Core Viewpoint - Century Internet (VNET.US) reported strong financial performance for Q3 2025, with significant year-on-year growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the effectiveness of its strategic initiatives in the rapidly growing AI-driven market [1][4]. Financial Performance - Total revenue for Q3 2025 reached 2.58 billion RMB, representing a year-on-year increase of 21.7% [1][4]. - Adjusted EBITDA grew by 27.5% year-on-year to 758 million RMB, with an adjusted EBITDA margin increasing from 28% to 29.4% [1][4]. - Adjusted cash gross profit rose by 22.1% year-on-year to 1.05 billion RMB, with an adjusted cash gross margin slightly increasing from 40.6% to 40.7% [1][4]. Business Growth - The base IDC business saw a remarkable year-on-year revenue increase of 82.7%, contributing 956 million RMB to total revenue [2][4]. - The operational capacity of the base IDC business reached 783 MW, with a quarterly increase of 109 MW, while the on-shelf capacity grew by 70 MW to 582 MW, achieving a 74.3% on-shelf rate [3][4]. Strategic Initiatives - The company is implementing a "dual-engine" strategy to expand its customer base and enhance its multi-layered business layout, which is expected to drive long-term growth [5][6]. - Century Internet secured three new base IDC orders totaling 63 MW in Q3, including significant contracts from an internet company and a smart driving company [5][6]. Market Position and Future Outlook - The company is well-positioned to capitalize on the AI-driven market demand, with plans to deepen its dual-engine strategy and Hyperscale 2.0 framework [2][3]. - Following a revision in guidance earlier in the year, the company has further raised its 2025 revenue and adjusted EBITDA forecasts, expecting total revenue between 9.55 billion and 9.867 billion RMB, and adjusted EBITDA between 2.91 billion and 2.945 billion RMB [4].

Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Outperform" rating for the company [5][10]. Core Insights - The company has exceeded expectations in revenue and adjusted EBITDA, with a significant growth forecast for the coming years [5][10]. - The future planning under the Hyperscale 2.0 framework aims to significantly increase data center capacity, positioning the company for competitive advantage in the market [5][10]. - The company has raised its full-year guidance, reflecting strong demand and rapid scaling of operations [5][10]. Financial Summary - Total revenue projections for 2025-2027 are 92.91 billion, 108.30 billion, and 126.69 billion RMB, with year-on-year growth rates of 12.50%, 16.56%, and 16.98% respectively [5][10]. - Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be 28.06 billion, 34.21 billion, and 40.03 billion RMB for the same period, with growth rates of 14.35%, 21.93%, and 17.01% [5][10]. - The company reported a Q2 2025 revenue of 2.43 billion RMB, a 22.1% increase year-on-year, and base IDC revenue of 854 million RMB, up 112.5% year-on-year [5][10]. Operational Capacity - The operational capacity for base IDC is 674 MW, reflecting a 17.5% quarter-on-quarter increase, with a rack capacity of 511 MW, also up 17.0% quarter-on-quarter [5][10]. - The base IDC rack rate stands at 75.9%, while the urban IDC rack rate is at 63.9% [5][10]. Future Planning - The company plans to manage a total data center capacity of 10 GW by 2036, starting from regions like Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and Beijing [5][10]. - AI application traffic is identified as a core driver for the scale of AIDC construction, ensuring the company's competitive edge [5][10].