CFP
AsianFin -- Huawei reported on Monday a significant year-over-year increase of 22.4% in 2024 revenue and the highest growth rate in five years, after a few years in the “survival mode.”
The 2024 revenue hit 862.1 billion yuan ($118.2 billion), representing the company's second-highest revenue to date, just shy of its record 891.4 billion yuan in 2020.
Despite the revenue boost, net profit fell by 28% to 62.6 billion yuan due to growing investments in research and development. The company continues to navigate the challenges posed by U.S. sanctions, which have restricted its access to crucial technologies like semiconductors.
“In 2024, Huawei's team united to overcome external challenges while improving product quality, operations, and efficiency,” said Huawei's rotating chairwoman, Meng Wanzhou, in the annual report.
Huawei's R&D expenditure reached 179.7 billion yuan, making up 20.8% of its revenue and representing an increase from 2023's R&D investment of 164.7 billion yuan.
Huawei, headquartered in the southern city of Shenzhen, attributed its profit decline to two key factors: "We continued to boost investments focused on the future, and there were no proceeds from business divestitures."
As one of China's pioneering global tech brands, Huawei revealed that its research and development expenditure accounted for over 20% of its total revenue, with more than half of its workforce—around 113,000 employees—dedicated to R&D.
A key driver behind Huawei's revenue growth was its consumer business, which rose 38.3% to 339 billion yuan. Once the world's leading smartphone manufacturer, Huawei's mobile business was severely impacted by U.S. sanctions restricting access to essential chips and Google software. However, in late 2023, breakthroughs in semiconductor technology allowed Huawei to release high-end smartphones, leading to strong sales in China.
In 2024, Huawei's smartphone shipments in China rose by 37% year-on-year, with market share climbing from 12% to 16%. The company launched premium models, including the world's first trifold phone, and began cautiously reintroducing devices to international markets. Huawei also released HarmonyOS 5, its own mobile operating system, free from Google's open-source code.
To mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions, Huawei is also expanding into new sectors such as digital power, focusing on energy infrastructure, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. This division’s revenue surged 24.4% to 68.7 billion yuan.
Huawei's cloud computing division generated 38.5 billion yuan in revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. The company's smallest business segment, Intelligent Automotive Solutions, saw a remarkable 474.4% year-on-year increase, reporting 26.4 billion yuan in revenue. This division focuses on in-car software and driver assistance systems for third-party automakers.
The U.S. has urged its European allies, including the UK and Sweden, to ban or limit Huawei equipment in their mobile networks, citing concerns that Beijing could exploit it for cyber espionage or disrupting critical communications infrastructure—allegations that Huawei has consistently denied. The bans have been imposed by Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
Huawei has denied any threat to national security posed by its products.
Huawei sold its budget smartphone brand Honor to a Shenzhen government-led consortium in 2020 after U.S. sanctions restricted its access to high-end chips and Google services. Payments from the sale had previously bolstered Huawei's profits.
Huawei's information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure segment remained its largest revenue contributor, generating 369.9 billion yuan, a 4.9% year-on-year increase.
The automotive solutions unit, which supports traditional carmakers in developing smart vehicles, was a standout performer, with revenue soaring more than 4.5 times to 26.4 billion yuan. The unit also turned a profit for the first time in 2024.
The latest revenue figures mark Huawei's third consecutive year of growth since a sharp one-third revenue drop in 2021, following intensified U.S. sanctions restricting access to advanced chips. The company is now approaching its 2020 revenue peak of 891.3 billion yuan as it adapts to ongoing geopolitical and technological challenges.
In a press release, Meng said that the company's results met expectations.
Huawei announced it will continue expanding its platform capabilities to ecosystem partners, offering developers tools and products in areas such as HarmonyOS, Kunpeng, Ascend, and cloud computing.
Amid the China-U.S. tech conflict, Huawei has positioned itself as a hub of Chinese innovation in chips and operating systems.
Company executives have previously noted that U.S. actions forced the company into "survival mode." However, in recent months, the company has adopted a more confident tone, with founder Ren Zhengfei telling Chinese President Xi Jinping in May that concerns about China's reliance on foreign chips and operating systems have lessened.
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