The focus in China's lidar industry has shifted from survival to profitability. Following strong financial reports from Hesai Group (2525.HK; HSAI.US) and Robosense (2498.HK), SEYOND (2665.HK) has also delivered results in line with expectations. According to its 2025 annual report, SEYOND's revenue fell 3.4% year-on-year to $154 million last year. However, its gross margin improved from negative 8.7% the previous year to positive 7.9%, contributing to a 17.6% narrowing of its net loss to $328 million. This indicates that SEYOND has reached the industry baseline, proving its products can at least be sold without incurring a loss.
In comparison, Hesai Group, which achieved full-year profitability in 2025, reported a gross margin as high as 41.8%. Robosense, which achieved quarterly profitability driven by its lidar for robotics, had a gross margin of 28.5%. In contrast, SEYOND's gross margin has only just crossed the survival threshold.
Despite the revenue decline and continued lack of profitability, the market reacted positively. After the earnings announcement, SEYOND's stock price surged 24.5% in a single day to HK$9.26, though it remains below its IPO price of HK$10 from its listing on December 10 last year.
A commendable aspect is the company's significant effort in cost control. In 2024, its cost of sales was $173 million, even exceeding its revenue and resulting in a gross loss of $13.9 million. By 2025, the cost of sales had dropped to $142 million, a decrease of 18.2% year-on-year, turning into a gross profit of $12.25 million.
The key to this transformation was the volume ramp-up of its "Lark" series product line. Previously, SEYOND focused on the high-end, long-range "Falcon" series, which carried a higher price tag and was difficult to produce in high volumes. The "Lark" series, positioned for short-to-medium range applications with an emphasis on cost-effectiveness and mass-production capability, began large-scale deliveries last year. Shipments surged from 12,000 units in 2024 to 138,000 units, driving overall shipment growth. This allowed the company to establish economies of scale in manufacturing. Combined with supply chain localization and improved production efficiency, unit costs decreased, moving product sales from loss-making to near break-even.
However, product prices have also been falling rapidly. The average selling price for the company's ADAS products dropped from $662 in 2024 to $443, a decline of over 30%. While the Lark series boosted shipments, it also pulled down the overall average selling price. This explains why the company's revenue declined last year despite an increase in shipments. In 2025, total shipments grew 44.5% to approximately 332,000 units from about 230,000 units, but revenue fell from $160 million to $154 million. This phenomenon of rising volume but falling prices indicates the lidar industry is entering a period of price competition.
In response, the company is attempting to reduce its reliance on a single customer and a single market. In 2024, 97% of its revenue came from orders for NIO (NIO.US; 9866.HK). Last year, this proportion decreased to 86.2%. The contribution of ADAS product revenue also dropped from 94.1% in 2024 to 86.3%. Meanwhile, revenue from robotics and other businesses increased from $8.23 million to $18.91 million, raising its contribution to 12.3%. Overall, however, automotive business and NIO orders remain the primary sources of revenue, and this is precisely the segment facing the greatest price pressure, meaning suppliers like SEYOND hold little pricing power. When major customers push for cost reductions, suppliers are often forced to comply, which is a key reason for the rapid decline in average selling prices.
Major competitors in the industry have forged different paths. Hesai relies on the advantage of its self-developed chips to significantly reduce costs, while Robosense has found new momentum in the lidar for robotics sector. These different strategies affect market penetration capabilities, which is also reflected in shipment volumes. Hesai shipped 1.62 million units last year, Robosense shipped approximately 912,000 units, while SEYOND shipped only about 330,000 units. This scale gap puts SEYOND at a relative disadvantage in price competition.
Looking ahead to 2026, SEYOND has set a target to increase shipments to 1 million units and plans a significant production capacity expansion. However, achieving this goal depends on the progress of mass production for new products, particularly the "Hummingbird" series. Although design wins have been secured with several automakers, the Hummingbird series has not yet entered large-scale mass production. The Hummingbird series represents solid-state lidar. Compared to traditional mechanical or semi-solid-state products, solid-state solutions eliminate rotating parts, theoretically offering advantages in smaller size, higher reliability, and lower cost, making them more suitable for large-scale front-load integration. It is considered a key direction for the company's next-generation products.
From a valuation perspective, the market's pricing of the three companies also shows clear differences. SEYOND currently trades at a price-to-sales ratio of about 2 times, significantly lower than Hesai's 6.7 times and Robosense's 7.28 times. This indicates the market remains cautious about its profitability and competitive position.
As competitors continue to expand production, further price declines in the industry can be expected. If SEYOND follows price cuts to maintain shipment volumes, its newly positive gross margin could come under pressure again. If it maintains prices, it risks losing market share. The company still needs to find a balance between market share and profitability. It is clear that for SEYOND, the revolution is not yet complete, and more effort is required.
Comments