Diversified Businesses Lift 3Q26 Gross Margin
发布时间:2026-10-22 来源:华泰证券
Quectel Wireless has reported 9M26 revenue of RMB23.8bn,+33.13%YoY,and an attributable NP of RMB1.21bn,+65.21%YoY.For 3Q26,revenue reached RMB8.54bn,+34.89%YoY and+0.34%QoQ,while the attributable NP rose to arecord RMB609mn,+132.34%YoY and+32.21%QoQ.Revenue and gross profit increased YoY,while continued product-mix improvement,with ahigher contribution from high-value-added products,lifted the blended gross margin and profitability.Looking ahead,we think that the company,a global leader in IoT modules,is well positioned to benefit from market upgrades in computing modules,on-device AI,and related areas.Maintain BUY.
3Q26 GPM expands;SG&A expense ratio rises
The blended gross margin reached 20.72%in 9M26,+3.02pp YoY.For 3Q26,it rose substantially to 24.32%,+6.62pp YoY,and+4.32pp QoQ,making it the main driver of attributable NP growth.Selling,administrative,and R&D expenses as percentages of revenue were 2.94%/3.51%/8.02%for 9M26,changes of+0.41pp/+1.08pp/+0.22pp YoY,respectively.For 3Q26,the ratios were 3.89%/3.97%/7.96%,+1.32pp/+1.63pp/-0.12pp YoY,respectively,mainly reflecting the expansion of operations and continued business development.The net operating cash outflow widened to RMB1.86bn in 9M26 from RMB800mn ayear earlier.This mainly reflected asharp increase in cash payments for goods as the company built raw-material inventories to support production and help ensure supply-chain stability,pointing to healthy downstream demand.
Diversified offerings sustain growth;edge AI unlocks LT upside
Under its‘1+N’strategy,the company is expanding beyond communications modules into connectivity,computing,algorithms,and solutions.Computing modules,automotive products,and solutions continue to deliver solid growth.Its communications module portfolio spans cellular connectivity,short-range communications,high-precision positioning,and satellite communications.The automotive business combines connectivity,computing,and sensing to offer smart cockpit,C-V2X,and integrated cockpit-and-driving solutions.Its on-device AI portfolio combines computing modules,large models,proprietary AI algorithms,an AIoT platform,and Agentic IoT to support physical AI development.Through sub-brands including Provecta,Verditex,and Acceleronix,its vertical solutions business is deploying edge computing,AI algorithms,and platform capabilities across industry applications.We think that cloud–edge collaboration for large AI models could raise bandwidth and latency requirements,supporting demand for high-speed connectivity products such as 5G cellular modules.Over the long term,as AI computing extends to the edge,module functionality could evolve from data transmission to transmission and computing,increasing value added.The company’s global leadership in IoT modules positions it to benefit from this transition.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Given the revenue growth from the company’s computing modules,automotive products,and other offerings,alongside the recovery in the blended gross margin,we raise our revenue and gross margin forecasts.We now forecast attributable NP of RMB1.61bn/1.94bn/2.24bn in 2026/2027/2028(+33.66%/+34.17%/+34.58%vs our previous forecasts).Peers trade at an average of 21.39x 2027E PE on iFinD consensus.We apply avaluation multiple of 24x 2027E PE(previous:32x 2026E PE),a modest premium over its peers,reflecting its leadership in IoT and the higher value added from product upgrades.Our target price rises to RMB114.46(previously RMB95.79),mainly driven by the increases in our 2026–2028 attributable NP forecasts.Maintain BUY.
Risks:slower recovery than we expect in downstream demand,intensifying industry competition.