The Q3 2025 earnings season has concluded, with leading home appliance companies Midea, Haier, and Gree all releasing their results. Against the backdrop of a challenging external environment and pressure on domestic market growth, data shows that the divergence among leading companies has intensified. In the deep waters of structural transformation within the home appliance industry, financial reports reflect not only a company's short-term revenue but also its chosen long-term development path, clearly examining the resilience and effectiveness of different strategic blueprints in the current market environment.

Midea and Haier show steady growth, while Gree experiences a decline.

Looking at core business indicators, Midea and Haier maintained steady performance in the first three quarters, with both revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders increasing. In the first three quarters of 2025, Midea Group's revenue reached 364.72 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 37.883 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.51%. Midea did not disclose the specific revenue proportions of its TO C and TO B businesses, but the 18% year-on-year growth in TO B business revenue exceeded the 13% growth in TO C business. Haier Smart Home's total revenue in the third quarter of 2025 reached 234.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.98%, and net profit attributable to the parent company was 17.373 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.68%. (Note: Haier Smart Home's business mainly includes smart home appliances and smart home scenario solutions, excluding other businesses of Haier Group.) Gree Electric Appliances saw a decline in both revenue and net profit attributable to the parent company in the first three quarters. Specifically, total operating revenue reached 137.654 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.62%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 21.461 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.27%. Behind this divergence in performance lies the drastically different strategic choices made by each company. Midea's diversified layout has yielded significant results, especially in its B2B business, which has experienced rapid growth. In the first three quarters of 2025, the company's revenue from new energy and industrial technology, smart building technology, and robotics and automation reached RMB 30.6 billion, RMB 28.1 billion, and RMB 22.6 billion respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 21%, 25%, and 9%. Today, the B2B business has become Midea Group's strong second growth curve, effectively smoothing out the cyclical fluctuations of its home appliance business.

Haier Smart Home's growth stems from its deepening of its high-end and global strategies. Annual report data shows that in the first three quarters, its high-end brand Casarte grew by 18%. The Leader "Lazy Wash" series, co-created by users, achieved cumulative sales of over 200,000 units by the end of September. Among the series products, Casarte brand products accounted for 36% of sales, a year-on-year increase of 7 percentage points, while Haier brand products accounted for 15%, a year-on-year increase of 11 percentage points. In the first three quarters of 2025, Haier Smart Home's overseas market revenue increased by 10.5% year-on-year, with continued improvement in the high-end product structure in North America and Europe; emerging markets showed a good growth trend, with South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and Africa seeing revenue growth of over 25%, 15%, and 60% respectively in the first three quarters. Many industry analysts believe that Gree Electric's lagging performance is related to its over-reliance on the air conditioning business and the lack of success in its diversification transformation.

In 2025, the air conditioning market saw significant sales growth supported by the trade-in policy, but the price war was also extremely fierce. This year, Gree Electric also launched its first sub-brand, Jinghong, focusing on high cost-performance, to synergize with the main brand. However, the focus on cost-effective products also lowered the average price and profit of the brand's products. Furthermore, the trade-in policy's pull weakened in the third quarter, which may be the main reason for Gree Electric's significant 15.06% year-on-year revenue decline in the third quarter. From a Three Kingdoms Battle to a Struggle for Path: After entering a mature stage, the competition among leading companies in China's home appliance market has long surpassed a simple battle for market share; it has become a "struggle for path" regarding future survival and development models. Midea's B2B industrial technology business is becoming increasingly robust and contributing substantial revenue. Midea Group's future goal is to grow into a comprehensive technology industrial group. Haier's path represents a victory of depth and brand, continuously deepening its "global high-end brand and scenario ecosystem" blueprint in the global market. Haier hopes to transform from a home appliance manufacturer into a provider and service provider of high-quality lifestyles, continuously capturing consumer mindshare and defining the industry. Gree's "diversification and channel transformation" blueprint continues; however, in reality, it faces more complex challenges, directly reflected in its consistently pressured quarterly performance.

However, a closer look at the financial statements reveals that Gree's fundamentals remain solid: operating cash flow improved significantly to RMB 45.7 billion in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 260%; meanwhile, the company has ample cash reserves of RMB 116.2 billion, and its gross profit margin remains stable at a healthy level of 28.4%, providing a valuable "safety net" and window of opportunity for its strategic transformation.

For the industry, none of these three paths is inherently superior or inferior, but they all point to a core issue: the scale effect of a single product category is no longer sufficient to meet future challenges. Diversification capabilities based on core technologies, the ability to enhance brand value, and global operational capabilities will be key to determining who can weather cycles and maintain leadership. The third-quarter financial report may be a crucial milestone in this long race.