By Kimberley Kao

Shares of Chinese artificial-intelligence chip maker Cambricon Technologies soared after reporting a boom in sales and profit for the first quarter, helping it regain the spot of China's most expensive stock.

First-quarter revenue more than doubled from a year earlier to 2.88 billion yuan, equivalent to $421.2 million, the company said Wednesday. Net profit rose more than twofold to 1.01 billion yuan.

The Beijing-based company attributed the strong result to a continued surge in the AI industry's computing power demand during the quarter.

Cambricon's Shanghai-listed shares jumped 18% to 1,664.00 yuan on Thursday, keeping it on track for a record close. It overtook Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology as China's most valuable stock, which was last 4.2% higher at 1,578.18 yuan.

In August 2025, Cambricon briefly overtook liquor maker Kweichow Moutai as China's most costly stock, before Yuanjie Semiconductor recently took the top spot.

Cambricon's market capitalization last stood at $84.77 billion, according to LSEG data. Its shares in Shanghai have doubled over the past 12 months.

China's AI push and drive to make chips locally have given the AI chip designer another push as domestic investors shift their focus to AI infrastructure names.

Shares of another AI chip maker, MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai, rose 5.5% on Thursday after reporting a 75% jump in revenue, while chip-equipment maker Naura Technology Group added 4.95% in Shenzhen after posting a 26% increase in quarterly sales.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2026 01:25 ET (05:25 GMT)

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