On June 19, 2026, the overall market fluctuated and differentiated that day, but the robotics sector bucked the trend and posted a significant increase of 5.84%, becoming one of the few high-end manufacturing tracks that is strong on the market.
Many people blindly follow the trend and pursue themes when the sector is rising, but they cannot distinguish the real performance difference between the two main lines of industrial automation and humanoid robots, and they cannot understand whether the company relies on order fulfillment to grow, or simply relies on conceptual hype to drive fluctuations.
This round of sector upswing is not stimulated by short-term news. It is the return of funds brought about by the logical resonance of the triple industry logic of picking up orders for manufacturing automation transformation, batch delivery of humanoid robots, and domestic substitution of core components.
There are four common misunderstandings among ordinary people studying the robot sector.
Misunderstanding 1: It is believed that the collective rise of the sector means that the performance of all companies will improve simultaneously.
In fact, this round of 5.84% growth showed extreme structural differentiation, with upstream reducer and servo motor parts companies leading the gains, while complete machine and system integration companies saw weak gains.
The core reason is that the overall machine factory’s R&D amortization and production line debugging costs are relatively high, and the pace of profit release is slow; upstream parts and components belong to the “shovel sales” logic, and performance realization is more certain, and the profit gap within the track continues to widen.
Myth 2: The high popularity of the humanoid robot concept means that the company has made large-scale profits.
Although 2026 is called the first year of mass production of humanoid robots, the industry as a whole is still in the stage of small-batch sample delivery and customer verification. The global shipments of complete humanoid machines for the whole year are only tens of thousands of units. Most companies’ humanoid business revenue accounts for less than 10%, which cannot drive overall profits.
Misunderstanding 3: It is believed that domestic substitution will be fully implemented and the share of overseas manufacturers will be cleared quickly.
In fact, the high-end markets of reducers and servo motors are still controlled by four major overseas families. Domestic companies have only achieved batch substitution in the field of mid-range handling and welding robots. High-end humanoid heavy-duty joint components are still climbing. Substitution is a long-term process that is gradual and step-by-step.
Myth 4: A sharp rise in the short-term sector means that the market will continue to rise unilaterally throughout the year.
Robots belong to the high-end manufacturing track with strong cycles, and the pace of capital expenditures in downstream 3C and automobile manufacturing industries directly determines the total order volume.
If the investment in technological transformation in the manufacturing industry slows down in the second half of the year, the purchase volume of complete machines shrinks, and the shipment of upstream parts will be under pressure simultaneously. At the same time, the industry’s concentrated expansion of production will release production capacity in 2027, and low-end general components are prone to price involution.
Next, we will sort out the fundamentals of the six leading companies in the segmented track.
The first company is the leader in the harmonic reducer segment. Its core products are harmonic reducers for light-load joints of humanoid robots and industrial collaborative robots. It is also the core domestic supplier to overseas humanoid machine manufacturers.
In 2026, orders for related parts from humanoid robot manufacturers will increase by more than 70% year-on-year, and the demand for technical transformation of collaborative robots in domestic 3C and lithium battery factories is also increasing.
The existing production lines are operating at full capacity, the capacity utilization rate has remained above 92% all year round, and the continuous optimization of product structure has led to the restoration of overall profitability.
The second company is the leader in RV heavy-duty reducers, mainly engaged in RV precision reducers, suitable for heavy-duty joints of industrial six-axis robots and humanoid robots’ lower limbs.
Traditional automobile welding and handling robots are in urgent need of stabilization. New energy automobile companies continue to increase their factory automation transformation, opening up space for domestic substitution.
Relying on the original main business of precision gear processing to dilute manufacturing expenses, the production cost has an advantage compared with overseas manufacturers.
The third company is a servo motor + drive control integrated platform company, covering the entire product line of robot servo motors, drives, and motion controllers. It is the largest market share manufacturer in the domestic automation servo field.
The automation upgrade of manufacturing industry and the explosion of demand for lightweight servo of humanoid robots have brought dual growth drivers to it.
Self-developed a complete set of servo algorithms, with outstanding localization cost advantages, channels covering automation integrators in all regions across the country, and high customer dispersion.
The fourth company is the leader in domestic industrial robots, ranking first in domestic market share for many consecutive years.
Labor costs in the domestic manufacturing industry continue to rise, demand for automation transformation among small and medium-sized enterprises has been released, and the robot export business has exploded.
The complete machine business accounts for 70% of the revenue, and it is equipped with self-developed controllers and servo components to reduce external procurement costs.
The fifth company is a 3D machine vision head manufacturer. Its products are industrial 3D vision cameras and visual inspection algorithms, which are the core sensing components for robots to complete grabbing, sorting, and positioning operations.
The demand for high-precision inspection of lithium battery and photovoltaic production lines continues to expand. Humanoid robots require visual systems to identify unstructured environments. The growth rate of vision business leads the entire industry chain.
The sixth company is a company specializing in general motion controllers, focusing on motion control software and hardware for robots and automation equipment, and providing standardized control solutions for small and medium-sized machine manufacturers.
A large number of small and medium-sized robot start-ups have strong demand for standardized controllers purchased from abroad. Domestic parts are well-equipped, and the cost-effectiveness of the complete control solution is far higher than that of overseas complete systems.
The sector’s rise that day was supported by three core bottom layers.
First, orders for technological transformation in the downstream manufacturing industry have been concentrated, and the fundamentals of industrial robots are stable.
In the first half of 2026, domestic industrial robot production increased by 27.3% year-on-year, and the purchase of automation equipment in the three major industries of new energy, photovoltaics, and lithium battery increased by more than 40% year-on-year.
Second, humanoid robots have entered the sample delivery and verification period, and upstream parts have increased in number.
In 2026, many technology companies and local robot manufacturers around the world will launch small-batch trial production of humanoid equipment, directly driving new orders from upstream parts companies.
Third, the domestic substitution of core parts and components is accelerating, and profit margins continue to recover.
In the past two years, domestic enterprises have continued to make breakthroughs in technology, and the localization rate has increased from less than 30% in 2023 to about 58% in 2026.
However, there are four major constraint variables on the track for a long time.
First, as the industry expands production, there is a risk of price involution for low-end components.
Second, the commercialization cycle of humanoid robots is long and it is difficult to contribute large profits in the short term.
Third, price fluctuations in upstream metals and rare earth raw materials squeeze midstream profits.
Fourth, downstream capital expenditures are cyclical, and orders may shrink in stages.
Ordinary people can start from three free self-examination dimensions to determine the fundamental quality of a company.
First, split the core business revenue proportion and distinguish between the main industrial business and the humanoid concept business.
Second, check customer qualifications and order cycles, and distinguish between small and medium-sized scattered orders and leading frame orders.
Third, track the progress of high-end production capacity and self-developed technology, and distinguish between OEM assembly and self-developed core components.
The robot sector rose 5.84% that day, which was a result of the financial recovery brought about by the rebound in industrial automation orders, the increase in demand for humanoid robot parts, and the triple logic resonance of domestic substitution of core components. The focus of the market is on upstream reducers, servo, vision and other high-barrier parts and components. The flexibility of complete machine companies is weak, and the structural differentiation characteristics of the track are obvious.
Subsequent sectors will experience periodic fluctuations following the rhythm of downstream orders, and investors should take an objective view of the cyclical fluctuations in the high-end manufacturing track.
