In the first half of 2025, ZTE said its advanced its “All in AI, AI for All” strategy to accelerate innovation through AI-ICT integration
In sum – what to know:
Revenue up 14.5% in H1 – ZTE reported RMB 71.55 billion ($10B) in revenue for H1 2025, with growth driven by AI integration and broader infrastructure deployments.
R&D intensity remains high – The company invested RMB 12.66 billion (18% of revenue) in R&D, filing nearly 5,500 AI patents and 5,700 semiconductor patents globally.
International diversification expands – Overseas revenue rose 7.8% to RMB 20.93 billion, while domestic sales climbed 17.5%.
Chinese vendor ZTE Corporation reported revenue of RMB 71.55 billion ($10 billion) for the first half of the year, representing a year-on-year growth of 14.5%, the company said in its earning statement.
The net profit attributable to holders of ordinary shares of the listed company reached RMB 5.06 billion in the period.
In the first half of 2025, ZTE said its advanced its “All in AI, AI for All” strategy to accelerate innovation through AI-ICT integration. The company added that it capitalized on AI-driven opportunities across network infrastructure, computing infrastructure, industry applications and terminals.
“While consolidating its core network business with domestic operators and gaining international market share, ZTE further broadened deployments to meet rising demand for computing power and accelerated upgrades of its AI-powered terminals, contributing to faster revenue growth,” the vendor said.
During the period, ZTE’s R&D expenses totaled RMB 12.66 billion, accounting for approximately 18% of operating revenue. The company filed approximately 94,000 global patent applications, with over 50,000 patents granted worldwide. In the field of AI, it has filed nearly 5,500 patent applications, with almost half already granted. In the semiconductor sector, the company has filed approximately 5,700 patent applications, with more than 3,700 patents granted to date.
ZTE also recorded revenue of RMB 50.62 billion from the domestic market and RMB 20.93 billion from international markets in H1, representing 70.7% and 29.3% of total, up 17.5% and 7.8% year-on-year, respectively.
By segment, operator networks, government and enterprise, and consumer businesses reported revenues of RMB 35.06 billion, RMB 19.25 billion, and RMB 17.24 billion. The combined revenue contribution of the government and enterprise, and consumer businesses rose to over 50% of total revenue. ZTE stated: “As AI infrastructure deployment accelerates, the company’s revenue mix has shifted, while growth in the government & enterprise, and consumer businesses has also placed phased pressure on the gross margin.”
It continued: “In the operator networks segment, ZTE mitigated the impact of domestic 5G capex slowdown, continued to consolidate its core operator business base, and achieved steady gains in market share for key products. The company also expanded intelligent computing initiatives and deepened its focus on future-oriented technologies, including 5G-Advanced and 10-Gigabit access. As a result, the year-on-year revenue decline in the operator networks segment narrowed in the first half.”
Domestically, the company leveraged increased intelligent computing capex by leading internet and industry players to scale partnerships. Internationally, it captured opportunities from the accelerated built-out of computing infrastructure, including data centers, servers, and related systems, in major overseas markets, deepening collaboration with Chinese enterprises going global, and with local clients.”
In wireless networks, the company said it leveraged 5G-Advanced to unlock new business models such as the low-altitude economy, 10-Gigabit experiences and deterministic services, while continuing to drive the evolution toward 6G.
ZTE Corporation had reported full-year revenue of CNY 121.30 billion for 2024.
