Zhong Guo Jing Ying Bao·2025-11-03 03:53Core Insights - The financial performance of China's three major telecom operators shows a mixed outlook, with revenue growth slowing down while profit growth remains positive [2][3][4] Revenue Performance - For the first three quarters of 2025, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom reported revenues of 794.7 billion, 394.3 billion, and 293 billion yuan respectively, with growth rates declining from 2.0%, 2.9%, and 3.0% in 2024 to 0.4%, 0.6%, and 1.0% [2] - Only China Mobile achieved a 2.5% year-on-year revenue growth in Q3 2025, while China Unicom's revenue remained flat and China Telecom's revenue decreased by 0.91% [2] Profitability - Net profits for the three operators reached 115.4 billion, 30.8 billion, and 20 billion yuan respectively, with growth rates of 4.0%, 5.0%, and 5.1%, although these rates have slowed compared to the previous year's figures [2][3] - The telecom industry as a whole saw a 0.9% year-on-year increase in telecom business revenue, totaling 1,327 billion yuan for the first three quarters of 2025 [2] Traditional Business Challenges - The decline in revenue growth is attributed to the weakness in traditional business segments, which have seen their revenue share drop from 92% in 2020 to 78% in Q3 2025 [3][4] - China Mobile has 1.009 billion mobile users, but its average revenue per user (ARPU) fell to 48 yuan, a 3% decrease from 49.5 yuan in 2024 [3] Emerging Business Growth - AI-related emerging businesses have become a significant profit driver, with China Unicom's AI-related revenue contributing over 60% to its "smart network" business, and its cloud revenue reaching 52.9 billion yuan, a 20.6% increase [6][7] - China Telecom's smart revenue surged by 62.3%, significantly outpacing its overall revenue growth of 0.59% [7] Investment in AI and R&D - The three operators have shifted their focus from traditional "pipeline thinking" to "computing power and service thinking," with R&D expenditures exceeding 22 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, of which over 40% is allocated to AI-related investments [10][11] - The operators are expected to see long-term returns from these investments, despite short-term pressures on cash flow and profitability [10] Industry Transformation - The growth logic of the telecom industry is changing, with AI and computing power becoming central to future growth strategies [10][11] - The operators are forming a sustainable payment loop around "bandwidth + computing power + data + models," indicating a significant shift in the industry's revenue generation model [11]