Unitree Robotics opened its first day of public trading at 1,100 yuan per share — a 629 per cent jump from its IPO price of 150.8 yuan. The opening gave the Hangzhou-based humanoid robot maker a market capitalisation of roughly 445 billion yuan ($62 billion), more than seven times the valuation implied by the offering price. Within hours, the shares had retreated to around 851 yuan, still up 464 per cent, erasing more than 100 billion yuan in a single session.
This is what happens when the world’s first publicly listed humanoid robot company meets a market with very few shares to trade.
What Drove the 629 Per Cent Pop
The mechanics matter more than the headline. Unitree sold 40.45 million new shares — 10 per cent of its enlarged share count — but strategic placements and lock-up periods left only about 7.44 per cent of shares immediately tradable. Retail demand reached 5,500 times the final online allocation, with 9.8 million orders chasing a tiny pool of stock. Prices formed within that sliver, then those prices determined the quoted value of all 404 million Unitree shares.
The frenzy was not purely speculative. Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, giving it a 32.4 per cent share of global humanoid shipments — first worldwide, according to EBC’s analysis. Revenue reached RMB1.70 billion, up from RMB159 million in 2023. The company was profitable, with adjusted profit of RMB591 million. First-half 2026 revenue rose 48.5 per cent year on year to RMB1.15 billion.
That is a real business underneath the mania. The question is whether the business can grow into the valuation.
262 Times Revenue Is Not a Number You Can Hand-Wave
At the opening price of 1,100 yuan, Unitree traded at approximately 262 times its 2025 revenue. Even after the pullback to 851 yuan, the multiple remained above 200 times sales. For context, that would require about RMB5.7 billion of annual profit at 60 times earnings — nearly ten times the RMB591 million Unitree produced in 2025.
The H1 2026 numbers add a wrinkle. Revenue grew 48.5 per cent, but adjusted profit fell 19.3 per cent to RMB244 million. Higher research, development, and selling expenses absorbed the growth. Unitree is spending heavily to hold its lead, and the market is paying for the promise that the spending pays off.
| Valuation point | Market value | 2025 revenue multiple |
|---|---|---|
| IPO price (RMB150.80) | ~RMB61 billion | 35.9x |
| Opening price (RMB1,100) | ~RMB445 billion | 261.9x |
| Mid-session (RMB851) | ~RMB344 billion | 202.6x |
The FCC Problem Nobody Is Pricing
Overseas markets generated 43.65 per cent of Unitree’s 2025 revenue. In July 2026, the US added Chinese-produced humanoid and quadruped robots to the FCC Covered List, restricting authorisation of new covered models. Previously approved products are not automatically removed from sale, but the door is closing. A humanoid robot company that cannot sell into the world’s largest consumer market carries a structural ceiling on its growth path.
The DeepSeek-Unitree investment pact — $20.8 million for a 2.31 per cent stake with a 36-month lock-up and mutual procurement agreement — ties Unitree’s hardware roadmap to China’s most aggressive AI pricing lab. That deepens the domestic moat. It also deepens the geopolitical one.
What This Means for the Humanoid Sector
Unitree’s debut is the first public-market pricing of a pure-play humanoid robot company. Every other major player — Tesla, Figure, Agility, AGIBOT — remains private or buried inside a larger entity. The 629 per cent opening tells you what investors think the category is worth when they finally get a chance to bid.
The pullback tells you the other half of the story. The market is enthusiastic but not delusional — the retreat from 1,100 to 851 yuan removed RMB100 billion in a few hours. STAR Market IPO stocks face no daily price limit for their first five trading days before a 20 per cent limit applies. The volatility is not over.
Strategic share lock-ups of 12 to 36 months mean the scarcity that amplified the debut will fade as supply enters the market. By August 2027, the first wave of locked shares becomes eligible for sale. Whether demand grows alongside that supply determines whether this valuation holds or corrects.
❓ FAQ
Can you buy Unitree stock outside China? Access is limited. Qualified foreign institutions can trade STAR Market securities directly. Northbound Stock Connect trading in eligible STAR shares is restricted to institutional professional investors. Retail investors outside China generally cannot buy directly.
How does Unitree compare to Tesla or Figure AI? Unitree is the first pure-play humanoid company to go public. Tesla’s Optimus sits inside a $4 trillion automaker. Figure AI and Agility Robotics remain private. Unitree led global humanoid shipments in 2025 with a 32.4 per cent market share.
Why did the stock drop after opening? Only 7.44 per cent of shares were tradable at debut. The opening price reflected extreme demand for a tiny float. As trading progressed and prices settled, the valuation retreated from 262 times revenue to around 200 times — still extraordinary, but less extreme.
What is the FCC restriction? The US added Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots to the FCC Covered List in July 2026. New model authorisations are restricted. Previously approved products can still be sold. The rule limits Unitree’s ability to expand in the US market.
