Cambricon Launches Equity Incentive Plan with 3-Year Revenue Target Exceeding 100 Billion Yuan
Alina Collins
Cambricon plans to grant 5 million restricted shares to staff, tied to a three-year cumulative revenue target above RMB 100 billion — roughly 20 times the goal set just three years ago, signaling surging demand for Chinese-made AI chips.
What is this incentive plan actually betting on?
Cambricon (688256.SH) will grant 5 million restricted shares at RMB 750 per share. Staff can only collect once staged revenue targets are met.
The three-year cumulative target is set above RMB 100 billion (about $14.8 billion), with 2026 alone requiring over RMB 13.5 billion and the 2026–2027 two-year total set at RMB 40.5 billion.
This means → the company is locking employee upside to an aggressive growth number — miss the target, lose the shares.
Why is the target nearly 20 times larger than before?
Three years ago the plan called for RMB 4.6 billion in cumulative revenue over 2024–2026. The new target for the same time horizon exceeds RMB 100 billion — a nearly 20-fold increase.
In plain terms = three years ago Cambricon was in survival mode. Now it is betting that Chinese AI chip demand will explode — with the core thesis being domestic alternatives to Nvidia's products.
This reflects a market that has shifted from "can domestic chips work?" to "how fast can they scale?"
How do employees and the market each read this deal?
The plan covers more than 85% of Cambricon's 1,107 employees (as of end-2025), spanning directors, executives, core technologists, and mid-level managers.
Shares traded at RMB 1,100 (Wednesday midday) when the plan was announced — a ≈47% premium over the RMB 750 grant price. The market has already priced in significant growth expectations.
This means → if the three-year RMB 100 billion target is met, employees see real upside. If it is not, the higher the current premium, the harder the correction.
Can the target be met — and why does it matter?
Cambricon said the plan also aims to retain core talent as competition in China's domestic AI chip commercialization race intensifies.
Whether the three-year RMB 100 billion revenue target is met on schedule will serve as the key anchor for the market's ongoing valuation of Cambricon.
Put simply = this is not just an internal HR plan — it is a public flag planted for the market. Every quarterly earnings report from here on will be measured against this number.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.