Deye Co., Ltd. | Light Storage "Dark Horse" Navigates Through Cycles

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(Source: Shengma Finance)

Precise Strategy: Commitment and Evolution

Author | Shengma Finance Xu Chuan

Editor | Ouyang Wen

On March 9, 2026, an ordinary trading day, Deye Co., Ltd. stock surged 7.38%, with a total market value surpassing 113.2 billion yuan, officially entering the ranks of trillion-yuan giants in the photovoltaic storage industry. This marked the fourth member in the A-share photovoltaic sector with a market cap of over 100 billion, alongside Sungrow Power Supply, TBEA, and Longi Green Energy.

From its IPO in April 2021 with a market value exceeding 10 billion, to a peak of 108.9 billion in September 2022, then a low of 38.6 billion in 2024’s darkest moment, and recently breaking through 110 billion to hit a new high, Deye’s market value trajectory reads like a dramatic business story. In today’s fiercely competitive new energy sector, with industry valuations returning to rationality, what has this company from Ningbo done right? What can its growth path reveal for the industry?

Resilience Through Cycles

Behind every market cap myth, fundamentals ultimately matter. Deye’s market value exceeding 100 billion is fundamentally supported by consistently strong performance.

Financial reports show that in 2024, the company achieved total revenue of 11.206 billion yuan, up 49.82%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.96 billion yuan, up 65.29%. Looking into 2025, growth continues: in the first three quarters, revenue reached 8.846 billion yuan, up 10.36%; net profit was 2.347 billion yuan, up 4.79%.

More noteworthy is the quality of profits. The company’s net profit margin has long maintained above 25%, reaching 26.51% in the first three quarters of 2025; return on equity (ROE) annualized exceeds 24%, significantly above industry average. Amid price wars and gross margin compression in the overall photovoltaic industry, such profitability is rare.

In terms of revenue structure, in the first three quarters of 2025, energy storage inverter accounted for 41.8%, energy storage battery packs for 27.5%, and photovoltaic inverters for 9.5%. This indicates that nearly 70% of revenue now comes from energy storage-related businesses, and Deye has successfully transformed from a traditional home appliance manufacturer into a clean energy enterprise focused on energy storage.

Three Key Strategic Transformations

Deye’s growth history is a story of continuous self-innovation and transformation. Its success is no accident but the result of decades of deep manufacturing experience and three critical strategic shifts.

First Transformation: From home appliance parts to mold manufacturing. Early on, the company mainly produced environmental appliances and home appliance parts. Founder Zhang Hejun started as a sole proprietor, serving as a hardware factory manager and plastic electrical appliance factory manager, accumulating solid experience in manufacturing. When profit margins in home appliance parts shrank, he decisively increased investment in mold R&D, introduced advanced equipment and technology, and shifted from a parts supplier to a mold manufacturer. This step enabled Deye to master core precision manufacturing capabilities, laying the foundation for later entry into higher-technical fields like energy storage.

Second Transformation: From molds to the photovoltaic storage track. In 2016, at age 64, Zhang Hejun made a pivotal decision: to enter the photovoltaic inverter industry. At that time, the domestic new energy sector had not yet ignited, but he keenly perceived the global energy transition opportunity. Despite facing technical, talent, and market challenges, he resolutely decided to deploy. Deye adopted a “R&D first, precise positioning” strategy, focusing on low-voltage, off-grid, and hybrid functions, developing products tailored to emerging markets. Within three years, its energy storage inverters were successfully exported to the U.S., becoming one of the few domestic manufacturers to enter the U.S. energy storage inverter market.

Third Transformation: From single inverters to energy storage system integration. In 2022, Deye further extended its industrial chain, launching energy storage battery packs, gradually forming a diversified product matrix of “inverters + energy storage systems + environmental appliances.” By 2024, revenue from inverters and battery packs totaled 8 billion yuan, surpassing 10 billion in 2025, a 25% increase. The energy storage business was particularly impressive, with half-year revenue of 1.42 billion yuan, up 85.8%.

Each of these transformations precisely aligned with industry trends, and each step laid groundwork for subsequent explosive growth. From home appliances to molds to photovoltaic storage, Deye has spent over twenty years transforming from a traditional manufacturer into a leader in new energy.

Niche Competition and Emerging Markets

In regional market strategy, Deye has taken a unique “asymmetric competition” approach.

While most domestic inverter companies fiercely compete in mature markets like Europe and the U.S., Deye chose to avoid head-to-head battles with giants, instead targeting emerging markets such as South Africa, Brazil, Pakistan, and India. These regions share common features: unstable power grids, high electricity prices, and strong distributed demand. In these markets, energy storage inverters are not cost-cutting options but essential infrastructure.

“Where there is conflict, there is market,” Deye’s official statement once said. This judgment proved correct as market evolution unfolded—South Africa’s power crisis and Middle Eastern instability became catalysts for demand surges.

For example, in South Africa, Deye entered early and quickly expanded with products adapted to weak grid environments. A local food processing company reduced energy costs by 80% using Deye’s energy storage solutions; a Johannesburg metal processing plant stabilized power and avoided costly shutdowns. By 2020, Deye had become a mainstream brand in South Africa’s hybrid inverter market.

Product strategy emphasizes low-voltage energy storage inverters, offering higher applicability and deployment flexibility, enabling faster market penetration. Although this approach sacrifices per-unit value, it significantly lowers entry barriers, contrasting with the high-voltage, high-power solutions favored in Europe and the U.S., and better fitting the real energy constraints of emerging markets.

In channel development, Deye relies on local distributors rather than heavy asset investment in overseas sales networks. By the end of 2024, the company had established cooperation with over 800 distributors, forming a dispersed, regionally penetrative sales network emphasizing delivery efficiency and coverage. This approach allows rapid market expansion at low cost.

Today, overseas revenue accounts for 70.06% of total in the first half of 2025. In 2024, Deye topped the global residential energy storage inverter market and ranked in the top five for residential energy storage systems worldwide. In Europe, it ranks among the top five for residential inverters; in South Africa, it holds a dominant share; and in the Middle East, it is also among the top five.

Breaking Through the Downturn: Commitment and Evolution

Deye’s journey to a trillion-yuan valuation was not smooth. From its peak in September 2022 to a low in June 2024, its market cap plummeted from 108.9 billion to 38.6 billion yuan, evaporating over 70 billion yuan in less than two years.

This period reflected a complex interplay of industry cycles, market environment, and company-specific factors. In 2022, A-share inverter companies experienced valuation surges, with industry leaders’ P/E ratios reaching hundreds; Deye benefited from valuation premiums. But as the global new energy market adjusted, bubble bursts led to a sector-wide correction.

Company performance also declined, further dragging down market value. From Q3 2023 to Q1 2024, Deye’s net profit attributable to shareholders fell for three consecutive quarters. The company explained in its 2024 Q1 report that this was mainly due to rapid sales growth in energy storage batteries and traditional home appliances, while inverter recovery in markets like Brazil, the U.S., and Europe was insufficient to offset last year’s booming South African sales.

In August 2023, the company also faced a product “faking” controversy. Despite promptly communicating with German authorities, distributors, and customers and proposing product upgrades, the incident still impacted its brand image.

Notably, during this low period, Deye did not choose to “lie flat” but instead sought breakthroughs through perseverance. It increased R&D investment, optimized product structure, expanded into emerging markets to reduce dependence on any single region, and extended its industrial chain into energy storage batteries—laying a solid foundation for subsequent recovery.

From Residential Storage to AIDC

Reaching a market cap of over 100 billion yuan is not the end but a new starting point for Deye. Recent moves reveal a clear strategic direction.

First, expanding into commercial and industrial energy storage. In November 2025, Deye invested 650 million yuan in its subsidiary Deye Storage to build a 7 GWh annual capacity for commercial storage systems, expected to be completed by October 2028, with projected annual revenue of about 4.88 billion yuan and net profit of 730 million yuan. According to brokerage reports, upon commissioning, this capacity (7 GWh) will be 58 times the actual 2024 capacity, with revenue nearly double that of 2024.

Second, developing AIDC (Artificial Intelligence Data Centers). Leveraging its expertise in power electronics, Deye is accelerating the development of 800V solid-state transformers (SST), aiming for breakthroughs by 2026. Driven by giants like NVIDIA, solid-state transformers are becoming the preferred power supply solution for AIDC, transitioning from concept validation to product deployment.

Third, strengthening AI software and systems. In its Hong Kong IPO prospectus, Deye emphasized its AI capabilities. It has built the “Deye Cloud” online operation platform for new energy, featuring “Deye Copilot,” which can automatically execute electricity and energy storage strategies based on dynamic electricity prices. The company also lists multiple AI applications, including “Lingdiao” for device trading and dispatch, “Lingwei” for operation management, and “Lingsi” for global customer support.

Fourth, advancing the A+H dual-capital platform. In January 2026, Deye officially submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming to cross into the A+H dual-market. The core goal is no longer just expanding inverter scale but building a reserve for new directions like AI, industrial, commercial, and large-scale energy storage.

Preparing for the Next Wave

Looking back at Deye’s growth, from home appliance parts to molds, then to PV inverters and energy storage, and now to AIDC, each step has aligned with the times, each leap demonstrating strategic foresight.

Deye’s success results from “precise strategy, deep R&D, and channel expansion.” Its targeted strategic transformation allowed it to successfully enter the photovoltaic storage track; continuous R&D investment built product barriers; and global channel strategies provided risk resilience through diversified deployment.

Founder Zhang Hejun, a 74-year-old Ningbo entrepreneur still active on the front lines, has used over 50 years of industry experience to lead Deye’s transformation from home appliance parts to a global residential energy storage leader. Recently, his words in the 2026 New Year’s message stand out: “Inverter and energy storage divisions are overcoming difficulties and striving forward, with annual revenue surpassing 100 billion yuan.” These few words reflect the confidence of a doer.

For Deye, surpassing 100 billion yuan in market value is just the beginning. In the current era of “deep water” energy transition, amid geopolitical fluctuations and industry cycles, this Ningbo-born company is proving that those who are truly able to cross cycles are not those chasing the wind but those already prepared when the wind arrives.