[News] Huawei 2025 R&D Spending Reaches Record 192.3B Yuan, 22% of Revenue; Cloud Revenue Slips

Huawei has released its 2025 annual report. According to Reuters, the company reported 2.2% revenue growth in 2025 on Tuesday, supported by its core infrastructure network and consumer device businesses. The report notes that Huawei posted 2025 sales revenue of 880.9 billion yuan ($127.5 billion), up 2.2% year over year, marking a sharp slowdown from 22.4% growth recorded in 2024. Still, the 2025 result represents Huawei’s second-highest annual revenue, trailing the record 891 billion yuan achieved in 2020. Net profit rose 8.6% to 68 billion yuan, the report adds.

Core Business Growth Slows as Cloud Faces Pressure

Turning to its core businesses, the company’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure segment remained its largest revenue contributor, generating 375 billion yuan in 2025, up 2.6% year over year, CNBC notes. However, growth in this core segment slowed from 4.9% in 2024, the report adds.

Notably, CNBC reports that cloud computing revenue from external customers fell 3.5% in 2025 to 32.16 billion yuan ($4.6 billion). By contrast, CNBC notes that earlier this month Alibaba, China’s largest cloud computing provider by market share, reported a 36% increase in cloud intelligence revenue to 43.28 billion yuan in 2025.

Automotive Growth Stands Out; R&D Spending Surges

Meanwhile, the automotive segment stood out, with Reuters reporting that its intelligent automotive solutions unit, which supports traditional automakers in developing smart vehicles, saw revenue surge 72.1% to 45 billion yuan.

In the consumer segment, Reuters adds that revenue, which includes smartphones and other digital devices, rose 1.6% to 344.5 billion yuan. However, according to CNBC, this marks a sharp slowdown from the segment’s 38.3% growth in 2024.

On the investment side, Huawei’s research and development spending reached a record 192.3 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for 22% of its total revenue, according to South China Morning Post.

Huawei’s AI Chip Push Gains Traction as Orders Take Shape

Against this backdrop of increased investment, Huawei’s AI chip business is reportedly gaining momentum. According to Reuters, citing sources, customer testing of its new AI chip—positioned to compete with NVIDIA in the China market—has progressed smoothly. Major tech firms, including ByteDance and Alibaba, are said to be planning orders, with broader adoption of the Ascend 950PR supported by improved compatibility with NVIDIA’s CUDA ecosystem.

Sources cited by Reuters add that Huawei aims to ship around 750,000 units of the 950PR this year. Samples were reportedly sent to customers in January, with mass production expected to begin in April, setting the stage for full-scale shipments in the second half of 2026.

Separately, Huawei also announced that David Wang Tao will assume the role of rotating chairman starting April 1, with his term running through September 30. As noted by South China Morning Post, this will mark Wang’s first term in the position; he previously led Huawei’s ICT business and currently serves as deputy chairman of the board.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)