Topline Recovery Continues in 1Q26, AI a LT Driver
发布时间:2026-05-20 来源:华泰证券
Quectel Wireless’s 2025 and 1Q26 results:Revenue reached RMB24,326mn in 2025,up 30.83%YoY,while attributable net profit of RMB837mn was up 42.30%YoY but below our estimate of RMB988mn.We attribute the miss primarily to margin pressure.In 1Q26,revenue rose 29.26%YoY to RMB6,749mn,while attributable net profit fell 33.30%YoY to RMB141mn.The top line continued to recover,but net profit faced YoY headwinds from ashort-term margin squeeze.Looking ahead,we see Quectel,as aglobal leader in IoT modules,benefiting from ademand recovery in the industry and,over the long term,from edge/on-device AI opportunities.Maintain BUY.
Modules and antennas grew steadily
By product,module and antenna revenue reached RMB24,010mn in 2025,up 30.75%YoY,driven by steady volume growth in LTE modules,automotive modules,5G modules,smart modules and short-range modules,alongside continued scale-up of the antenna and ODM businesses.The company also pushed forward with intelligent solutions,which delivered solid growth.By region,IoT demand continued to recover,and the company stayed committed to its global expansion strategy,exploring new fields and new markets.Both domestic and overseas revenue grew:overseas revenue rose 32.17%YoY to RMB12,848mn,while domestic revenue increased 29.36%YoY to RMB11,479mn.
ST fluctuations in gross margin;R&D spending stays elevated
Blended gross margin came in at 17.41%in 2025,down 0.20pp YoY,and slipped further to 17.09%in 1Q26,a 0.72pp YoY decline,largely reflecting acombination of shifts in the product mix,regional competitive dynamics,and the pace at which pricing strategies feed through.Expense control was broadly steady.In 2025,the selling,administrative and R&D expense ratios stood at 2.48%,2.81%and 8.02%,changing by-0.22pp,+0.40pp and-0.95pp YoY,respectively;in 1Q26,these ratios were 2.47%,3.16%and 8.68%,having shifted-0.10pp,+0.77pp and+0.46pp YoY,a testament to the company’s high R&D investment.
AI edge computing avast long-term opportunity
We expect the IoT module market to continue improving as downstream demand recovers.Moreover,as large AI models increasingly rely on cloud-device collaboration,the need for higher communication bandwidth and lower latency between cloud and device should intensify.This creates growth opportunities for high-speed form factors such as 5G cellular modules in the AI era.We believe that,as AI compute shifts toward the edge,IoT modules stand to evolve from pure“transmission”to“transmission+computing”,capturing higher value-add.Quectel,as aglobal leader in IoT modules,should be asustained beneficiary.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Given the margin pressure,we lower our 2026/2027 gross margin and attributable net profit forecasts and introduce our 2028 estimates.Our new attributable net profit forecasts are RMB1,001/1,174/1,362mn(-16%/-16%vs our prior 2026/2027 estimates).Comparable companies trade at an average 2026E PE of 32x on Wind consensus.To reflect Quectel’s leadership in the IoT industry,we assign a2026E PE of 35x(previous:2025E PE of 36x),yielding atarget price of RMB121.76(previous:RMB123.57,adjusted for share dilution).Maintain BUY.
Risks:Weaker downstream demand recovery than we expect,intensifying industry competition.