Comparing the EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation) across the battery industry shows some key trends, visualising CATL’s dominance in the battery industry as well as highlighting some key challenges faced by competitors.

What is EBITA and why use it?

The EBITDA reflects a company’s operating profitability before the impact of financing decisions, tax environments, and non-cash accounting charges. It can offer a clearer view of how much profit a company generates from its core business activities.

What to take away?

Before 2020, CATL’s dominance in the battery industry was present but not as prevalent as it is today. In 2019 CATL’s EBITDA was USD 1.3 billion slightly ahead of the next biggest battery player Samsung SDI at USD960 million. From 2020 onward, CATL rapidly pulled away from competition, driven by aggressive capacity expansion and gains in market share. While rivals also ramped up production, this was done at a smaller scale. CATL’s sheer size has enabled significant economies of scale, helping to keep its operating costs low. By 2024, CATL’s EBITDA had reached USD10.9 billion more than four times that of its nearest competitor, LG Energy Solution.

How are low cell prices affecting battery players?

While CATL remains well ahead of other Chinese battery makers, recent years have shown that many of these China players are highly capable of navigating a low-price environment. Cell prices have continued to drop putting pressure on industry margins. Despite this, Chinese manufacturers have managed to grow sales, outpacing price declines and allowing earnings to keep rising. In contrast, many ex-China players have seen revenues fall even as volumes increased, leading to a squeeze on earnings.

For more information about the battery industry and its outlook see our EV & Battery Forecast or Gigafactory Assessment.

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