Natixis Report: Chinese Firms Lag Global Peers on Profit Margins and Returns on Capital

Profit margins at Chinese companies held steady at roughly 4.5 per cent during the first half of 2026, yet they stayed far beneath the close to 9 per cent achieved by competitors worldwide, according to the latest China corporate monitor from the French bank Natixis, presented on Tuesday. Returns on capital for Chinese firms averaged about 6 per cent over the same six-month stretch, while their global counterparts exceeded 11 per cent. The conclusions drew on a comparison of approximately 2,300 Chinese companies against 9,000 overseas peers. Although China's corporate health keeps trailing that of international rivals, the bank identified a power surplus as a significant edge in the artificial intelligence race. The findings were released by Natixis, a French financial institution, and reported by the South China Morning Post.