Dear Community,

Having recently discussed some exciting companies from future-oriented sectors, today I would like to take a look at Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited - CATL for short $3750 (-2,62 %) for short.

The Chinese group is now the world's world's largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles and plays a central role in the global electrification electrification of transportation and in the expansion of energy storage solutions.

_________________________

🏢 Brief description

CATL develops and produces lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

The company supplies many of the world's largest car manufacturers.

Its most important customers include:

• Tesla ($TSLA (+2,04 %) )
• BMW ($BMW (+0,7 %) )
• Volkswagen ($VOW (-0,54 %) )
• Mercedes-Benz ($MBG (+1,25 %) )
• Ford ($F (-0,63 %) )
• Hyundai ($005380 )

CATL batteries are now installed in installed in over 17 million electric vehicles worldwide.

_________________________

🏢 1. company data

Foundation: 2011

Founder: Robin Zeng

Head office: Ningde, Fujian (China)

Industry: Battery technology / energy storage / electromobility

Initial public offering: 2018 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Ticker: $300750
)

Employees: ≈ 147,716 worldwide

Business model

CATL develops and produces:

• Lithium-ion battery cells
• complete battery systems for electric vehicles
• stationary energy storage systems
• Battery materials and recycling solutions

The Group covers large parts of the battery value chain from raw materials to integration into vehicles.

_________________________

📈 2. finances & company value

(current company key figures)

Market capitalization: ≈ 205.5 billion €

Turnover (TTM): ≈ 366.9 billion RMB (~46.2 billion USD)

Net result: ≈ 54.2 billion RMB

EPS (earnings per share): ≈ 12.37 RMB

Quarterly profit growth (YoY): +32,9 %

Cash position: ≈ 342.7 billion RMB

💡 Explanation:

The turnover comes mainly from batteries for electric vehicleswhile energy storage solutions are increasingly becoming a second growth driver becoming a second growth driver.

_________________________

📊 3. key valuation figures

P/E ratio (trailing PE): ≈ 26,9

Forward P/E ratio: ≈ 21,2

Price-to-sales (P/S): ≈ 3,3

Enterprise Value: ≈ 180.4 billion €

💡 Explanation:

• P/E RATIO: Ratio of market capitalization to profit
• P/E RATIO (P/S): Stock market value in relation to turnover

For a strongly growing industrial technology group these valuations are considered comparatively moderate.

_________________________

💰 4. profitability & margins

Net margin: ≈ 14,77 %

Operating margin: ≈ 17,44 %

Return on equity (ROE): ≈ 22,2 %

Return on assets (ROA): ≈ 5,08 %

💡 Explanation:

• ROE: Shows how efficiently equity is used
• ROA: shows profitability in relation to total assets

Despite enormous investments, CATL remains profitable and cash flow strong.

_________________________

🛡️ 5. Balance sheet quality & financial health

Total assets: ≈ 896 billion RMB

Equity: ≈ 347 billion RMB

Cash & short-term investments: ≈ 367.5 billion RMB

CATL therefore has a very strong liquidity positionwhich enables large investments in new factories and technologies and technologies.

_________________________

🔋 6. market position & industry key figures

CATL has been the the world's largest manufacturer of EV batteries.

Global market share: ≈ 38 %

This means:

➡️ More than one in three electric car batteries worldwide comes from CATL.

The market is growing rapidly:

• electromobility
• expansion of renewable energies
• Stationary energy storage

_________________________

⚔️ 7. Overview of competitors

The battery market is highly competitive.

The most important competitors include:

• LG Energy Solution ($373220 )
• BYD ($1211 (-2,75 %) )
• Panasonic ($6752 (+6,95 %) )
• Samsung SDI ($006400 )

_________________________

💡 8. unique selling propositions (USPs)

Why is CATL considered the industry leader?

1️⃣ Technology leadership

CATL invests heavily in research and development.

Important innovations:

• Cell-to-pack technology (CTP)
• Lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP)
• Fast-charging batteries

2️⃣ Scaling

CATL operates numerous Gigafactories worldwide.

Production capacity was already over 165 GWh and is set to increase further.

3️⃣ Global customer portfolio

The company supplies numerous international car brands and therefore has a broad diversification of demand.

4️⃣ Vertical integration

CATL invests in:

• Raw material extraction
• battery production
• recycling

In the long term, this can reduce production costs can be reduced in the long term.

_________________________

⚙️ 9. Opportunities and risks

🟢 Opportunities

The global battery market is growing strongly.

Drivers:

• Electromobility
• Energy storage for power grids
• renewable energies

CATL is also working on:

• Sodium-ion batteries
• solid state batteries

These technologies could be the next generation of energy storage storage systems.

🔴 Risks

Risks include the following:

• geopolitical tensions between China and Western markets
• Rising commodity prices (lithium, nickel)
• strong competition
• Price wars in the Chinese EV market

In the year 2024, for example, turnover fell by 9.7%, althoughalthough profits continued to rise.

_________________________

📰 Current developments

CATL is currently expanding massively internationally.

Important projects:

• Gigafactory in Hungary
• Battery production in Germany (Erfurt)
• planned battery factory in Spain together with Stellantis ($STLAM (-5,88 %)
  )

The company also raised more than Hong Kong stock exchange listing to raise over USD 4 billion in capitalto finance its global expansion.

_________________________

🧠 Conclusion

CATL is one of the most important companies in the global energy transition.

The Group combines:

• enormous production capacities
• technological innovation
• a strong market position

Should electromobility continues to grow stronglyCATL is likely to remain a key infrastructure infrastructure player in the global battery industry.

_________________________

Sources:

Investing.com: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd - Financials & Company Profile

https://www.investing.com/equities/contemporary-amperex-tech-co-ltd-company-profile

MarketScreener: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co, Limited - Company Profile

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/CONTEMPORARY-AMPEREX-TECH-46551731/company/

SNE Research: Global EV Battery Market Share

https://www.sneresearch.com/en/insight/release_view/195/page/0?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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$DUOL

Leading managers of western car manufacturers $STLAM (-5,88 %)
$GM (-0,02 %)
$F (-0,63 %)
$RIVN (-0,88 %) among others, are sounding the alarm in the face of growing competition from China.

From the "Big Three" in the USA to European corporations $VOW (-0,54 %)
$MBG (+1,25 %)
$BMW (+0,7 %) concerns are growing that Chinese manufacturers - including BYD $1211 (-2,75 %) - could become an existential threat in the long term.

Ahead of a hearing of the US House of Representatives, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), which represents Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, among others, warned: "China poses a clear and imminent threat to the automotive industry in the US."

The association called on Congress to maintain existing import restrictions on certain Chinese technologies, which effectively limit market access for Chinese vehicles.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe points above all to the structural advantages of Chinese manufacturers. "It's not that the Chinese cost structure magically works. There are really two things that you can understand very clearly," Yahoo Finance quotes him as saying. Firstly, capital costs are "close to zero in most cases", as factories are heavily subsidized. Secondly, labor costs are only a quarter to a fifth of the US level. Tariffs would currently "even out" these differences, but only temporarily.

Ford boss Jim Farley also warns of the pace of development. "We are a year behind our Chinese competitors. They are now even more present worldwide," he said. In Europe, Chinese brands recently achieved a market share of around 6.1 percent - almost twice as much as in the previous year. Farley repeatedly referred to Chinese vehicles as an "existential threat" and emphasized: "They pose a major threat to the local workforce and receive huge subsidies from the government for their exports." He added: "As a country, we have to decide what is a fair playing field."

》Companies like BYD are exemplary of this rise《

The group is expanding aggressively in Europe and other markets and is benefiting from government support and vertically integrated supply chains, particularly for batteries.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe points above all to the structural advantages of Chinese manufacturers. "It's not that the Chinese cost structure magically works. It's really two things that you can understand very clearly," Yahoo Finance quotes him as saying.

Firstly, capital costs are "close to zero in most cases", as factories are heavily subsidized. Secondly, labor costs are only a quarter to a fifth of the US level.

Tariffs would currently "even out" these differences, but only temporarily (as with all other tariffs, mainly to the detriment of US citizens; in Europe, the tariffs already have little to no effect and are being replaced by European factories anyway 🤫😅)

Ford boss Jim Farley also warns of the pace of development. "We are a year behind our Chinese competitors (to put it charitably 😂). They are now even more globally present," he said.

In Europe, Chinese brands recently achieved a market share of around 6.1 percent - almost double that of the previous year. Farley repeatedly referred to Chinese vehicles as an "existential threat" and emphasized: "They pose a major threat to the local workforce and receive huge subsidies from the government for their exports." He added: "As a country, we have to decide what is a fair playing field."

Companies like BYD are exemplary of this rise. The group is aggressively expanding into Europe and other markets, benefiting from government support and vertically integrated supply chains, especially for batteries.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra also criticized Canada's decision to allow up to 49,000 electric vehicles to be produced in China each year. "I can't explain why this decision was made in Canada," she said and warned: "This is becoming a very dangerous development."

Pressure is also growing in Europe. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume are calling for CO₂ incentives to be specifically linked to locally produced vehicles. "Europe is currently witnessing the emergence of new geopolitical rivalries," they wrote. "Trade, technology and industrial capacities are being mobilized more than ever to serve national interests. The European Union must choose a path quickly." (clearly they are already building in Europe and then the single market should be taxed 🤷🏻‍♂️🫣😂👍🏻)

Industry experts expect Chinese manufacturers to further accelerate their expansion in view of the saturation of their domestic market. For Western car manufacturers, this is not just about market share - but about the strategic future of their existence.

》Conclusion《

Whining at the highest level, first they all sleep through everything, then it's all about the money and then they wake up and whine about why nobody woke them up, that's how disenchantment with politics/lobbying works 🤷🏻‍♂️

The Chinese will literally overrun us, but cheers to the management, lobbying and, above all, the politicians who made this possible in the first place 🤫👍🏻😂

Hi, for this month I decided not to buy anything but I still loaded €750 into the account, I have many companies on my watchlist and for this month I decided not to make any rash moves and take some time to analyze them, next month I will make up for it with a €1750/1850 purchase, what have you done or what will you do this month? What have you bought or sold?

In any case, the companies I am keeping an eye on are. $STLAM (-5,88 %) , $NOVO B (+4,52 %) , $ORS (+1,06 %) , $NWL (-2,26 %) , so an industrial, a pharmaceutical and 2 small caps in the food sector, these are the main ones but I also watch a lot of American consumer staples.

The sales of BYD$1211 (-2,75 %) in Germany and the UK - the two largest automotive markets in Europe - increased significantly in January.

In the German market, the Chinese giant's vehicle registrations rose by over 1,000%, while they doubled in the UK.

BYD entered both markets in early 2023, but sales figures only began to rise last year, when monthly registrations consistently exceeded 1,000 units.

According to the monthly registration figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), the BYD Seal U DM-i plug-in hybrid ranked sixth among the best-selling models of all drive types.

The model sold 2,550 units - that is 63.4% of all BYD sales in January.

The brand offers ten models in the UK: five battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and five plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

The model range consists mainly of sport utility vehicles as well as the Seal saloon and the Dolphin and Dolphin Surf compact city cars.

While the SMMT does not provide a breakdown of figures by model or drive type, data from the EU EVs platform, which records electric vehicle registrations, shows that 1,285 of the total 4,021 units sold in January were all-electric.

This means that BEVs accounted for 32% of registrations and that while PHEVs made up the remaining 68%, PHEV models other than the Seal U only accounted for 4.6% of sales.

According to the platform, the Seal saloon was the best-selling EV in the range with 318 units registered in January.

Tesla $TSLA (+2,04 %) saw both year-over-year and month-over-month sales decline, as 718 vehicles were sold last month - 51% fewer than a year ago.

The Geely $175 (+1,91 %) backed Polestar, for which the UK is one of its largest markets, saw a 43% increase in sales compared to 2025 with 1,070 units registered in January.

》Figures for 2025《

BYD was the best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in the country in 2025, with the exception of traditional carmakers and the originally British, now SAIC-backed MG brand.

Last year, sales increased almost fivefold to 51,422 units - a staggering increase on the 8,788 vehicles registered in the whole of 2024.

Sales in Germany

In Germany, the Shenzhen-based company registered 2,629 vehicles last month, according to data released by the KBA on Wednesday.

The figures represent an eleven-fold increase compared to the 235 units sold a year ago.

Compared to December, sales fell by around 37% from 4,109 units. The last month of 2025 recorded an increase of 1,172% compared to the previous year.

In contrast to the UK, where there is a balanced range of powertrains and hybrids lead the market, BYD's portfolio in Germany mainly comprises BEVs.

The company offers seven all-electric models, from the more affordable Dolphin Surf compact car to the premium Tang SUV, as well as three plug-in hybrids - including the recently launched Atto 2 model.

The German KBA does not break down monthly registrations by model, and figures for January were not yet available on EU EVs at the time of going to press.

German market

In January, total passenger car sales in Germany fell by 6.6% year-on-year to 193,981 units.

However, the share of electric vehicles increased compared to January 2025, as electric vehicles accounted for 42,692 of the cars sold last month - with a market share of 22%.

Other Chinese automakers increased their share of the German market last month compared to record deliveries in 2025, including XPeng $9868 (+2,51 %) and the Stellantis $STLAM (-5,88 %) backed company Leapmotor.

The car manufacturer Stellantis $STLAM (-5,88 %) is pulling the emergency brake on electric cars in response to high costs and a lack of demand. Investors are shocked by the news.

I'm really not a fan of automotive shares, but if they don't cut the already heavily reduced dividend even further, they are currently offering a dividend yield of over 11%. But if they do cut the dividend completely, as suggested, then good night. A reason to take a closer look at the company?

Stellantis is significantly slowing down its electrical ambitions and writing off around 22 billion euros. The Group announced this on Friday. The background to this is a change of course due to high costs and weak sales figures for electric vehicles.

Almost 15 billion of this will go towards the reversal of electric cars on the important US market. As a result of the electric car subsidy canceled by US President Donald Trump and changes to emissions regulations, the company is eliminating Stellantis models and will probably earn less money with the technical platforms in future.

In addition, cash payments of around 6.5 billion euros are expected to be made over the next four years. The management therefore does not intend to pay a dividend to shareholders this year. The company also intends to raise fresh money of up to five billion euros by issuing new bonds.

The Stellantis share, which is traded on the Paris stock exchange, fell by almost 30 percent at its peak on Friday. This is the biggest single-day slump in the history of the car company, which was founded in 2021. The market capitalization was thus at times less than 17 billion euros.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa explained: "The charges announced today largely reflect the costs that have arisen from overestimating the pace of the energy transition and which have distanced us from the real needs, opportunities and desires of many car buyers." They also showed the effects of "previous poor operational implementation", the consequences of which should now be gradually remedied.

Stellantis is now talking about a "reset" ahead of the presentation of its new strategic plan in May. For the second half of 2025, the Group is expecting a preliminary loss of 19 to 21 billion euros. Turnover is expected to be between 78 and 80 billion euros, in line with analysts' expectations.

End of ambitious battery project

In terms of adjusted operating profit, management expects a loss of 1.2 to 1.5 billion euros and cash outflows of 1.4 to 1.6 billion euros. Stellantis plans to publish its full annual figures on February 26.

At the same time, Stellantis announced the end of its joint venture with LG Energy in Canada on Friday. Nextstar was regarded as a flagship project for the production of lithium batteries, which was driven forward by former Group CEO Carlos Tavares. So far, more than five billion Canadian dollars (around 3.4 billion euros) have been invested in the site. Stellantis will now sell its 49 percent stake.

USB analyst Patrick Hummel described the 22 billion euro write-down as "negative" for the moment. But: "It could be the clarifying event we have been waiting for." He emphasized that the decisive factor is that the 6.5 billion euros in cash payments will be spread over four years.

"From a balance sheet perspective, annual cash outflows of EUR 1.6 billion can be absorbed," writes Hummel. It is true that the write-downs are significantly higher than the five to ten billion euros that were generally expected. "But it is more important that the cash portion is roughly in line with expectations."

Group CEO Filosa had den Job im vergangenen Sommer übernommenafter the long-standing CEO Carlos Tavares stepped down at the end of 2024. There were reportedly strategic differences between Tavares, who was considered a tough reorganizer, and the Board of Directors of Stellantis. In the meantime, Chairman of the Board of Directors John Elkann managed the 14-brand group before Filosa took over.

Group CEO sees signs of improvement

Tavares had announced in 2022 that the automotive group would be fully electrified in Europe by 2030, but had to gradually abandon this line. In the USA Stellantis, which includes brands such as Jeep and Dodge, was to grow primarily electrically.

In reality, however, the Stellantis brands in North America continued to lose market share and sales. Filosa, who lives in America himself, is now trying to turn the business around in this important market by focusing more on large classic combustion engines such as the Ram 1500 pick-up and the Jeep Cherokee, which were all discontinued under Tavares.

However, according to the press release, Filosa is already seeing signs of improvement: the necessary changes to the product range have already met with a positive response from customers. "In 2026, we will continue to focus on closing previous gaps in implementation in order to give further impetus to these first signs of renewed growth," said the Italian.

In the second half of 2025, Stellantis achieved consolidated sales of 2.8 million cars, an increase of 277,000 units or eleven percent compared to the previous year. Growth was led by North America, where deliveries rose by 39 percent.

Analyst Hummel also sees reason for hope for the current year: "The high depreciation and amortization in the second half of 2025 could have a positive effect of over one billion euros on the adjusted operating result due to lower future depreciation and amortization."

Source: Text (excerpts) and picture Handelsblatt from 06.02.2026

Hello everyone, to start the year off right I have decided to give my distribution a boost, $STHY (-0,09 %) it does not give any capital growth but its distribution will give a strong hand to the portfolio, next month we go back to Europe, I intend to buy $STLAM (-5,88 %) given the recent deal with MERCOSUR, a region where Stellantis sells well. A small bet on European automotive recovery, this year should bode well for the industrial sector in Europe.

What was your first purchase of the year?