As the global NAND Flash market continues to experience tight supply-demand dynamics, China's largest memory chip manufacturer has officially knocked on the doors of the A-share market.

According to listing review information from the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the initial public offering application of Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "YMTC" or "the Company") on the STAR Market has been accepted, with CITIC Securities and CSC Financial serving as the sponsoring institutions. Per the Company's prospectus, it plans to issue no fewer than 1.98 billion shares and no more than 2.43 billion shares, representing between 10% and 12% of the total share capital post-issuance. All proceeds from the fundraising, totaling 33 billion yuan, are earmarked for production line technology upgrades and R&D platform construction.

The latest financial data disclosed in the prospectus shows the Company's profitability is in a phase of rapid acceleration. During the first quarter of 2026 (January to March), the Company recorded revenue of 47.042 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 33.379 billion yuan, with single-quarter profit exceeding more than double the full-year 2025 net profit of 14.211 billion yuan. The substantial profit expansion during the period was primarily driven by strong price increases in global NAND Flash products and continuously rising capacity utilization rates.

Based on calculations using TrendForce data, the Company ranked third globally and first in China among NAND Flash manufacturers by both sales value and shipment volume during Q1 2026, securing its position in the first tier of the global storage market competitive landscape. If this IPO successfully lands, it will mark the entry of the largest entity in China's memory chip sector into the capital markets, carrying significant symbolic importance for the domestic semiconductor industry chain.

Explosive profit growth with quarterly net profit exceeding 33.3 billion yuan

The Company's performance during the reporting period shows a clear "V-shaped" recovery followed by accelerating upward momentum. In 2023, impacted by the global storage industry downturn cycle, the Company recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of over 19.1 billion yuan, while inventory write-down losses provisioned during the same period reached approximately 11.353 billion yuan.

Entering 2024, as the storage market recovered, the Company turned profitable with full-year net profit attributable to shareholders reaching 6.771 billion yuan. In 2025, with continued industry prosperity improvements, the Company's net profit attributable to shareholders increased to 14.211 billion yuan, with revenue reaching 63.185 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of approximately 39.8%.

During Q1 2026, as the global NAND Flash supply-demand gap further widened and product prices surged significantly, the Company's performance exploded. Revenue for the period reached 47.042 billion yuan, up substantially year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders hit 33.379 billion yuan, with a weighted average return on equity of 28.03% and gross margin rising to 76.77%.

Compared with comparable companies, SK Hynix's consolidated gross margin was 79.27% in Q1 2026, while Micron Technology stood at 74.41%. The issuer's NAND Flash product gross margin of 78.73% has surpassed both Micron Technology and Kioxia, and is essentially on par with SK Hynix, reflecting its full realization of operating leverage during the industry's high-prosperity phase.

Independent technology roadmap with patent cross-licensing demonstrating strength

Technological self-reliance forms the foundation of the Company's core competitiveness. The Company adopts the Xtacking® architecture as its core technology roadmap, utilizing original processes such as wafer bonding and split manufacturing to overcome traditional 3D NAND stacking layer count bottlenecks.

In 2022, the Company launched Xtacking® 3.0 technology, becoming one of the first enterprises globally to introduce 200+ layer 3D NAND products, at one point leading international mainstream suppliers. In 2024, the Company iteratively launched Xtacking® 4.0 technology and once again received the "Most Innovative Storage Technology Award" at the Future Memory and Storage (FMS) conference. As of the end of the reporting period, the Company has obtained 5,611 authorized invention patents, and in 2025 became one of the few integrated circuit enterprises in mainland China to reach patent cross-licensing agreements with leading international manufacturers.

Regarding R&D investment, the Company's cumulative R&D expenditures during the reporting period (2023 through Q1 2026) totaled approximately 15.953 billion yuan. As of the end of 2025, the Company employed 4,704 R&D personnel, accounting for approximately 30.7% of total employees. The sixth-generation 3D NAND product is currently in the R&D stage and represents the core project for the Company's next-generation technology iteration.

33 billion yuan fundraising to support production upgrades with geopolitical risks listed as primary warning

The planned use of proceeds from this issuance is clearly defined: 20.8 billion yuan will fund the Yangtze Memory mass production line technology upgrade project, driving existing production lines toward higher-generation 3D NAND product evolution; an additional 12.2 billion yuan will be invested in R&D-related platform construction to enhance forward-looking technology development capabilities. Both investment projects are located within the existing plant sites in Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone and do not involve new land acquisition.

The Company lists geopolitical friction risks as one of the significant special risk factors in the prospectus. The prospectus notes that instability factors in international trade policies have increased in recent years, and if such circumstances undergo major adverse changes, they could negatively impact the Company's supply chain stability, product cost control, and overseas market development. Meanwhile, the Company acknowledges that due to geopolitical factors, overseas market business expansion currently faces asymmetric competitive barriers, and its globalized operational layout still requires improvement.

Additionally, industry cyclical fluctuation risks cannot be overlooked. The prospectus cautions that the current global NAND Flash market is in a high-prosperity cycle, but the duration of this prosperity remains uncertain. Should market demand growth slow, or major memory manufacturers rapidly expand capacity leading to a significant supply increase, product prices may decline. Combined with the Company's substantial fixed asset depreciation and amortization (totaling approximately 50.949 billion yuan during the reporting period), profitability levels face notable fluctuation risks.

Dispersed shareholding structure with no controlling shareholder or actual controller

The Company's shareholding structure is relatively dispersed. As of the prospectus signing date, four shareholders hold stakes exceeding 10%: Hubei Changsheng Development Co., Ltd. holds 26.54%, Wuhan Xinfei Technology Investment Co., Ltd. holds 25.35%, Big Fund Phase I holds 11.97%, and Big Fund Phase II holds 11.38%. None of these four shareholders' stakes exceed 30%, and the Company has neither a controlling shareholder nor an actual controller.

After tracing upward through the Company's major shareholders, the contributing entities point respectively to the Hubei Provincial SASAC, Wuhan Municipal SASAC, East Lake High-tech Zone Administrative Committee, Big Fund Phase I, and Big Fund Phase II, presenting a structure of joint shareholding by state-owned backgrounds and policy-oriented industrial funds.

Upon completion of this issuance, public shareholders' stake will range between 10% and 12%. After deducting issuance expenses, all raised funds will be directed to the aforementioned production and R&D projects, with original shareholders not offering any shares for public sale.