2Q26 earnings signal enhanced cost discipline

　　比亚迪(002594)

　　Maintain BUY. We view BYD’s 2Q26 earnings as resilient despite bottom-lineperformance missing by revenue drag and higher impairment losses. Webelieve tightening cost control, marked by stabilizing 1H26 R&D spend andslowing D&A growth, underscores long-term margin resilience anchored bysuperior scale and vertical integration.

　　2Q26 GPM beat; net profit missed on revenue and impairment. BYD’s2Q26 revenue fell 3.2% YoY to RMB195bn, or 8.6% lower than our priorforecast. GPM expanded 0.1ppts QoQ to 18.9% in 2Q26, the highest since2Q25, and 0.5ppts higher than our projection. SG&A and R&D expenseswere largely in line while impairment losses were about RMB1.1bn higherthan our forecast. Net profit surged 30% YoY to RMB8.2bn, yet trailing ourprojection by 15%. Excluding impairment, net profit per vehicle was aboutRMB8,900 (RMB300 below our estimate).

　　Stricter cost control unlocks earnings upside. Total R&D investment in1H26 declined 6.5% YoY, signaling cost stabilization, while the R&Dcapitalization ratio rose from 4% in 1H25 to 19% in 1H26. Totaldepreciation and amortization only rose 5% YoY in 1H26, the slowest pacesince 1H20. We expect cost reduction efforts to become increasinglypronounced in the next few years, as BYD’s production capacity, salesnetwork and R&D resources have been well established, especially inChina. We believe BYD’s greater economies of scale and verticalintegration could result in more resilient profitability than most peers, asevidenced by its robust 1H26 GPM.

　　2H26 and FY27 outlook. We maintain our FY26E sales volume forecastof 4.5mn units with overseas contributing 40%. We cut FY26E revenueforecast by 1% following 2Q26 ASP miss but raise FY26E GPM by 0.2pptsand trim R&D expenses by 9%. Accordingly, we raise our FY26E net profitby 3% to RMB36.1bn. We project FY27E sales volume to rise 11% YoY to5.0mn units, aided by overseas markets. We expect stringent cost cuts toextend into FY27E and thus we revise up our FY27E net profit by 5% toRMB44.1bn.

　　Valuation/Key risks. We maintain our BUY rating and H-share target priceof HK$125.00, still based on 22x our revised FY27E P/E. Our unchangedA-share target price is based on the current A/H premium of 18%. Key risksto our rating and target prices include lower sales volume or margins thanwe expect, as well as a sector de-rating.