Unitree’s stock slump since IPO stokes fears of a bubble in Chinese humanoid robotics

Shares in Chinese robotics star Unitree Robotics rebounded on Thursday following five straight days of losses that erased nearly half of its market value, although it did little to cool fears of a Chinese humanoid robot bubble.

The stock rose nearly 4 per cent to close at 615 yuan on Thursday, giving the company a market capitalisation of 248.8 billion yuan (US$37 billion), after touching a record low of 571 yuan on Wednesday.

That low marked a 48 per cent drop from its peak of 1,100 yuan on its August 19 debut, wiping out 200 billion yuan in market value.

“Given that level of uncertainty, Unitree’s high valuation is probably not justified,” said Dong Chen, chief investment officer for Asia at Bank J. Safra Sarasin, citing the stock’s lofty price-to-earnings ratio and the difficulty in staying ahead in an “infant level” industry where competition was intensifying.

The Hangzhou-based company opened 629 per cent higher when it debuted on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market last Wednesday. The market exuberance contrasted with the demeanour of founder Wang Xingxing, who was poker-faced at the bell-ringing ceremony.

As mainland China’s first listed humanoid robot maker, Unitree’s debut was closely watched as a valuation benchmark for a clutch of highly valued, private embodied-AI unicorns seeking an initial public offering. Leading players such as Galbot already command valuations of more than 20 billion yuan, although few have matched Unitree’s record of revenue-generation and mass production.