通信行业2024年三季报综述：AI高景气延续，关注内需品种拐点

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the communication industry, highlighting a sustained high demand for AI and a focus on domestic demand recovery [1]. Core Insights - The communication industry experienced revenue growth of 3.6% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2024, with total revenue reaching 1,901.93 billion yuan [5]. - The industry's net profit increased by 8.1% year-on-year, amounting to 177.79 billion yuan, indicating that profit growth outpaced revenue growth [8]. - The overall gross margin for the communication industry was 28.9%, with a net margin of 10.0%, reflecting stable profitability [13]. Summary by Sections 1. Communication Industry Overview - Revenue for the communication industry in Q3 2024 was 611.71 billion yuan, showing a year-on-year growth of 3.0% [6]. - Major companies like China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom reported revenue growth rates of 2.0%, 2.9%, and 3.0% respectively [5]. - Excluding the major operators, the industry saw a revenue increase of 9.8% [5]. 2. Profitability Analysis - The net profit for the communication industry in Q3 2024 was 50.31 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 10.2% [9]. - China Unicom's net profit grew by 10.0%, while China Telecom's net profit increased by 8.1% [8]. - The net profit growth for companies outside the major operators was particularly strong at 30.3% [8]. 3. Margin Trends - The gross margin for the communication industry was reported at 28.9%, with China Mobile achieving a gross margin of 30.8% [13]. - The net margin for the industry stood at 10.0%, while the margin excluding major operators was 6.5% [13]. 4. Fund Holdings Review - The overall fund holdings in the communication sector increased, with a holding ratio of approximately 5.11% in Q3 2024, up by 0.13 percentage points from Q2 2024 [18]. - Institutional investors showed a preference for sectors such as optical modules and offshore wind [18]. 5. Subsector Performance - The optical chip, optical device, connector, and enterprise communication sectors exhibited remarkable revenue growth rates of 91.20%, 60.39%, 33.34%, and 27.31% respectively in the first three quarters of 2024 [21]. - In Q3 2024, the optical device and IoT sectors also showed strong performance, with revenue growth rates of 73.35% and 32.02% respectively [24].