ZTE Corporation released its 2025 annual report, revealing a full-year revenue of 133.9 billion yuan, a 10.4% year-on-year increase, setting a new historical high. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 5.62 billion yuan, while adjusted net profit was 3.37 billion yuan. The company proposed a cash dividend payout representing 35% of its net profit attributable to shareholders.
A key highlight was the computing power business, which achieved a breakthrough growth with revenue surging approximately 150% year-on-year, accounting for 24.6% of total revenue. Revenue from servers and storage products increased by over 200%, and data center product revenue grew by 50%.
The rapid growth in computing power is driven by advancements in AI technology. Among ZTE's three main business segments, the operator network segment maintained a solid foundation with revenue of 62.86 billion yuan, representing 46.9% of total revenue. The enterprise business performed exceptionally well, with revenue doubling year-on-year to 37.22 billion yuan, becoming a major growth engine for the company.
ZTE has continued its investment in AI. The global mobile communications industry is shifting from a "coverage-first" to an "experience and efficiency-first" approach. Faced with exponential traffic growth, increasing energy consumption pressures, and high operational costs, network intelligence and autonomy have become essential. At the recent MWC2026, ZTE launched its AIR MAX solution, building a mobile network system for the AI era. The solution, based on a three-layer architecture of AI-native infrastructure, L4 autonomous operations, and a business monetization engine, aims to upgrade networks from "AI-supported" to "AI-native and AI-serving."
In 2025, the company's R&D expenditure reached 22.76 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 17.0% of revenue, a significant portion of which was allocated to AI-related technology and product development.
Globally, intelligent computing centers are entering a cycle focused on high density, high computing power, and high energy efficiency. Large model training and inference demand higher cabinet power, interconnection bandwidth, cooling solutions, and cluster scalability, making liquid cooling, high-voltage power supply, and high-speed interconnection standard industry trends. ZTE's modular elastic intelligent data center solution reportedly reduces construction time by 40%, while its multi-path liquid cooling and 800V high-voltage DC solution improve energy efficiency by 25%, enhancing competitiveness in energy consumption and PUE control.
Against this industry backdrop, ZTE's computing power business experienced rapid growth. Revenue from servers and storage surged over 200%, and data center product revenue grew by 50%, becoming significant drivers of the company's revenue increase.
In terms of next-generation technology, 6G has progressed into a phase with defined visions, technological攻坚, and standardization initiation. The ITU has established minimum performance requirements for 6G, indicating a transition from conceptual research to technical implementation preparation. The industry generally believes 6G will focus on integrated space-air-ground capabilities, integrated sensing and communication, and ubiquitous intelligent connectivity, promising more than tenfold performance improvements and new business models.
In 2025, ZTE achieved breakthroughs in the large-scale commercial deployment of 5G-A, with continued advancements in integrated space-air-ground networks and passive IoT technologies. The company holds over 10,000 6G patent applications, ranking among the top three globally in submissions related to integrated space-air-ground networks. It is deeply involved in pre-research on wireless AI and intelligent surfaces, laying the groundwork for the next technological cycle.
As a critical transitional technology from 5G to 6G, 5G-A is a key near-to-medium-term investment focus for global operators. ZTE, in collaboration with China Telecom, launched the 5G-A DGN solution, achieving breakthroughs in multi-cell coordination, intelligent resource orchestration, and joint signal processing to enhance efficiency based on existing network resources. Field tests in regions like Zhejiang and Shanghai showed a 21.5% improvement in spectrum efficiency and over a 20% increase in network capacity.
The penetration of AI-enabled terminal products is supporting steady revenue growth. With the maturation of on-device large models, intelligent agents, and multi-modal interaction, AI phones, home smart hubs, and FWA terminals have become new industry growth engines. Terminals are evolving from being mere tools to becoming scenario-based, intelligent, and entry-point devices, shifting competition from hardware specifications to system-level AI capabilities and ecosystem integration.
In the AI domain, ZTE introduced its "Dual-Brain, Dual-Screen, Full-Scene Intelligent Connectivity" AI medium screen, targeting integrated home scenarios and enhancing capabilities in entertainment, communication, security, and smart control, establishing a differentiated position in the home AI entry-point market.
In the smartphone sector, the Nubia M153 Doubao phone, an AI-native phone developed by ZTE in cooperation with ByteDance, emphasizes system-level intelligent agents and cross-application natural language task execution, facilitating a shift from "users operating phones" to "AI assisting in completing complex tasks."
In the home intelligent terminal market, ZTE's annual shipment volume has exceeded 100 million units for two consecutive years, maintaining the top global market share in CPE, IP set-top boxes, and FWA&MBB products. For next-generation technology, it launched the world's first AI+Wi-Fi 8 CPE G6 Ultra and a millimeter-wave 5G-A CPE G6 Max.
From an industry perspective, global digital infrastructure is facing a triple opportunity from AI-driven reconstruction, a computing power explosion, and generational upgrades. The large-scale deployment of 5G-A, steady progress on 6G, continued construction of intelligent computing centers, and the full integration of AI into terminals are expected to generate sustained industry dividends over the next 3-5 years.
Leveraging its solid financial performance, full-stack AI layout, global market capabilities, and continuous R&D investment, ZTE has established a comparative advantage in the dual mainlines of "connectivity + computing power." The company is poised to maintain stable growth in the global digital and intelligent transformation, driven by both technological innovation and commercial implementation.
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