Huawei

What Huawei does

Huawei is a Shenzhen-based maker of telecommunications network equipment, smartphones and other consumer devices, cloud services and computer chips. Founded in 1987, it says it has about 213,000 employees, operates in more than 170 countries and regions, and is 100% owned by its employees.

Its 2025 annual report shows revenue of CNY 880.9 billion (about $126 billion), up 2.2% from 2024, and net profit of CNY 68.0 billion. The two largest segments were ICT infrastructure, which covers network and computing gear (CNY 375.0 billion), and consumer devices (CNY 344.5 billion). Revenue from intelligent automotive solutions grew 72.1% to CNY 45.0 billion. China accounted for CNY 616.2 billion of total revenue.

Why it matters

A US Commerce Department rule that took effect on May 16, 2019 added Huawei and 68 non-US affiliates to the Entity List. The list requires licenses for exports of US-regulated items to listed companies. Huawei has since invested heavily in Chinese-made alternatives in chips, software and AI computing, Reuters has reported. Its phones run HarmonyOS, which Reuters describes as Android-free. Its Ascend processors are an alternative in China to Nvidia's AI chips. Nvidia's most advanced AI chips are restricted from sale there.

Rotating chairman Eric Xu spoke at the Huawei Connect conference on September 17, 2026. He said the company could not make enough AI computing equipment to meet Chinese demand and was limiting overseas sales. He also said he believed Ascend's share of China's AI chip market was larger than Nvidia's. Huawei gave no data to support that estimate.

Recent developments

• Results: In the first half of 2026 revenue rose 9.6% to 467.82 billion yuan, Reuters reported on August 31, 2026. Net profit fell 36% to 23.81 billion yuan as research spending climbed 25.2%, it said.
• AI chips: Rotating chairman David Wang said on September 17, 2026 that the Ascend 960DT chip would be ready in the first quarter of 2027. He said that was three quarters earlier than planned, with a new Ascend generation intended each year.
• Chip design: On May 25, 2026 Huawei presented a design approach it calls the Tau Scaling Law. It said its high-end chips would reach a transistor density equivalent to 1.4-nanometer processes by 2031. It gave no independent performance data. Analysts cited by Reuters said China remains behind the most advanced manufacturers.
• Phones: Huawei unveiled the Mate 90 series on October 1, 2026. Premium models use its Kirin 9050 Pro chip. Consumer business chief Richard Yu said supply of advanced chips was still constrained.
• AI software: DeepSeek said on September 30, 2026 that it had worked with Huawei on open-source programming tools for Ascend chips.
• Europe: On January 20, 2026 the European Commission proposed a revised Cybersecurity Act that would allow high-risk non-EU suppliers to be removed from mobile networks. Reuters said the step would mainly affect Huawei and other Chinese technology companies. A draft by EU governments dated September 22, 2026 removed the proposed 36-month deadline for mobile operators. Huawei denies that its equipment poses a security risk.

What to watch

• Whether Ascend 960 chips arrive on the 2027 schedule, and whether supply catches up with demand.
• Full-year 2026 results. Huawei said in August 2026 that its outlook was under review because of external uncertainty and higher input costs.
• The final text of the EU Cybersecurity Act revision, which still has to be negotiated with EU lawmakers.
• US court proceedings. Reuters reported in August 2026 that a trial over the alleged theft of T-Mobile trade secrets is scheduled for October 2027.