Huawei has reported its highest annual revenue in five years, driven by robust demand for artificial intelligence and computing, while its nascent smart car solutions also logged healthy growth, defying a persistent US crackdown that limits the Chinese tech company’s access to American technologies.

Sales for 2025 came to RMB 880.9 billion (USD 127.8 billion), a 2.18% increase from a year earlier and nearly back to the record 891.37 billion it made in 2020, the company announced on March 31. Net profit for 2025 climbed 8.7% to RMB 68 billion (USD 9.9 billion).

Washington first put Huawei on the so-called Entity List in May 2019 and tailored much stricter export controls to restrict its access to American technologies in mid-2020.

“In 2025, Huawei’s connectivity business weathered the impact of industry investment cycles, while its computing business continued to seize opportunities in AI,” said Meng Wanzhou, rotating chairwoman at Huawei.

Meng said Huawei’s consumer business worked to overcome formidable challenges, including to enhance the user experience of its HarmonyOS ecosystem, which the company developed as an answer to Google’s Android operating system.

“We are moving toward a future that is full of uncertainty, so we have to remain true to our strategy and maintain strategic focus. We will translate strategy to execution, keep cultivating the developer ecosystem, and pursue high-quality development,” she said

The Chinese tech giant said the key revenue growth drivers include computing infrastructure and AI-related solutions, and intelligent system solutions, including for automotive applications.

Revenue from intelligent automotive solutions, which includes self-driving systems, grew 72% from a year earlier. Huawei’s advanced driving system (ADS), its answer to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD), commands a leading 28% share in its home market, according to the company.

Its digital power business, which covers energy solutions like converters and superchargers, also grew by a double-digit percentage in 2025. Its devices business, including smartphones, wearables, and other consumer electronics, accounted for about 39% of its total revenue and grew 1.6% from a year earlier.

Huawei said its overseas business showed some signs of recovery, accounting for 30% of its total revenue last year. In 2024, China contributed more than 71% of its sales revenue.

The company has been working to regain global attention. In early March, it showcased its most advanced AI supercomputer overseas for the first time. Its Atlas 950 SuperPoD is widely seen as the Chinese market’s most competitive alternative to Nvidia. The company also brought some handsets and smart wearables overseas last year, Nikkei Asia earlier reported.

Huawei’s R&D spending in 2025 reached a record of RMB 192.3 billion (USD 27.9 billion), the highest in the company’s history. In 2024, it invested about RMB 179.7 billion (USD 26.1 billion) in R&D. In the past ten years, it has spent RMB 1.38 trillion (USD 200.2 billion) on R&D.

Key areas of R&D spending in 2025 included computing technologies, wireless communications and optical networks, all critical technologies enabling AI data centers, according to the company.

This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.

Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.89 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 6, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.