CYATY vs LI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CYATY and LI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CYATY and LI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), based in Ningde, China, makes lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and for stationary energy storage. It sells cells and packs to most major automakers, including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Li Auto, Xiaomi and many other Chinese brands, and makes money mainly on the volume of gigawatt-hours it ships. It sold about 661 GWh of batteries in 2025 and held roughly 40% of the global EV battery market in 2026, more than double BYD in second place. Power batteries brought in about RMB 192 billion in the first half of 2026 and energy storage about RMB 53 billion, with the rest from materials, recycling and licensing (including the LFP technology Ford uses in Michigan). CATL trades primarily in Shenzhen (300750) and, since May 2025, in Hong Kong (3750); CYATY is an unsponsored ADR quoted over the counter in the US.

Full CYATY guide

Li Auto Inc. is one of China's leading new-energy vehicle makers, best known for pioneering extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) in the Chinese market. Its L-series SUVs, the Li L6, L7, L8, and L9, pair an electric drivetrain with a small onboard gasoline generator that recharges the battery, which eases range-anxiety and charging-access concerns for family buyers. That EREV formula made Li Auto one of the few Chinese EV startups to reach profitability in prior years (net income of about RMB 11.7 billion in 2023 and RMB 8.0 billion in 2024), distinguishing it from pure-battery rivals that burned cash for longer.

Full LI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CYATY drivers: Energy storage as a second engine; EV share and the global plant network.
• LI drivers: EREV product strength and deliveries; BEV expansion, charging network, and Europe.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Customer concentration is shifting against CATL. For LI, the dominant risk is China's EV price war, which has slashed Li Auto's margins and produced losses in the first two quarters of 2026, with analysts expecting another loss for the third quarter; there is no clear sign the discounting ends soon.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CYATY if you believe its drivers more; LI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CYATY and LI guides.

CYATY. Figures come from CATL's 2025 annual report and 2026 interim report, converted at roughly 7.1 yuan per dollar, with the trailing twelve months combining the two. Third-quarter 2026 results were due in late October, so these numbers predate that report; consensus looked for roughly RMB 183 billion of quarterly revenue versus RMB 104 billion a year earlier. The multiple has compressed because the share price fell about 45% from its spring high while profits kept rising. The CYATY price follows the Hong Kong shares, adjusted for the ADR ratio and the dollar exchange rate.

LI. Li Auto reports in Chinese yuan (RMB) while the ADR trades in US dollars. With trailing losses, a P/E is not meaningful, and at about $11 billion the company is valued near 1.15 times book value, with much of its worth sitting in net cash. Analysts expect losses through the third quarter of 2026 and a return to profit in 2027 (consensus EPS of about RMB 3.72); their mean ADR target of about $15.20 sits above the October 16 close of $11.38, but the gap depends on that margin recovery actually arriving.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): CYATY shows revenue (ttm through june 2026) ~RMB 522B (~$73B), net profit (ttm through june 2026) ~RMB 85B (~$12B), h1 2026 revenue / profit growth +54.8% / +42.0% YoY, gross margin (h1 2026) 23.9% (down ~1.1 pts); LI shows revenue (ttm) ~RMB 105 billion, revenue growth (q2 2026, yoy) ~-15%, gross / operating margin ~13.6% / ~-8.5%, net income (ttm) ~-RMB 4.6 billion (loss).

CYATY and LI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CYATY and LI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.