On August 31, Unitree Robotics continued its volatile trading pattern, with its share price touching an intraday low of 555.8 yuan per share. This marks a stark contrast to its debut on August 19, when the stock opened at a historic peak of 1,100 yuan per share. The stock closed at 564.9 yuan, down 3.44% for the day, giving the company a total market capitalization of approximately 228.5 billion yuan.

As the first humanoid robot stock on the A-share market, Unitree Robotics soared to 1,100 yuan at its opening bell on day one, briefly reaching a peak market value of 444.9 billion yuan. Lucky investors who secured shares during the IPO enjoyed maximum paper gains exceeding 470,000 yuan per lot. Unfortunately, the stock's performance proved to be a classic "peak at the open" scenario, as consecutive declines followed its listing. Within just nine trading days, the share price nearly halved from its high, erasing over 200 billion yuan in market value.

From a hardware perspective, Unitree's capabilities are undeniably solid. The company is a leading global shipper of quadruped and humanoid robots, having delivered over 5,500 humanoid units in 2025. Its core joint actuators are over 90% self-developed, and it maintains a gross margin above 60%. Furthermore, it is one of the few companies worldwide that has achieved profitability through its humanoid robot business alone.

However, the capital markets remain unconvinced. The high offering price-to-earnings ratio of 219 times and a free float of just 7.44% have amplified the stock's volatility. The deeper underlying issue is the disconnect between lofty market expectations and the company's fundamental performance. According to the prospectus, Unitree Robotics revenue surged by 330% year-on-year in 2025, with non-GAAP net profit skyrocketing by 753%. But by the first half of 2026, revenue growth had slowed to 48.5%, and non-GAAP net profit declined by 19.34% year-on-year. In the first quarter alone, non-GAAP net profit fell by a staggering 52.55% compared to the same period last year.

The customer structure also reveals potential vulnerabilities. In the first three quarters of 2025, 73.6% of its humanoid robot revenue came from scientific research and educational settings, while actual revenue from industrial and commercial applications accounted for only about 5%. This indicates that large-scale commercialization has yet to be fully realized.

There is also a notable divergence between institutional target prices and the stock's secondary market trading price. On listing day, Nomura Securities issued a Buy rating but set a target price of just 370 yuan. CITIC Securities calculated a fair market value range of 50.6 billion to 55.9 billion yuan. CCB International set a target price of 269 yuan, corresponding to a market cap of roughly 109 billion yuan.

Even after the near-halving of its share price, Unitree Robotics still trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 877 times, far exceeding the industry average of 38.56 times for general equipment manufacturing.

The intense stock price swings reflect an ongoing reshuffle in the competitive landscape of the humanoid robot industry. According to market research firm SAG, Zhiyuan shipped approximately 8,400 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, capturing a 44% global market share and surpassing Unitree's 5,900 units and 31% share to become the world's number one. Together, the two companies account for 75% of global shipments.

The gap in R&D investment is also evident: Unitree Robotics spent 145 million yuan on R&D in 2025, while UBTECH Robotics invested 507 million yuan in the same period. Meanwhile, Zhiyuan's parent company boasts an R&D team of 1,100 people.

Unitree is aware of its shortcomings. Of the IPO proceeds, nearly half—approximately 2.022 billion yuan—will be allocated to the development of intelligent robot models. However, building embodied large models is a lengthy process, and market patience is wearing thin. The company has already partnered with NVIDIA and DeepSeek in an attempt to bolster its software capabilities.

It's worth noting that institutional forecasts for the company's future performance are also split. Nomura Securities projects revenue of 2.687 billion yuan, 5.396 billion yuan, and 13.184 billion yuan for 2026-2028, respectively. In contrast, China Merchants Securities forecasts 3.097 billion yuan, 4.960 billion yuan, and 7.683 billion yuan for the same period.