ECARX Holdings, Inc.ECXNASDAQ
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Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the ECARX Holdings, Inc. Q4 and Full Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press *11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press *11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Julian Tiltman. Please go ahead. Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to ECARX Holdings, Inc.'s fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings conference call. Joining me today from ECARX Holdings, Inc. are Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ziyu Shen; Chief Operating Officer, Peter W. Cirino; and Chief Financial Officer, Phil Zhou. Following their prepared remarks, they will all be available to answer your questions. Before we start, I would like to refer to our forward-looking statements at the bottom of our earnings press release, which also applies to this call. Further information on specific risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially can be found in our filings with the SEC. In addition, this call will include discussions of certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP to the GAAP financial measures can be found at the bottom of our earnings release. With that, I would like to hand the call over to Rene Du. Please go ahead.
Rene Du: Thank you, Julian. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. ECARX Holdings, Inc. is transforming vehicles into seamlessly integrated information, communication, and transportation devices. To realize this vision of becoming a leading AI technology provider in the automotive industry, we must proactively navigate today's dynamic regulatory and market environment, ensuring we remain compliant and maintain growth while pushing the boundaries of automotive intelligence globally. By diversifying both our geographic revenue base and our solution portfolio, we are building ECARX Holdings, Inc. into a robust, compliant, and most important, a truly global business. The fourth quarter was a critical inflection point and marks the start of our next phase of sustainable profitable growth. We delivered net income of $2,800,000, adjusted EBITDA of $22,000,000, and operating income of $7,000,000, marking our second consecutive quarter of positive results as revenue hit a historical high of $305,000,000, up 13% year over year. Gross profit was $64,000,000, up 11% year over year, with a gross margin of 21%. These results are a direct reflection of the execution of our lean operating strategy, which continues to deliver a resilient recovery in gross margin, enhance R&D efficiency, and optimize operating expenses despite the several challenges posed by patent policy in the global semiconductor supply chain. We remain firmly on track to sustain this strong and profitable momentum into 2026. Our momentum is being fueled by two distinct engines that are allowing us to unlock growth opportunities from existing and new partnerships. First, our computing platforms continue to drive strong sales growth for best-selling models, allowing us to deepen the penetration rate of our solutions across our partner vehicle lineups and anchor the stability of our core business. Notably, shipments of our Antora series reached the 1,000,000 unit milestone in 2025, underscoring the platform's market leadership. With the concentration of Antora shipments increasing within our total shipments, our vertical integration capability allows us to capture greater value and structurally enhance our long-term profitable growth trajectory. Secondly, our globalization strategy continues to amplify our unique value proposition as a core technology partner worldwide, demonstrating the global repeatability and scalability of our solutions to potential and existing partners. Our deepened partnership with Volkswagen Group in Latin America is a key milestone in this journey, demonstrating how the Antora platform is setting a global standard for intelligent cockpits and driving our international expansion. This agreement utilizes our platform to meet diverse market needs, with the high-performance Antora 1000 for online brands that integrates our Cloudpeak software stack and Google Automotive Services, and the effective Antora 500 for entry-level segments. This highlights how our core technology, already proven in the popular launch of Geely Galaxy EX5 and Volvo EX30, can seamlessly scale across diverse brands and international markets. This flexibility showcases how we effectively integrate to address the evolving needs of leading automakers on a global scale. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, we are fully prepared for this next phase of growth. Our future strategic priorities as we progress will focus on three key pillars. First, we will continue to drive our globalization strategy and develop broader global strategic partnerships, continuing to leverage our cutting-edge, cost-effective solutions. These existing partnerships are a blueprint to demonstrate the capability and scalability of our physical AI architecture, and they will allow us to further strengthen partnerships with significant commercial value and drive an increase in overseas revenues. We are on the path to transforming our business into even more of a truly global technology leader, where we have set targets to meaningfully increase our share of total revenue from international markets by the end of the decade. Second, we will continue to invest in our long R&D roadmap and development of next-generation computing platforms, intelligent driving solutions like Skyline Pro to drive high-performance AI computing power, and in-vehicle AI large models. By driving the industry transition from feature-centric to intelligence-centric experiences, we will maintain our leadership position and propel our business toward high-value software and AI services not only for automotive applications, but also adjacent sectors like robotics. Third, we will continue to strengthen our lean operating strategy and strategic execution to sustain profitability. Our transition to an automotive AI technology provider allows for greater platform modularity, which drives R&D efficiency and sustained profitability. Our target for 2026 is to continue to generate meaningful annual revenue growth and to maintain positive operating income throughout 2026. Moreover, we raised nearly $200,000,000 in recent months from partners including Geely and ATW Partners, a powerful endorsement of our global growth strategy, technology leadership, and proven ability to capitalize on accelerating demand. This additional capital will support the build-out of our R&D and engineering hub in Germany and infrastructure across key growth markets in South America and Southeast Asia, providing us with R&D delivery and supply chain capabilities to fuel our global expansion. With a strong finish to 2025, a growing suite of innovative solutions, and the first two quarters of profitable growth, we are confident in our ability to capture the opportunities ahead as the automotive industry continues its transformation. I will now pass the call over to Peter W. Cirino, who will go through the operating results of the quarter in more detail.
Peter W. Cirino: Thank you, Ziyu. Good morning, everyone. In the fourth quarter, we made strong progress executing our strategic priorities. As we continue our global expansion, deepen key partnerships, and execute on our R&D roadmap, our ability to execute on complex global programs is becoming a defining competitive advantage. During the quarter, we continued to intentionally increase shipment volumes to meet accelerating market demand, shipping approximately 910,000 units. This brings the cumulative total number of vehicles equipped with ECARX Holdings, Inc. technology to approximately 11,000,000 units, up 36% from last year and a direct reflection of the increasing recognition our reliable and cutting-edge solutions are receiving globally. Today, we proudly serve 18 OEMs across 28 brands worldwide. Our global expansion remains a core focus. In Q4, we made significant progress. Our partnership with Volkswagen Group continues to progress smoothly. Both sample development and delivery continue to consistently meet all targets and exceed expectations, opening the door for deeper collaboration. We are excited about the opportunities that will come from our growing European pipeline. Our ability to strategically execute these programs demonstrates our world-class engineering delivery and project management capabilities on a global scale. This expertise provides a solid foundation to capitalize on future large-scale revenue opportunities across EMEA, the Americas, and the emerging markets. As we execute on these priorities, our global capabilities are gaining greater visibility and exposure, helping us build a robust overseas business development pipeline that is growing substantially. This expansion directly supports the long-term goals Ziyu mentioned earlier, with our target to generate 50% of our total revenue from overseas markets by 2030. Our technology continues to power some of the most exciting, increasingly popular new vehicles in the market. During the quarter, the Pikes computing platform and Cloudpeak cross-domain software stack powered the next-generation AI cockpit experience for the Geely Galaxy M9, showcasing our core strengths in developing solutions from the ground up and enabling the delivery of in-vehicle AI agents at scale. As this model gained significant traction among customers, global automakers can increasingly see how our solutions can drive sales with their differentiated experience. This solution was replicated in the Lynk & Co 07 and 08 EM-P, further expanding its global visibility and adoption. Additionally, the highly sought-after Geely EX5 also launched in the UK during the quarter, with the AI-enhanced Antora 1000 and Cloudpeak solutions integrated, marking the start of the large-scale deliveries of these solutions in core European markets and another milestone in our global expansion. Crucially, the Antora platform has obtained key safety and privacy certifications for the European market entry, providing us with the foundation to drive deployments across Europe and engage with automakers in the region. Our solutions are increasingly being adopted by global automakers across different markets, validating their competitiveness, seamless adaptability, and reliability. They are compatible with Flyme Auto and Google Automotive Services, and will help accelerate AI-driven intelligent in-vehicle experiences across multiple vehicle segments and markets worldwide. This sustained demand has allowed us to maintain a leading market share with over 11,000,000 units installed as of December 31, 2025. Innovation remains at the core of our strategy and forms the basis of our full-stack technological leadership. At CES last month, we demonstrated the strategic versatility of our portfolio, showcasing solutions for scalable UI, agentic and agent-to-agent AI, high-end computing intelligent cockpits, and next-generation fusions of cockpits and assisted driving and parking that accelerate and address the evolving needs of global automakers.
Ziyu Shen: A key highlight
Peter W. Cirino: was a working demo of our Cloudpeak software stack running side by side on two different computing platforms, powered by the latest generations of SiEngine and Qualcomm chips. Through seamless integrations with Google Automotive Services, these solutions provide automakers with the flexibility to select their optimal hardware foundation while ensuring a consistent experience. Our technological leadership now unifies critical domains into a seamless, high-value competitive advantage that spans across the entire value chain, from hardware such as chips and computing platforms, to software, including operating systems and AI services. This vertical integration allows us to provide automakers with high-value, cost-effective turnkey solutions that can be rapidly integrated across models and geographies, and significantly reduce time to market. Our leadership is supported by a resilient strategic supply chain that acts as a critical competitive barrier. Along with our Fuyang intelligent manufacturing facility, our global partnerships with Samsung and Monolithic Power leverage our combined global R&D capabilities to establish an intelligent industrial ecosystem focused on system integration and platform adoption. Together, they not only secure our supply chain, they accelerate our ability to capitalize on opportunities in the automotive and embodied intelligence sectors. Finally, we continue to aggressively push our global compliance platform to enable our transformation into a truly international business. We are rapidly operationalizing our Singapore headquarters, which will be coming online soon and will act as our central hub for global IP, R&D, and treasury activities. Currently, we are working to obtain the relevant regulatory certifications in the US to engage with US automakers and further expand our addressable market. These steps will ensure we can serve our partners in any market, backed by a delivery system that already is verified by leading automakers around the globe. With that, I will now turn the call over to Phil Zhou, who will review our financial results and provide guidance as we look forward to both the first quarter and full year 2026.
Phil Zhou: Thank you, Peter. And hello, everyone. The 2025 represents a strategic inflection point in our company's evolution. Through disciplined execution and focused innovation, we have successfully navigated complex macroeconomic headwinds to deliver our second consecutive quarter of positive operating income and EBITDA, a powerful testament to the resilience of our business model and our clear path towards long-term profitability. Top-line revenue for the fourth quarter reached an all-time high of $305,000,000, representing 13% year over year growth and exceeding both our guidance and market expectations. This resilient growth, achieved despite persistent macroeconomic headwinds, was primarily driven by strong customer demand for our core computing platforms. This strong finish to 2025 enabled us to achieve the double-digit annual revenue growth target we set for 2025, with full-year revenue reaching $848,000,000, a 10% increase over 2024. Breaking this down further, sales of goods revenue reached $270,000,000, a remarkable 27% year over year increase. The impact of our in-house development strategy is clearly visible, with shipments of our Antora, MONADO, and Pikes series increasing by 62% year over year during the quarter. These advanced platforms contributed 74% of the total sales of goods revenue, demonstrating our technological differentiation. In our services business, revenue reached $33,000,000, while software license revenue stood at $2,000,000. Both areas reflect strategic project timing considerations rather than underlying demand challenges. Now turning to our profitability metrics. Despite facing a global supply shortage for hardware and components, particularly in storage, and significant cost pressures, we delivered an impressive margin performance. Gross profit increased about 11% year over year to $64,000,000. Gross margin was 21% for the quarter. This performance demonstrates our strong operational resilience and disciplined cost management. Our lean operating strategy continues to yield significant efficiency gains. Operating expenses decreased by 19% to $57,000,000 for the quarter. For the full year, operating expenses fell 24% to $216,000,000. Most importantly, we achieved these efficiencies while simultaneously driving global expansion and exceeding critical R&D milestones. Our operational performance speaks to a fundamental transformation. Operating income reached $7,000,000 during the quarter, a 155% improvement year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $22,000,000 during the quarter, a significant increase from $10,000,000 in Q4 last year. Beyond the numbers, these results underscore the tangible outcome of our strategic transformation into a technology-driven, globally competitive organization. Turning to the balance sheet, we took several significant steps to fortify our capital position, providing us with the flexibility to execute our global expansion and drive our R&D roadmap. In recent weeks, we successfully signed a convertible bond financing agreement of up to $150,000,000 with ATW Partners and raised $456,000,000 from our strategic partner Geely. This is a powerful endorsement of our global growth strategy, leadership, and long-term growth prospects. Starting this quarter, to enhance transparency and to provide better visibility, we are initiating a formal guidance framework that aligns our financial disclosures with the global nature of our expanding business. For full year 2026, we expect to drive total revenue in the range of $1,000,000,000 to $1,100,000,000, representing a year over year increase of 20% to 30%. Furthermore, we are committed to maintaining positive operating income throughout 2026, underscoring the impact of our lean operating strategy. For 2026, we anticipate seasonal fluctuations typical of our industry. Consistent with historical patterns, the first quarter represents a softer period for automotive consumption following the fourth quarter peak. However, it is important to contextualize this seasonality with our full-year outlook. Our full-year order pipeline remains robust and aligns with our growth targets. We have implemented proactive cost management strategies to mitigate margin pressure. The underlying demand drivers for our core automotive technologies continue to strengthen. Most importantly, despite a typical first quarter seasonality, we maintain full confidence in our ability to navigate these near-term dynamics and achieve our full-year revenue and profitability targets. In closing, our 2025 performance represents more than just strong financial results. It demonstrates the successful execution of our strategic transformation. Our progress is a testament to our team's tireless focus on operational excellence and technological innovation. By consistently meeting each milestone, they have been critical in building a sustainable foundation that makes our long-term growth trajectory possible. With that said, I would like to take the opportunity now to thank the investment community. As I will conclude my time at ECARX Holdings, Inc. with this release, I am confident that the company will continue to strive to ever higher heights, and I look forward to following its progress as I venture to new opportunities. That concludes our remarks today. I would now like to hand the call back to the operator to begin a Q&A session.
Operator: Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, you will need to press 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Thank you. We will now take our first question. This is from the line of Wei Huang from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.
Wei Huang: Hello. Thank you for taking my question and congratulations on the strong set of results. My first question is regarding your analytics guidance. Can you give us a bit more color on your ASP and margin outlook for the year? It seems like generally so far, auto demand has been impacted by the weakening of the government-supported policies. What would you offer for the rest of the year? Thank you.
Phil Zhou: Hey, Mr. Huang. This is Phil. I am happy to address your question. So yes, for the guidance for the full year 2026, we expect to drive the total revenue in a range of $1,000,000,000 to $1,100,000,000, and this is representing a year over year increase of 20% or 30% under the macroeconomic headwind you just mentioned. And yes, in Q1, it is true that the overall automotive market is impacted by policy, as you mentioned just now, and the end user
Wei Huang: demand shrinking. Yes. Some reports
Phil Zhou: show that estimation of 20% decrease or even worse of auto wholesale in Q1 year over year. And part of the reason is also
Wei Huang: triggered by electronic component cost inflation.
Phil Zhou: Especially in memory side. But, you know, we have good momentum. We delivered a very strong Q4 2025 and full year, and we will move our momentum into 2026. And we have all kinds of actions in place to mitigate
Wei Huang: the potential challenges and risks.
Phil Zhou: And Q1 is a low season, but we have full confidence to deliver a solid
Wei Huang: full year 2026. Thank you. A bit of a follow-up on that. You also mentioned the rising memory costs, which is expected to further increase going into 2026. Can you comment a bit on the impact on margins for the year?
Phil Zhou: Yeah. Sure. And as you can read from our financial reports, 2025 we delivered a pretty good margin performance. Especially in Q4, we are able to maintain or even improve our hardware
Wei Huang: gross margin
Phil Zhou: consistent. And that is due to our strong execution in cost optimization, you know, VA/VE strategy execution.
Wei Huang: And then moving to 2026,
Phil Zhou: along with the industry-wide cost inflation, we still need to execute pretty well in terms of cost management. And we will collaborate closely with our customer on the industry-wide cost inflation as well. And on the pricing strategy, we will also drive a very reasonable pricing capex to offset, to mitigate the challenge as well. In terms of total gross margin outlook for 2026, I would say a range
Wei Huang: about 15% to 18%.
Phil Zhou: And that is the latest calculated number after our internal guidance.
Wei Huang: Thank you. That is very clear. And my last question is can you provide us another update on your latest progress with foreign OEMs? These older ones? Thank you.
Peter W. Cirino: Yeah. Hi, Wei. This is Peter W. Cirino. Let me address that question. So as Ziyu mentioned in his comments, ECARX Holdings, Inc. is positioning ourselves as a global physical AI provider, a technology provider to the automotive industry. So, early in 2025, we announced our first major global win with a European OEM with VW to support business in Latin America. In the fourth quarter, we extended our partnership with Volkswagen Group and announced another win to take the Antora platform across additional vehicle lines in Volkswagen Latin America, including our collaboration with Google. Currently, as we look across the market in Europe, we have a broad level of significant opportunities that are emerging from our engagement with our European partners. And we certainly hope that as we move into next year, this pipeline will pay us very well, and we will see additional wins that we hopefully can discuss and will contribute to our revenue profile in the future. So I would say our global expansion is going quite well, and we have these two very significant and tangible wins for the Volkswagen Group.
Wei Huang: Thank you. There are no more questions. Congratulations again on the great set of results. Thank you. And that does conclude today's conference call.
Operator: Thank you all for participating, and you may now disconnect.