China’s tech giant Huawei’s 2025 financial report indicates that both revenue and net profit have seen growth. However, a closer analysis reveals that there are significant inflated numbers in Huawei’s performance, with revenue growth slowing down sharply and profitability declining. The company’s investment output is severely imbalanced, some core areas are collapsing, the Chinese market is nearing stagnation, talent drain intensifies, and it can be said to be heading towards an unprecedented crisis.
The upcoming criminal trial filed by the US Department of Justice against Huawei is expected to bring even more significant challenges to the company. As the trial date approaches, it is causing internal turmoil within Huawei.
An insider from Huawei recently told a reporter that the atmosphere within Huawei is very oppressive, leading many to choose to resign. This includes not only regular employees but also technical experts. Some are dissatisfied with their salary, while others do not align with Huawei’s aggressive corporate culture.
The insider also revealed that Huawei prohibits former employees from seeking employment with similar companies in Shenzhen, citing non-disclosure agreements.
According to a search by reporters, at least two top experts from Huawei have resigned this year.
On March 28, 2026, the director of Huawei’s Noah’s Ark Laboratory, Wang Yunhe, announced his resignation. Wang, who graduated with a Ph.D. from Peking University in 2018, joined Huawei and was promoted to Minister of the Algorithm Application Department at the end of 2021. He later became the director of the Noah’s Ark Laboratory in 2025, responsible for the development of the Pangu Grand Model.
Recently, Huawei’s expert in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Yeo Hui Shyong, also resigned from Huawei and joined the company Digital Huaxia. In 2021, Yeo Hui Shyong, known as a “young genius,” joined Huawei and worked in Huawei’s Terminal BG and 2012 Laboratory. This is the 8th Huawei young genius to enter the field of intelligent computing. Others like Ding Wenchao, Huang Qingqiu, and Peng Zhihui have also left to join the field of intelligent computing.
Furthermore, Huawei’s level 6 expert Zong Liangjia returned to his alma mater in January 2025 to serve as a professor at the School of Optics and Electronic Information of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Zong Liangjia had worked at Huawei for 13 years and held 23 optical communication patents.
The insider also expressed concerns within Huawei about the outcome of the criminal case brought by the US Department of Justice, believing that the company’s fate faces significant uncertainties.
As far back as the first term of President Trump, restrictions and sanctions against Huawei have been imposed from various aspects such as technology, equipment, and the market. Most recently, the criminal case filed by the US Department of Justice against Huawei is still ongoing.
In August 2022, founder Ren Zhengfei made it clear that “the most important principle is to stay alive.” He mentioned in an article within Huawei’s internal network that “the global economy continues to decline, coupled with the impact of the epidemic, consumer spending will greatly decrease, putting pressure not only on supplies but also on the market. From 2023 to 2025, the most important principle is to stay alive.”
According to the ruling issued by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on July 2, 2025, regarding the case of the US Department of Justice’s indictment against Huawei, the trial is set to begin on May 4, 2026, possibly lasting for several months.
Huawei’s financial report for 2025 was released on March 31, 2026, revealing a slowdown in growth despite revenue and net profit showing an increase. Huawei’s sales revenue in 2025 reached 880.941 billion yuan, a growth of 2.2%, compared to 22.42% in 2024. The net profit was 68.036 billion yuan, showing an increase of 8.7%, but significantly lower than the peaks in 2021 and 2023.
The financial report shows a significant increase in the “other net income” category, soaring by 173.1%. However, upon closer inspection, the increase primarily stems from changes in the fair value of financial instruments formed by disposing of subsidiaries and businesses, recording 168.88 billion in comparison to 83.22 billion in 2024.
It is evident that Huawei’s core profitability started to decline in the first half of 2025. The half-year financial report indicated a net profit of 37.195 billion yuan, showing a 32% decrease compared to the previous year. This signifies a weakening of Huawei’s core profitability, with “the main business hematopoietic function failing.”
Looking at Huawei’s business categories, both of its main businesses, ICT infrastructure and terminal business, have come under pressure. The revenue from the terminal business was 344.473 billion yuan, with an increase of only 1.6%, compared to 38.3% in 2024. The revenue from ICT infrastructure business was 375.014 billion yuan, with a growth of 2.6%, compared to 4.9% in 2024. These two main businesses accounted for 82% of Huawei’s total revenue.
Zhao Qixin, a partner at a Chinese venture capital firm, analyzed that the high growth of Huawei’s terminal business in 2024 was mainly due to the return of the Mate 60/Pura 70 series of high-end smartphones, regaining the top spot in the Chinese market. However, with a mere increase of 1.6% in 2025, it suggests that the peak period of high-end smartphones is over, and the overall Chinese mobile market is in a slump, indicating the normalization of growth in terminals.
In 2025, Huawei’s cloud computing business revenue shrank by 3.5%, with Chinese region revenue increasing by a mere 0.2%, nearly stagnant. This decline was attributed to severe limitations on hardware computing power and fierce competition from other more cost-effective competitors for government and enterprise clients.
According to an article by “DrewDa,” Huawei’s consumer products suffer from a lack of cost-effectiveness, reflecting the company’s struggles. The future of Huawei’s consumer business remains uncertain, given the challenges it faces in various product sectors.
Huawei’s financial report also reveals a significant increase in “accounts payable and notes payable” and “contract liabilities.” This implies that Huawei’s increased cash flow does not arise from profitable sales of products but rather through extensive pressure to extract profits from the upstream and downstream ecosystem.
Lu Bin, an industry instructor at Zhejiang Financial Vocational College, shares a similar view, suggesting that Huawei may have extended payment cycles to suppliers in 2025 while receiving a large amount of customer prepayments, securing cash flow for future business.
Lastly, despite the fastest revenue growth coming from Huawei’s smart car sector, with revenue of 45 billion, representing a 72.1% growth, the sharp slowdown in growth in 2025 indicates challenges faced in this area.
The analysis reflects Huawei’s struggle in 2025, as the company encounters various obstacles and fierce competition in different business sectors. The challenges faced in key aspects like profitability, innovation, and market saturation point towards a challenging road ahead for the tech giant.