According to Reuters, Chinese robot maker Unitree has fallen about 45% from its post-listing peak on Shanghai’s STAR Market, after its market capitalization at one point surged to $66 billion and then dropped by roughly $30 billion. The move has stirred concern over bubble risk, retail investor losses and the mechanics of IPO pricing.
A huge debut was followed by three straight declines
Unitree closed up 460% on its first trading day, far above the 226% average first-day gain for Chinese IPOs over the past three years. The stock then declined for three consecutive sessions before showing signs of stabilization on Tuesday.
Reuters said the sharp first-day jump has renewed scrutiny of the gap between IPO pricing and the opening price in secondary-market trading. Analysts said such a wide gap suggests that at least one side got the pricing wrong, while the opening-day performance also reflected investor sentiment shaped by the “tech revolution” narrative.
Commercial rollout remains limited as profit growth slows
Unitree is one of the world’s major producers of quadruped and humanoid robots. Its products can run, dance and perform martial arts movements. Wider commercial adoption, however, remains limited, and the company competes with Tesla and Boston Dynamics.
The company’s prospectus showed adjusted net profit in the first quarter of 2026 fell 53% year over year to 40 million yuan. It also showed signs of slower profit growth in the first half of the year.
Investors are split over valuation and trading dynamics
Some market views cited in the report said the rally was driven more by motives to push the price higher and distribute shares, with limits on short selling and retail chasing helping intensify volatility. Other institutions argued that robot companies require heavy research spending and that orders have yet to be realized at scale, so short-term profit should not be the only focus, drawing a comparison with the early electric-vehicle industry.
Reuters added that Unitree was approved for a fast-track STAR Market listing, a development that could help set the tone for other domestic robotics companies.