A recent report conducted a comprehensive and in-depth study on the machinery and equipment industry, analyzing multiple core sub-fields, with a special focus on high-growth tracks such as humanoid robots, engineering machinery, semiconductor equipment, and lithium battery equipment, and gave an investment rating of “Stronger than the Market.”
The report believes that the first quarter of 2026 will be an intensive catalytic period for multiple key industries, with strong investment allocation value.
In the field of humanoid robots, Tesla plans to launch the Optimus Gen3 version in the first quarter of 2026, which marks that the product has officially entered the preparation stage for mass production.
The robot has general task learning capabilities and can learn autonomously by observing human behavior. It is the core carrier for Tesla to lead the “physical AI” revolution.
Its California production line is currently under construction, with an initial planned annual production capacity of one million units.
The iteration of Optimus not only promotes the continuous optimization of the “data-algorithm-hardware” closed loop, but is also expected to gradually expand from B-side applications to the C-side consumer market, opening up a long-term market space of millions of units.
Subsequent catalytic events worthy of attention include the progress of Gen3, new product releases, Spring Festival Gala robot performances, and the IPO process of domestic robot manufacturers.
In terms of the industrial chain, it is recommended to pay attention to Hengli Hydraulics, Green Harmonic, Obi Zhongguang and other core parts suppliers and complete machine targets.
The construction machinery sector continues its recovery trend.
Data in December 2025 shows that excavator sales reached 23,095 units, a year-on-year increase of 19.2%, of which 10,331 units were sold domestically (+10.9%) and 12,764 units were exported (+26.9%), achieving both domestic and foreign sales growth; cranes performed even better, with truck crane sales increasing 38.1% year-on-year, and crawler crane sales as high as 68.1% year-on-year.
This high growth is mainly due to the stable demand for domestic infrastructure, the stabilization and recovery of overseas markets, and the company’s internal high-quality development strategy.
The report predicts that the domestic market is expected to achieve a growth of more than 10% in 2026, and exports will grow by more than 15%. The upward trend of domestic and foreign demand resonance is clear, and the market is optimistic about a “good start” in the first quarter.
The prosperity of semiconductor equipment continues to be established, and the first quarter will usher in intensive catalysis.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the global leader ASML’s new orders reached 13.158 billion euros, a significant year-on-year increase of 86%. Revenue in mainland China reached 2.730 billion euros, close to a historical high, and its proportion increased to 36%.
At the same time, TSMC announced that capital expenditures in 2026 will reach a maximum of US$56 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 37%, setting a record high, highlighting the strong demand for advanced process expansion driven by AI.
Under the background of independent control, there is a large gap in domestic advanced logic chips, and there is a strong certainty that production expansion will be accelerated; the storage cycle is upward, and there is a high certainty of production expansion in the two major fields of NAND and DRAM, and the flexibility is worth looking forward to.
In addition, domestic advanced packaging technology is expected to usher in a surge in volume.
We focus on recommending storage equipment manufacturers such as Micron, Huahai Qingke, and AMC Shanghai, as well as breakthrough players in low localization rate sectors such as Maolai Optical and Zhongke Feiqi.
In terms of lithium battery equipment, the industrialization process of solid-state batteries is accelerating and may become a key node in 2026.
After years of research and development, all-solid-state batteries are moving from laboratories to engineering verification and small-scale applications.
Many vehicle manufacturers and battery companies plan to complete vehicle loading tests and small-volume mass production in 2026. Leading companies such as Geely and Yiwei Lithium Energy have announced specific mass production schedules.
The recent mid-term acceptance of the solid-state battery pilot line has been carried out as scheduled, and the technical solutions have further converged and the certainty has been enhanced.
The report predicts that leading battery manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers are expected to launch a new round of order bidding in the spring, driving related equipment companies into a performance release period, and are optimistic about the spring market for lithium battery equipment.
It is recommended to pay attention to equipment manufacturers such as Pioneer Intelligence, Xianhui Technology, and Haimuxing, which have a leading share among leading customers and are making good progress in solid-state batteries.
There are also bright spots in other segments.
In terms of forklifts and mobile robots, export sales maintained growth in December. Leading companies are actively deploying unmanned forklifts and embodied intelligent products in the logistics field. The “unmanned” smart logistics is expected to increase in volume rapidly.
Wind power equipment maintains a high prosperity. In 2025, the newly installed wind power capacity across the country will hit a record high. The single-quarter net profit of Zhongji United, the leader in tower lifting equipment, increased by 80% year-on-year, and its performance exceeded expectations.
Fields such as industrial gases and instrumentation have also benefited from trends such as overseas exports of process industry equipment and domestic substitution.
The report focuses on recommending high-quality targets such as Hengli Hydraulics, Sany Heavy Industry, China Micro, Pioneer Intelligence, Bozhong Precision, and Zhongji United.
However, the report also prompted the need to pay attention to the possible impact of domestic macroeconomic fluctuations, overseas market uncertainty, and lower-than-expected downstream production expansion.
Generally speaking, the mechanical equipment industry has significant structural opportunities under the superposition of multiple innovation cycles, especially in cutting-edge technology fields such as humanoid robots, semiconductor equipment, and solid-state batteries, which deserve investors’ focus.
