Low-Altitude Economy Gets Policy Boost and Export Momentum — High-Growth Stocks Emerge

Preface

Context: Since early this year, policy development for the low-altitude economy in China has accelerated, creating a formal regulatory foundation and clearer growth pathways. This article summarizes recent legal and market developments, examines export trends, and highlights A-share companies with notable overseas revenues and projected profit growth. Purpose: To provide an objective overview of how policy refinement and rising exports are converging to create investment and industry opportunities, and to identify stocks with high growth potential.

Lazy bag

Key takeaway: New legislation and expanding overseas demand are jointly catalyzing the low-altitude economy. Exports and foreign revenue for listed companies are rising, and several firms show multi-year projected profit growth above 10%, making them candidates for further attention.

Main Body

The low-altitude economy — encompassing drones, urban air mobility, and related systems and services — has entered a new stage in China driven by regulatory clarification and market expansion. The revised Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China, effective July 1, 2026, introduces a dedicated chapter for development promotion. This legal update establishes a framework for planning, supportive measures, and encouragement of technological innovation and practical application in the low-altitude domain. By clarifying governmental responsibilities and endorsing industry development, the legislation reduces regulatory uncertainty and signals long-term policy backing.

Regulatory clarity often precedes investment, infrastructure rollout, and commercialization. With policy backing, we can expect accelerated development of enabling platforms such as UTM (unmanned traffic management), certification pathways for new vehicle types, and targeted funding or tax incentives that lower barriers for commercialization. These changes are particularly relevant for manufacturers, component suppliers, software and systems integrators, and service providers in logistics, surveying, inspection, and emergency response.

Market data corroborates the momentum. China’s Civil Aviation Administration has forecast that the domestic low-altitude economy could reach a market size exceeding CNY 3.5 trillion by 2035. Such a projection assumes broad adoption across industry verticals and expansion of both domestic applications and cross-border services. Favorable regulation can help unlock areas that have been constrained by operational or certification uncertainty.

Export performance has been a strong signal of international demand. According to General Administration of Customs statistics, exports of unmanned aerial vehicles increased from 3.2695 million units in 2022 to 4.9473 million units in 2025, while export value rose from CNY 12.071 billion to CNY 22.317 billion over the same period. These compound annual growth rates — approximately 14.8% by unit and 22.7% by value — indicate both rising volumes and increasing unit value, suggesting improved product sophistication or higher-value applications being shipped overseas.

At the listed-company level, the A-share low-altitude economy sector shows growing international revenue exposure. Data compiled by Securities Times’ Data Treasure indicates that among companies within the sector, 35 reported overseas business income in both their 2025 and 2026 interim reports. Collectively, these firms recorded CNY 28.997 billion in overseas revenue in the first half of 2026, up 10.82% from CNY 26.165 billion in the same period the previous year. This trend reflects not only stronger external demand but also deeper market penetration of Chinese low-altitude products and services.

Company-level analysis highlights that 11 of these firms achieved year-over-year increases in overseas revenue exceeding 50% in the first half of 2026; five of them more than doubled their overseas income relative to the prior year. Such rapid international growth can stem from product upgrades, new regional partnerships, competitive pricing, or expanded after-sales and service offerings that strengthen recurring revenue streams.

Focusing on prospective profitability, Data Treasure identified high-growth potential stocks within the low-altitude economy by screening for consensus analyst forecasts from three or more institutions. The screening found 21 stocks with forecasted net profit growth rates above 10% for the 2026–2028 period. Notable examples include Hongdu Aviation, whose consensus forecasts suggest three-year net profit growth rates above 50%, and China Satellite and Aero Engine Corporation (or relevant listed entity), each with projected multi-year net profit growth exceeding 40%.

These forecasted growth rates reflect a combination of expanding product demand, operational leverage as companies scale, and possible margin improvement from higher-value product mixes. Investors and industry participants should, however, assess company-specific factors: order book visibility, export concentration risk, R&D pipelines, supply-chain resilience, and the pace of regulatory implementation for commercial operations.

Risks remain. Regulatory implementation timelines can vary across regions and local authorities, and certification or safety requirements for new vehicle categories may lengthen commercialization schedules. Geopolitical tensions and export controls in some destination markets could constrain overseas expansion for certain suppliers. Additionally, technology competition and commoditization could pressure margins unless firms maintain differentiation through R&D, services, or integrated solutions.

In summary, the synchronous effect of stronger policy support and accelerating exports has generated favorable conditions for the low-altitude economy in China. The combination of legal recognition, market scale projections, and demonstrable export growth makes the sector strategically important and potentially attractive for investors focused on long-term technological adoption. Within this context, a subset of listed companies exhibit strong overseas revenue growth and analyst consensus forecasts that point to robust profit expansion over the next several years — candidates for further fundamental research and monitoring.

Key Insights Table

Conclusion: Policy reinforcement and export momentum together form a dual catalyst for the low-altitude economy. While promising, stakeholders should balance enthusiasm with careful due diligence on company fundamentals, regulatory rollout, and external risk factors.