance companies.

Resilience amid industry difficulties

Looking ahead to 2026, the challenges facing the industry may persist. Industry volatility, rising raw material prices, and the continuation of tariff policies remain the “three mountains” overhead.

CITIC Securities predicts that the old-for-new fund in 2026 will be about 250 billion yuan, with policies continuing but with higher thresholds. Meanwhile, Tianfeng Securities (rights protection) estimates that the cost change range for air conditioners in Q2 2026 could reach 5% to 9%, indicating ongoing pressure.

Rising raw material prices are also shifting the focus of industry competition toward “full-scenario, full-cycle” integrated solutions. Leading brands, through technological accumulation and service networks, continue to increase market concentration, further strengthening the “strong get stronger” pattern.

Although 2026 may be more challenging, leading companies are already prepared for tough battles. Under pressure, China’s home appliance industry is shifting from scale expansion to high-quality development.