Industrial robots drive the business, while humanoid projects remain factory demonstrations rather than large-scale commercial deployments.
Midea’s robotics and automation business is growing faster than its smart-home operations, but the gains have not yet produced a stronger profit engine for the group.
According to an analysis by TMTPost, the segment generated 16.621 billion yuan in revenue during the first half of 2026, up 10.27% from the same period a year earlier. That exceeded the 4.27% growth reported for Midea’s smart-home business.
The less encouraging figure was the segment’s gross margin, which fell 1.86 percentage points year on year to 20.9%. Gross margin measures what remains from sales after the direct cost of making or delivering a product, before other expenses. In this case, revenue increased, but the business kept less from each yuan of sales.
That gap matters because Midea needs robotics to become more than a fast-growing side business. The segment represented 6.39% of Midea Group’s total revenue, according to the TMTPost analysis. Its current size is too small to offset weakness across the much larger appliance business.
Industrial robots remain the commercial foundation
Midea’s robotics activities include industrial robots, self-developed humanoid robots, household service robots, and logistics and medical automation robots. TMTPost says industrial robots remain the main pillar for revenue, shipments and commercial contribution.
The company’s position in this market is closely connected to KUKA. TMTPost reports that KUKA shipped more than 18,000 industrial robots in China during the first half of 2026, an increase of more than 19% year on year. Its reported domestic market share reached 9.7%, while its share of the heavy-duty robot market exceeded 50%.
The analysis says KUKA products were deployed in sectors including auto parts, energy-storage batteries, shipbuilding and aerospace. These settings can suit industrial robots because companies often need machines to perform repeated work within controlled production systems.
However, shipment growth does not guarantee strong returns. TMTPost describes China’s industrial-robot market as highly competitive. It reports that Estun, FANUC and KUKA each sold more than 30,000 industrial robots in 2025, while Inovance and ABB each shipped more than 20,000.
Estun also led domestic all-brand industrial-robot shipments in the first half of 2026, according to the analysis. That gives Midea and KUKA a demanding commercial task: they must win external factory projects while competing against suppliers with established customer relationships and delivery networks.
For operators, the distinction between a robot product and a complete factory solution is important. Industrial customers may need system design, installation, software integration, maintenance and continuing technical support. Appliance manufacturing experience can help with motors, controls and production, but it does not automatically provide those industrial customer relationships.
Midea’s own factories can serve as internal test sites. Winning repeat business from outside customers is a separate challenge, with longer sales cycles and more demanding project delivery.
Scale limits the effect on Midea’s results
The robotics segment’s small share of group revenue limits its ability to change Midea’s overall financial performance. TMTPost reports that Midea Group recorded 261.052 billion yuan in revenue in the first half of 2026, up 3.55% year on year.
Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 1.66% to 26.446 billion yuan. Non-GAAP net profit, which excludes certain items to show an adjusted operating picture, fell 25.31% to 19.595 billion yuan, according to the analysis.
Against that backdrop, robotics growth is useful diversification, but it is not yet a replacement for appliance growth. Even a strong increase in a small segment has limited effect when the core business is much larger.
TMTPost also cites retail data showing that air-conditioner sales in China fell 13.1% by volume during the first half of 2026. Retail sales value declined 15.9%. Air conditioners are one of Midea’s most important appliance categories, so weakness there raises the pressure on newer businesses to grow both quickly and profitably.
This creates a difficult timing problem. Midea is trying to build a new industrial business while its established appliance operations face slower demand and tighter financial conditions. The robotics unit must fund expansion, support customers and improve products without assuming that scale alone will solve its margin problem.
Humanoids show progress, but not a mass business
Midea’s humanoid robots attract attention because they point toward work in homes and other less structured environments. Yet TMTPost says industrial robots still provide most of the company’s revenue and commercial contribution. Its household humanoid robots have not become a major business generating substantial external sales.
The analysis reports that the upgraded Miro U humanoid robot operated at a high-end washing-machine industrial park for more than two months. It completed more than 100,000 screw-fastening tasks during that period.
This is a significant reported factory demonstration. It shows that the robot performed a repeated task in a controlled industrial setting. It does not, by itself, show that the machine can handle the wide range of unexpected situations found in ordinary homes or many different factories.
TMTPost also describes Miro X2, a second-generation full-size humanoid robot for household and commercial settings. It says the robot can fold towels, organize dining tables and tidy sofas, with a reported success rate above 95% in those scenarios.
The same analysis explicitly says these achievements do not amount to large-scale commercial deployment. The available reporting does not establish whether the Miro U operation was a paid customer installation, an internal pilot or a demonstration.
For consumers, the practical point is that the supplied reporting does not provide a confirmed price, purchase channel or support plan for these humanoid robots. Readers should treat Miro U and Miro X2 as development and demonstration projects, not as ordinary home products with established retail availability.
TMTPost cites industry experts who expect the fastest robot deployment over the next one to two years in productivity settings such as industry, logistics and rehabilitation. Such environments generally offer defined tasks and more controlled conditions than a home. That makes workplace deployment a more immediate commercial path than broad household adoption.
Capital and components do not settle the profit question
Midea is investing in the capabilities needed to support robotics. TMTPost reports that the company announced plans to invest 60 billion yuan over three years in artificial intelligence, embodied intelligence and related fields.
The analysis also reports first-half shipments of 26,000 precision reducers and 58,000 heavy-duty servo motors. Reducers control speed and torque in robot joints, while servo motors provide controlled movement. Building these components internally could give Midea more control over supply and product design.
But component shipments are not the same as profitable robot projects. Industrial-robot prices face strong competition, while projects can require substantial upfront engineering, long delivery periods and continuing after-sales service.
For investors, the next useful evidence is not another market forecast or humanoid demonstration. It is whether Midea can improve segment margins, grow revenue from external customers and generate repeat orders.
For operators, the questions are more practical: which tasks does the system support, who handles integration and maintenance, and can the installation expand after the first project?
Midea’s robotics business has moved beyond a purely conceptual initiative. It has meaningful industrial activity and reported factory demonstrations. The harder step is turning those assets into repeatable external sales and stronger margins. Until that happens, robotics can broaden Midea’s business, but it remains too small and too pressured to carry the group’s next growth phase.