In April 2026, exciting news came from the third-party payment industry.
The first quarter report for 2026 released by Lakala showed that the company achieved revenue of 1.614 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.20%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 595 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 490.97%, and the performance far exceeded market expectations.
This outstanding performance marks that the third-party payment sector has officially reached a performance turning point, and the entire industry chain is expected to usher in valuation restoration.
The core reasons for the company’s performance explosion lie in many aspects.
The recovery of offline consumption has provided a broad market space for the payment business. People’s consumption activities have become increasingly frequent, and payment demand has also increased.
The increasing volume of AI smart terminals has made payments more convenient and efficient, attracting more users and merchants.
The rapid growth of cross-border payment business conforms to the development trend of global trade.
At the same time, the promotion of digital renminbi is accelerating, bringing new opportunities to the payment industry.
From the perspective of core benefit segments, it mainly includes the following aspects.
First of all, it is the leading field of third-party payment, with the fastest performance realization.
The core leaders include Lakala, New World, and Xinguodu, etc. The core targets include Hailian Jinhui, Jialian Pay, Suixingpay, and Huifu Tianxia.
These companies occupy an important position in the third-party payment market. With their technological and market advantages, they can quickly transform performance growth into actual profits.
The second is the cross-border payment field, which has the greatest growth elasticity.
The core leaders include Lakala, Commodity City, Jihong Co., Ltd., etc., and the core targets include Huakai Yibai, Anke Innovation, Focus Technology, and Cross-Border Communication.
With the continuous development of global trade and the increasing demand for cross-border payments, these companies are expected to gain greater room for development in this field.
Then there is the field of digital renminbi, as a policy-driven track.
The core leaders include Lakala, New World, Chutianlong, etc., and the core targets include Xinguodu, Hailian Jinhui, Radio and Television Express, and Yuxin Technology.
The promotion of digital RMB is strongly supported by national policies, and relevant companies will benefit from this policy dividend.
Finally, there is the field of AI + payment, which represents the direction of technological upgrading.
The core leaders include Lakala, Xinguodu, and New Continent, while the core targets include iFlytek, SenseTime, Yuncong Technology, and Huina Technology.
The application of AI technology will improve the security and convenience of payment and promote the development of the payment industry.
Among the core targets with the highest market attention, Lakala, as the domestic third-party payment leader, achieved a record high in its first quarter report.
Its AI smart terminal shipments increased by 300% year-on-year, and its cross-border payment business revenue increased by 150% year-on-year. It is also deeply involved in digital renminbi pilots, and is among the first batch of digital renminbi acceptance service institutions.
With the continued recovery of offline consumption and AI empowerment, the company’s full-year performance is expected to maintain high growth, becoming the core benchmark for the payment sector.
New World is the domestic leader in payment terminals and ranks first in the global POS machine market share.
Its AI smart terminal products have achieved large-scale shipments, and its digital RMB acceptance terminal market share leads the way.
Performance in the first quarter of 2026 is expected to increase by more than 200% year-on-year. At the same time, cross-border payment and merchant digital services are deployed. The business structure continues to be optimized, and performance growth is highly certain.
As a leading payment technology company in China, Xinguodu is driven by two wheels: payment terminal and acquiring business.
Its AI smart cashier system has covered more than 100,000 merchants across the country, and its cross-border payment business has grown rapidly.
Net profit in the first quarter of 2026 is expected to increase by more than 180% year-on-year. At the same time, it is actively deploying digital RMB hardware wallets and blockchain technology, which is a highly flexible target in the payment sector.
Hailian Jinhui is a leading financial technology company in China and has a national payment license.
Its digital RMB business has been implemented in multiple scenarios such as retail, transportation, and government affairs, and it also provides one-stop payment solutions for cross-border e-commerce.
With the acceleration of the promotion of digital renminbi and the development of cross-border e-commerce, the company’s related businesses will usher in rapid growth, and there is plenty of room for performance repair.
It should be noted that the payment industry is affected by multiple factors such as policy regulation, market competition, and technology iteration, and there are uncertainties.
The market is risky and investment needs to be cautious.
At the same time, we also welcome everyone to exchange their views on the payment sector in the comment area, such as how long the performance reversal of the payment sector can last, how much incremental space AI empowerment will bring to the payment industry, which track has greater growth potential, cross-border payments or digital renminbi, etc.
