Inspur Information Takes Center Stage in A-Share Computing Power Trends Once Again.

On the evening of July 7, Inspur Information released its earnings forecast for the first half of 2026, projecting a net profit attributable to shareholders for the period to range between RMB 2.6 billion and RMB 3.1 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 226% to 288%. Non-recurring net profit is expected to reach between RMB 2.055 billion and RMB 2.555 billion, up 206% to 280% year-on-year, with basic earnings per share estimated at RMB 1.77 to RMB 2.11.

Inspur Information attributed this growth to its strong industry opportunity capture in the first half of the year, ongoing advancements in product technological innovation, refined product line layouts, enhanced product added value, and strengthened supply chain assurance capabilities.

The most notable aspect of these figures is that the lower bound of the H1 net profit already exceeds the company’s total net profit attributable to shareholders for the entire year of 2025.

However, interpreting this forecast solely as a reflection of the "AI server boom" would overlook a more critical signal. What truly deserves attention is Inspur Information’s response to the capital market’s most pressing concern over the past year: As AI server sales continue to surge, can profits keep pace?

Inspur Information’s Q1 performance was solid but not outstanding.

The Q1 2026 report revealed operating revenue of RMB 35.47 billion, down 24.30% year-on-year, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 605 million, up 30.74% year-on-year. The decline in revenue alongside profit growth suggested signs of improving profitability, albeit at a relatively moderate pace.

The second quarter, however, proved to be the true turning point.

Based on the half-year forecast, Inspur Information’s net profit attributable to shareholders for Q2 alone is estimated at approximately RMB 1.995 billion to RMB 2.495 billion. This indicates that the majority of H1 profits did not stem from Q1 accumulation but were concentrated in Q2.

This timing shift elevates the nature of the earnings forecast from "profit recovery and growth" to a "sudden expansion in profit elasticity."

The server industry has long been characterized by heavy delivery requirements, low margins, and strong supply chain constraints. While revenue scales can grow, profit margins are easily squeezed by both upstream core components and downstream major clients.

Inspur Information has been a direct beneficiary of the expanding computing power demand in recent years, but market divergence persists around this very point. While demand and orders are certain, the question remains whether orders can translate into higher profits.

At least based on the half-year forecast, a preliminary answer has emerged.

This is not Inspur Information’s first time riding the wave of computing power trends.

In 2025, the company reported operating revenue of RMB 164.782 billion, up 43.25% year-on-year, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 2.413 billion, up 5.20% year-on-year, and non-recurring net profit of RMB 2.081 billion, up 11.10% year-on-year.

In other words, while revenue expanded rapidly, profit growth lagged significantly behind.

Meanwhile, in 2025, Inspur Information’s net cash flow from operating activities reached RMB 5.453 billion, soaring 7,183.71% year-on-year. However, this scale expansion and improved cash collection did not translate into profit growth, with profit margin issues persisting.

This is why Inspur Information has remained a recurring topic of discussion.

As an AI computing power leader with annual revenue exceeding RMB 160 billion, its full-year net profit attributable to shareholders barely exceeded RMB 2.4 billion. The hotter the demand for computing power, the more the market questions the essence of its business model.

"Is Inspur Information merely a hardware delivery provider in the supply chain, or can it capture higher added value from AI infrastructure upgrades?"

This question is not unfounded. AI servers are not a capital-light business, with critical components such as GPUs, CPUs, memory, storage, power supplies, and cooling highly dependent on external supply chains. Major clients typically wield strong bargaining power. Without substantial improvements in product structure, revenue growth can easily be offset by rising costs.

Thus, the key takeaway from the 2026 half-year forecast is not that the company "earned RMB 2.6 billion to RMB 3.1 billion," but that profit growth has significantly outpaced previous revenue trends.

Phrases like "enhancing product added value" and "strengthening supply assurance capabilities" point to core variables in Inspur Information’s business model.

In the past, Inspur Information was primarily labeled as an AI server leader and computing power infrastructure supplier. Now, the market may need to shift to a second-level question: Is the company transitioning from scale-driven to structure-driven growth?

At the industry level, Inspur Information remains on a relatively certain growth trajectory.

According to the latest data disclosed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of March 2026, China’s intelligent computing power scale had reached 1,882 EFLOPS, ranking among the highest globally. Over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been established around computing hubs.

Compared to Inspur Information and IDC’s previous estimate in their report that "China’s intelligent computing power scale is expected to reach 1,460.3 EFLOPS by 2026," the official data further reinforces the judgment that intelligent computing power infrastructure remains in an expansion cycle.

Computing power infrastructure is still in an expansion cycle. As large models transition from training to inference and from experimentation to application, server demand will not simply cool down but will extend from single training clusters to more complex scenarios such as inference deployment, enterprise privatization, industry models, edge nodes, and liquid-cooled data centers.

However, for Inspur Information, industry growth is no longer the sole focus.

The A-share market has not lacked imagination for the computing power chain over the past two years; what it has lacked is consistent delivery. Every company in the AI hardware chain has been asked the same set of questions: Are there orders? Are there profits? Is there cash flow? Can gross margins hold steady?

Inspur Information’s forecast temporarily answers "Are there profits?" but has not fully addressed the subsequent questions.

The similarly high growth in non-recurring net profit suggests that the improvement in the main business is not merely a one-time factor. However, there remains a gap of approximately RMB 445 million to RMB 545 million between net profit attributable to shareholders and non-recurring net profit, with specific sources awaiting disclosure in the half-year report.

For sudden short-term profit amplification, the market typically examines not just the outcome but also breaks down profit structure, gross margins, expense ratios, asset impairments, government subsidies, investment income, and other details.

Cash flow will also be a key metric to watch going forward.

In Q1 2026, Inspur Information’s net cash flow from operating activities was -RMB 7.772 billion, compared to +RMB 5.803 billion in the same period last year. The company explained that this was primarily due to changes in the timing of customer advance payments. Meanwhile, contract liabilities decreased by 37.19% from the beginning of the period, mainly due to shipments against customer advance payments.

This does not indicate operational deterioration but highlights that Inspur Information’s business still carries distinct delivery timing and capital occupation characteristics. After the significant profit release in Q2, changes in operating cash flow, inventory, accounts receivable, and contract liabilities in the half-year report will serve as critical indicators for verifying profit quality.

Inspur Information’s narrative has evolved beyond merely "high AI computing power growth." Industry demand has provided it with scale, and its Q2 performance has given it elasticity. What will truly impact its valuation next is whether this elasticity can sustain.

If the half-year report further shows improvements in gross margins, easing inventory pressures, and cash flow recovery, Inspur Information’s investment logic may shift from "beneficiary of computing power demand" to "deliverer of AI infrastructure profits."

If the high profit growth primarily stems from short-term delivery timing, non-recurring factors, or temporary expense fluctuations, market enthusiasm will quickly return to caution.

This earnings forecast is impressive, but it is not the final answer.

Inspur Information has proven it can earn more money during the computing power cycle. The next step is to prove that this was not just a concentrated Q2 surge but a genuine improvement in profit structure.