Q3 2026 Earnings: SANY Rises, Forex Eats the Rest of China Big Four
On the evening of October 29, SANY Heavy Industry, XCMG Machinery, and Zoomlion all released their Q3 2026 reports on the same day. Together with LiuGong, which had already disclosed on October 23, the first-three-quarter scorecards for China's four construction machinery giants are now complete: combined revenue of 233.956 billion yuan and combined net profit attributable to shareholders of 17.898 billion yuan. The top line is up across the board, but on the bottom line only SANY Heavy Industry posted positive growth.
Almost at the same moment, Caterpillar, far away in Illinois, also released its third-quarter report: sales revenue of 20.7 billion US dollars, up 17% year over year; adjusted earnings per share of $7.20, 46% higher than the $4.95 of the same period last year.
On one side, "revenue up but profit not"; on the other, volume and price rising together with margin expansion. This is not a gap in product strength — it is a currency exchange bill.
The Big Four's Q3 Reports at a Glance
| Company | Revenue, First Three Quarters | YoY | Net Profit Attributable to Shareholders, First Three Quarters | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XCMG Machinery | 86.888 billion yuan | +11.17% | 5.608 billion yuan | -6.18% |
| SANY Heavy Industry | 78.110 billion yuan | +18.81% | 8.004 billion yuan | +12.22% |
| Zoomlion | 40.019 billion yuan | +7.71% | 2.961 billion yuan | -24.46% |
| LiuGong | 28.939 billion yuan | +12.34% | 1.325 billion yuan | -9.13% |
Source: each company's Q3 2026 report; Zoomlion's net profit YoY figure is calculated on an industry statistical basis.
The most striking contrast is between XCMG and SANY: XCMG's revenue is 8.778 billion yuan higher than SANY's, yet its net profit is 2.396 billion yuan lower. XCMG, number one in the country by revenue, has been left a full step behind by SANY in profit-making efficiency.
Further downstream, according to industry body statistics, a total of 20 listed construction machinery companies had disclosed Q3 reports as of October 30, with nearly 90% profitable. On the revenue line, 17 posted year-over-year growth, with Edding Precision leading at 40.05%; on the profit line, 17 were profitable and 9 grew, with Edding Precision, North Industries Group (NORINCO), and Weichai Power taking the top three growth spots. The industry as a whole is recovering; the problem is that the recovery in revenue is not turning into profit.
Why SANY Is the Only One Growing
SANY's positive growth does not rely on scale; it relies on a single-quarter recovery in Q3.
Over the first three quarters, SANY's net profit attributable to shareholders was 8.004 billion yuan, up 12.22% year over year, but excluding non-recurring gains and losses it was only 6.724 billion yuan, down 5.38%. This contrast shows that a considerable part of the first half's profit came from non-recurring gains — headline growth is not the same thing as operating growth.
The real turning point came in the third quarter alone: revenue of 24.804 billion yuan, up 16.96% year over year; net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.314 billion yuan, up 20.62%; net profit excluding non-recurring items of 2.042 billion yuan, up 20.37%. With the ex-non-recurring growth rate back above 20%, operating profitability is genuinely recovering rather than being propped up by one-off gains.
Gross margin is harder evidence. In the first three quarters SANY's gross margin was 27.99%, up 0.37 percentage points year over year; in Q3 alone it was 28.43%, up 0.44 percentage points year over year and 0.40 percentage points quarter over quarter. In an environment where both raw material and ocean freight costs are rising, a gross margin that still climbs sequentially shows that pricing power and product mix are both improving. Over the same period the company's period expense ratio was 17.23%, up 3.27 percentage points year over year, while selling expenses rose 20.95% year over year — the money went into the market, not into currency exchange.
The Forex Bill: How Much Profit Did It Eat?
The profit declines at the three leaders all point to the same line item: financial expenses.
SANY Heavy Industry's financial expenses grew 463.83% year over year in the first three quarters. XCMG is even more straightforward — financial expenses surged from 0.248 billion yuan in the same period last year to 2.147 billion yuan, swallowing roughly 1.9 billion yuan of profit from this single line item alone, while the company's net profit decline over the first three quarters was only 0.370 billion yuan.
Zoomlion lays this bill out most clearly. Its net profit attributable to shareholders for the first three quarters was 2.961 billion yuan, but the company stated explicitly: excluding the phased exchange losses brought by the appreciation of the renminbi, net profit attributable to shareholders was 3.781 billion yuan, up 1.87% year over year. The 0.820 billion yuan gap between the reported figure and the adjusted figure comes entirely from unsettled foreign exchange revaluations at period end. Zoomlion also specifically noted that these items do not correspond directly to operating cash outflows in the current period.
Put plainly: the three leaders' profits were not eaten by their businesses; they were eaten by the exchange rate figures on the statements.
The higher the share of overseas revenue, the heavier this bill. Zoomlion's overseas revenue in the first three quarters was 23.137 billion yuan, up 8.55% year over year and accounting for 57.81% of the total — the highest of the four — while its reported net profit fell the deepest. This is a counterintuitive rule: the better you do overseas, the uglier the reported numbers look when the renminbi appreciates.
Cash Flow Is the More Honest Metric
Since profit has been muddied by forex, look at cash flow instead.
Zoomlion's net cash flow from operating activities in the first three quarters was 3.552 billion yuan, up 23.94% year over year, with a cash collection ratio of 103.65%, up 1.06 percentage points year over year. A cash collection ratio above 100% means all of the period's sales proceeds were collected in full, with part of the historical receivables even recovered along the way. In the third quarter alone, net profit excluding non-recurring items attributable to shareholders was 0.757 billion yuan, a sharp quarter-over-quarter increase of 229.89%, while gross margin rebounded to 27.76%, up 1.73 percentage points quarter over quarter — the profitability inflection point has already appeared in the statements.
XCMG is the opposite: net cash flow from operating activities was 4.358 billion yuan, down 23.42% year over year, with net profit and cash flow diverging. For buyers, this means the counterparty's payment terms and bargaining strategy may change in the fourth quarter — worth watching for in advance during negotiations.
Components Are More Profitable Than Complete Machines
There is an easy-to-miss signal in this earnings season: the fastest runner is not the machine makers, it is the component makers.
Hengli Hydraulic's revenue in the first three quarters was 10.233 billion yuan, up 31.36% year over year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.154 billion yuan, up 3.20%. In the third quarter alone, revenue was 3.400 billion yuan, up 29.84% year over year, and profit growth accelerated to 9.07%. Its revenue growth is more than double that of the Big Four, yet profit grew only slightly — like the machine makers it is bearing both forex and raw material pressure, but its order book is clearly much fuller.
Edding Precision is even more aggressive: revenue growth of 40.05% was the highest among the 20 companies, and net profit rose 37.71% year over year.
Component makers' results are a leading indicator of machine makers' output. When they are at full capacity, deliveries for the OEMs over the next few quarters are on solid ground; when their profits are under pressure, cost pressure is being passed upstream along the supply chain.
Caterpillar, the Mirror
Once you understand the forex story, Caterpillar's Q3 report reads completely differently.
Caterpillar's Q3 2026 sales revenue was 20.7 billion US dollars, up 17% year over year, with an operating margin of 20.4% (17.3% in the same period last year), adjusted earnings per share of $7.20, up 46%, and free cash flow of 3.8 billion US dollars. All three core businesses grew at double digits: Power & Energy at 8.78 billion US dollars, up 18%, with a segment margin of 24.4%; Construction Industries at 7.98 billion US dollars, up 18%, with segment profit of 1.83 billion US dollars, up 33%, and a margin of 22.9%, up a full 250 basis points; Resource Industries at 4.62 billion US dollars, up 15%.
The regional data is even more worth Chinese peers' study: Caterpillar's Construction Industries sold 23% more in North America, 26% more in Latin America, 12% more in Europe and the Middle East, and only 2% more in Asia-Pacific. The very regions that are the mainstay of Chinese manufacturers' export markets are the ones where Caterpillar is growing fastest — both sides are fighting for the same cake, and Caterpillar is growing faster.
One more number: Caterpillar's Construction Industries absorbed 252 million US dollars of unfavorable manufacturing costs, including higher freight, yet still pushed segment profit up 33% on volume and price. That is pure volume-and-price contribution, with no forex help — Caterpillar bills in US dollars and is naturally immune to this bill.
Data-center demand for power equipment is the main engine of Caterpillar's current round of growth. Chinese manufacturers, over the same period, are paying a real-money reported cost for the appreciation of the renminbi.
What This Earnings Season Means for Buyers
For equipment buyers and dealers, the Q3 reports contain three directly usable takeaways.
First, the divergence in cash flow and profit among the Big Four will show up directly in fourth-quarter promotion intensity and payment-term policies. The side short on cash typically offers more aggressive terms at quarter-end. If you are planning a bulk purchase, year-end is the negotiation window.
Second, full capacity at component makers means delivery lead times may lengthen. The high growth rates at Hengli and Edding correspond to machine makers' production schedules; the pickup cycle for popular models will not necessarily shorten as sales grow.
Third, a persistently rising export share means the center of gravity for parts and service networks is shifting overseas. If your equipment will be redeployed across borders or operated overseas, prioritize brands with denser overseas networks — exactly the selection criterion we covered in our overseas expansion playbook article.
Industry fundamentals themselves are no problem. Excavator sales in September were 22,717 units, up 14.4% year over year, and cumulative exports in the first nine months exceeded domestic sales for the first time (see our analysis of September sales data); the pattern of 8 categories up and 4 down across the 12 major categories also continues to improve. What the Q3 reports expose is not a demand problem, it is a problem of currency management capability.
EquipNode note: We track the complete machines and parts supply of the four major brands — SANY, XCMG, Zoomlion, and LiuGong — on a long-term basis. For the latest quotes and inventory on SANY concrete pump trucks, XCMG lifting equipment, or LiuGong loaders, contact us for a tailored plan.