GigaDevice's Net Profit Surges 11-Fold: Is Zhu Yiming 'Selling High and Buying Low'?

marsbitPublished on 2026-08-20Last updated on 2026-08-20

Abstract

GigaDevice Innovation Inc. (603986.SH), a leader in memory chip design, reported stellar first-half 2026 results. Revenue reached 11.566 billion yuan, up 178.67% year-over-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders skyrocketed 1091.5% to 6.857 billion yuan. This explosive growth was driven by the memory chip upcycle fueled by AI demand, leading to higher volumes and prices, particularly in NOR Flash and SLC NAND products. Its MCU business also grew 49.07%. Investment gains, notably from holdings in listed companies like Lianxun Instruments and Zhenbao Technology, contributed a significant 2.228 billion yuan in fair value changes. Major shareholders attracted attention. Renowned investor Ge Weidong and his wife Wang Ping have held shares for nearly eight years, with a combined stake worth over 10 billion yuan at recent prices. Notably, founder Zhu Yiming reduced his holdings by 11.11 million shares in May-June, realizing approximately 4.4 billion yuan. Shortly after in late July, as the stock price corrected significantly from its June peak, he announced a new plan to increase his holdings by at least 1 billion yuan within the next year, alongside a proposal for a share buyback. This move sparked discussion about potential "market support" and the timing of his trades.

Leveraging the memory cycle boom and equity investments, memory chip design leader GigaDevice (603986.SH) unveiled a remarkable semi-annual report on the evening of August 18.

Financial report data shows that in the first half of 2026, GigaDevice achieved operating revenue of 11.566 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 178.67%; net profit attributable to shareholders reached 6.857 billion yuan, soaring 1091.5% year-on-year. For comparison, GigaDevice's net profit for the entire year of 2025 was only 1.648 billion yuan.

Behind this explosive performance is the 'volume and price surge' of memory chips driven by the AI computing wave.

Notably, renowned retail investor Ge Weidong has held GigaDevice stock for nearly 8 years, and the latest combined holdings of Ge Weidong and his wife Wang Ping are valued at over 10 billion yuan.

On the other hand, GigaDevice founder Zhu Yiming, who is also the chairman of ChangXin Technology (688825.SH), cumulatively reduced his holdings in GigaDevice by 11.11 million shares between May and June this year, cashing out approximately 4.4 billion yuan. Subsequently, at the end of July, he proposed a share buyback plan of no less than 1 billion yuan. Amidst the recent pullback in GigaDevice's stock price, Zhu's selling and buying actions suggest an apparent intention to 'support the stock price', but have also sparked controversy over 'selling high and buying low'.

Memory Cycle Boom Coupled with Equity Gains

Information shows that GigaDevice's main business involves the R&D, technical support, and sales of memory, microcontrollers, sensors, and analog chips. Its product portfolio includes flash memory chips (NOR Flash, SLC NAND Flash), niche DRAM, Micro Control Units (MCU), as well as sensors and analog chips.

Looking at a single quarter, GigaDevice's performance surge was concentrated in Q2 2026. Financial data shows the company achieved a net profit of 1.461 billion yuan in Q1 2026. Calculating from this, the net profit for Q2 was as high as 5.396 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 269% quarter-on-quarter.

By product segment, GigaDevice's memory chip business performed remarkably. The report shows that in the first half of this year, the company's memory chip revenue reached 9.827 billion yuan, accounting for 84.97% of total revenue, with a gross margin as high as 67.57%, contributing over 90% of main business profit.

According to a Guojin Securities research report, the current supply-demand imbalance in memory chips is ushering in a historic price uptrend cycle. On the demand side, the AI computing wave is reshaping the demand structure for memory chips. AI servers require 8-10 times the DRAM capacity and 3 times the NAND flash capacity of traditional servers, leading to explosive growth in high-end memory demand.

Announcements indicate that in recent years, NOR Flash products have achieved volume and price increases driven by high-capacity demand from AI phones, AI PCs, servers, and automotive cockpits. GigaDevice's SPI NOR Flash holds about 19.4% of the global market share, ranking second globally and first in mainland China. Regarding SLC NAND Flash products, according to Web-Feet Research data, the company's market share in 2025 was approximately 7.1%, ranking sixth globally.

The MCU business, positioned as the second growth curve, also performed commendably. In the first half of this year, this segment achieved operating revenue of 1.430 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49.07%, accounting for 12.36% of total revenue. The semi-annual report indicates that the industrial market has surpassed the consumer sector to become the largest source of income for GigaDevice's MCU products. The company's automotive-grade MCU shipments have exceeded 10 million units, and cumulative automotive-grade NOR Flash shipments have surpassed 450 million units.

In the first half of this year, GigaDevice also made significant profits through equity investments. The financial report shows the company's fair value change income for the reporting period was 2.228 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 2.221 billion yuan compared to the same period in 2025. As of the end of the first half of 2026, GigaDevice holds shares in several listed companies including ASR Microelectronics (688220.SH), Qiangyi Shares (688809.SH), Lianxun Instruments (688808.SH), and Zhenbao Technology (688797.SH). Among these, the investment in Lianxun Instruments resulted in a fair value change of about 1.263 billion yuan, and Zhenbao Technology about 512 million yuan.

Furthermore, as of June 30, 2026, GigaDevice also holds 1.086 billion shares of its 'sister company' ChangXin Technology (688825.SH), with an investment cost of about 2.3 billion yuan and an end-of-period fair value of 10.062 billion yuan. However, this investment is accounted for under the 'other equity instrument investments' category, with its fair value changes recorded in other comprehensive income, not affecting the current period's net profit.

ChangXin Technology listed on the A-share market on July 27, 2026. Based on its latest closing price of 57.55 yuan per share on August 19, GigaDevice's latest holding is valued at 61.463 billion yuan, representing a paper gain of nearly 59 billion yuan compared to the investment cost.

Ge Weidong Couple's Holdings Exceed 10 Billion Yuan, Is Zhu Yiming 'Selling High and Buying Low'?

Beyond the staggering earnings, GigaDevice's shareholder roster is also noteworthy.

The financial report shows that as of June 30, 2026, renowned investor Ge Weidong holds 16.4467 million shares of GigaDevice, accounting for 2.34% of total shares, making him the fourth-largest shareholder; his wife Wang Ping holds 8.6059 million shares, accounting for 1.23%, ranking as the sixth-largest shareholder. The couple holds a total of approximately 25.05 million shares. Based on the closing price of 403.71 yuan per share on August 19, their combined holding is valued at about 10.1 billion yuan. Using the closing price of 815 yuan per share as of June 30, their holding was once valued at over 20 billion yuan.

Ge Weidong's connection with GigaDevice dates back to 2018. Financial report information shows that Ge first appeared in the company's top 10 tradable shareholder list in the 2018 semi-annual report, holding only 2.524 million shares at the time, ranking as the eighth-largest tradable shareholder.

Over the next eight years, GigaDevice's stock price experienced extreme volatility, falling to around 55 yuan per share in early 2024. Ge made several adjustments to his holdings but rarely exited the top ten tradable shareholder list, which aligns with his 'long-termism' investment style.

Additionally, as of June 30, 2026, GigaDevice founder Zhu Yiming directly holds 34.6374 million shares, accounting for 4.94% of total shares. According to a GigaDevice announcement on the evening of July 29, Zhu Yiming reduced his holdings by a total of 11.1106 million shares (1.58% of total shares) through centralized bidding and block trades between May 6 and June 12, with a total cash-out of about 4.4 billion yuan. The reduction price range was 339.44-538.90 yuan per share.

Intriguingly, on the same day the reduction results were disclosed, Zhu Yiming also announced a share buyback plan. He intends to use his own and self-raised funds to increase his holdings between December 13, 2026, and July 29, 2027, with an amount not less than 1 billion yuan and no price range set. He also proposed that the company use 1 to 2 billion yuan of its own funds to repurchase shares for cancellation, with a buyback price cap of 750 yuan per share. Zhu further committed not to reduce his holdings for the next 12 months starting July 29, 2026.

Looking at GigaDevice's stock price trend, the company experienced a surge in Q2 this year, with its intraday price reaching a historical high of 846.66 yuan per share at the end of June, and its market capitalization exceeding 500 billion yuan. Since July, GigaDevice's stock price has pulled back. On August 19, the stock closed at 403.71 yuan per share, down 7.56%, with a latest market capitalization of 283.3 billion yuan, down over 50% from its peak.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Time Finance APP" (ID: tf-app), authors: Zhang Jie, Wen Siting.

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