As the global consumer electronics market enters a new recovery cycle driven by AI, the optical lens sector is also seizing opportunities for structural growth. Recently, a company that has attracted significant market attention—LiJing Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (LiJing Innovation)—officially submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CITIC Securities and CICC acting as joint sponsors. Founded in 2018, LiJing Innovation has grown into China's largest supplier of camera modules for consumer electronics and has successfully entered the supply chains of global leading smartphone brands like Apple and Huawei. According to its prospectus, the company has raised over RMB 5.24 billion in cumulative pre-IPO financing, boasting an impressive roster of shareholders that includes prominent institutions such as Hillhouse, Sequoia, IDG, and CICC. In June 2025, the company was listed on the "Hurun Global Unicorn List" with a valuation of RMB 22.5 billion. Currently, as end products like smartphones and XR devices demand higher imaging quality and intelligent perception capabilities, the importance of optical technology is becoming increasingly prominent. Amid this wave of industrial transformation, LiJing Innovation's performance in the capital market post-listing warrants particular attention from investors.
In the first half of the year, net profit doubled, with the largest client accounting for nearly 70% of revenue. The prospectus reveals that LiJing Innovation is a globally leading provider of precision optical solutions, focusing on the mid-to-high-end optical module and system integration markets for consumer electronics, automotive electronics, and smart office applications. According to Frost & Sullivan data, the company is not only a key supplier for major global mid-to-high-end smartphone brands but also the only manufacturer in the camera module sector capable of serving the two major smartphone ecosystem platforms simultaneously. Financial data shows that from 2022 to 2024, the company's revenue grew from RMB 12.753 billion to RMB 27.914 billion (in Renminbi, same below), doubling over the period; net profit increased from RMB 689 million to RMB 1.052 billion, a rise of 53%. In the first half of 2025, LiJing Innovation continued its strong growth trajectory, with revenue reaching RMB 14.186 billion, a year-on-year increase of 53.4%, and net profit surging 101.5% year-on-year to RMB 554 million. However, alongside rapid scale expansion, the company's gross margin showed a declining trend: gross margins were 12.2%, 12.0%, and 10.8% in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively, remaining at 10.8% in the first half of 2025. Additionally, capacity utilization faced pressure—the utilization rate for consumer electronics production lines was 66% in H1 2025, while automotive-related lines were only at 33%, indicating a certain misalignment between the pace of expansion and market demand.
It is understood that during the reporting period, the company consistently increased its R&D investment. From 2022 to 2024, LiJing's R&D expenditure rose逐年 from RMB 618 million to RMB 1.092 billion, reaching RMB 689 million in the first half of 2025 alone. In recent years, the company has expanded its business layout through a series of acquisitions, but frequent acquisitions have also led to growth in goodwill. In 2021, the company acquired Cowell E Holdings to enter the Apple supply chain; in 2022, it acquired the imaging division of Lite-On Technology, integrating printer and scanner businesses; subsequently, it established a joint venture, LiTeng Dongguan, with RoboSense for mass production of LiDAR modules; and in 2025, it acquired Konica Minolta's Shanghai factory to enhance mass production capabilities for high-end optical lenses and automotive lenses. As of June 30, 2025, the company's goodwill had reached RMB 1.992 billion, necessitating future vigilance against risks of asset impairment and challenges related to integration underperformance. It is noteworthy that the company's customer concentration has been high and intensified in recent years: from 2022 to 2024, the revenue contribution from the top five customers was 90.7%, 77.8%, and 88.7% respectively, rising to 89.0% in H1 2025. The largest customer, "Customer A," accounted for 67.6% of revenue in H1 2025, who is also the company's largest supplier. LiJing stated in its prospectus that it has maintained a stable business relationship with Customer A for over 15 years, with no significant order reductions or cancellations during the reporting period. Concurrently, supplier concentration is also high: purchases from the top five suppliers accounted for 56.5% in 2024, with the largest supplier constituting 36.5%; this ratio further increased to 45.9% in H1 2025.
The consumer electronics market is entering a new AI-driven cycle. Driven by the wave of artificial intelligence technology, the global consumer electronics market is stepping into a new "recovery cycle." As of the third quarter of 2025, the consumer electronics supply chain continued the warming trend seen in the first half of the year, but the recovery process exhibits structural divergence. Wind data shows that among 98 listed companies in the consumer electronics sector, 69 companies achieved year-on-year revenue growth in Q3, 54 saw positive growth in net profit attributable to shareholders, and 45 companies improved in both revenue and net profit, accounting for approximately 45.91%, indicating a recovery in overall industry momentum; meanwhile, 19 companies experienced year-on-year declines in both metrics, with many still facing growth pressures. Focusing specifically on the niche segment of precision optical solutions for consumer electronics, the rapid growth in shipments of AI-enabled smart terminals like smartphones, tablets, and laptops is increasing demands on optical modules for features such as computational photography, intelligent perception, and immersive interaction, thereby pushing up both market value and technological barriers. Data indicates that the global market size for precision optical solutions in consumer electronics was approximately $79 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9% from 2020–2024. Looking ahead, the relevant market size for AI consumer electronics is expected to exceed $76.4 billion by 2029, with a projected CAGR of 32.4% between 2025–2029.
It is understood that in this high-growth sector, LiJing Innovation has established a significant market position. According to Frost & Sullivan data, based on 2024 revenue, LiJing Innovation ranks second among global manufacturers and first among Chinese manufacturers in the global consumer electronics camera module market. Specifically, the company ranks second globally and first among Chinese manufacturers in the mid-to-high-end smartphone camera module segment, and holds the top position globally in the laptop and tablet camera module markets. Frost & Sullivan data indicates that one in every six laptops globally in 2024 was equipped with a LiJing camera module; as of November 21, 2025, the company's products have been supplied to over 320 global customers, covering emerging fields such as consumer electronics, automotive electronics, smart office, robotics, and XR devices. Compared to main competitors in the optical sector like Ofilm Group Co., Ltd. (002456.SZ) and Q TECH (01478), based on H1 2025 performance, LiJing Innovation's revenue of RMB 14.186 billion and profit of RMB 554 million place it in the upper-middle tier of the industry. During the same period, Q TECH reported a net profit of RMB 308 million, a substantial 168% year-on-year increase, with its gross margin improving by 2.2 percentage points to 7.4%, showing significant enhancement; Ofilm, conversely, turned from profit to loss, recording a net loss of RMB 109 million.
From a product structure perspective, the industry is rapidly upgrading towards higher value-added products. For instance, sales of high-pixel camera modules (32MP and above) at Q TECH already accounted for 53.4% of its total, up 5.5 percentage points year-on-year, while shipments of periscope camera modules reached 10.6 million units, a 5.9-fold increase year-on-year, far outpacing the growth of standard modules; Ofilm is also actively promoting the mass production of high-specification products like WLG glass hybrid lenses. Under this trend, although LiJing Innovation remains highly reliant on its consumer electronics business, which constituted 88% of revenue in H1 2025, the increasing proportion of high-value-added products like smartphone rear camera modules has driven the average selling price (ASP) to grow steadily from RMB 47.6 per unit in 2022 to RMB 71.1 per unit in 2024, indicating an optimization in product mix. Furthermore, although the automotive electronics business achieved a CAGR of 158.5% between 2022 and 2024, its revenue declined year-on-year in H1 2025, primarily due to product mix adjustments leading to a lower ASP, and its revenue contribution remains minimal at just 2.6%, reflecting that emerging businesses still require time to transition from incubation to scale.
Overall, as a leader in the optical sector, LiJing Innovation has established its dominant industry position and is well-positioned to benefit fully from the AI hardware upgrade wave. However, the company's high reliance on a single customer and substantial goodwill still pose uncertain risks, and its automotive electronics business, viewed as the second growth curve, is still in its nascent stage. Whether the company can translate its current market advantages into sustained, healthy, and more resilient profitability will be the key determinant of its long-term value.
