Huawei hits record revenue after selling 45 million smartphones in 2024

After years of battling U.S. sanctions, Huawei is emerging from survival mode and preparing to announce record-breaking financial results.

The company is set to report its annual revenue for 2024 at 860 billion yuan (approximately $118 billion), a figure close to its 2020 peak of 891 billion yuan. This comes after Huawei was cut off from advanced technology and 5G-capable chips.

In response, the company focused on software development, chip manufacturing, and autonomous driving technologies. Over the years, Huawei has adapted by expanding into new industries and reducing its reliance on Western technology.

While its leadership once described the situation as a fight for survival, Huawei now takes a more confident stance. In a meeting with President Xi Jinping in May 2024, founder Ren Zhengfei stated that China's chip and software shortages had significantly eased.

Although Huawei has not disclosed a detailed breakdown of its revenue sources, it has confirmed growth in its consumer electronics division and rapid expansion in the automotive sector. The company shipped over 45 million smartphones in 2024, marking at least a 25% year-over-year increase despite ongoing challenges in chip production.

In response to U.S. sanctions, Huawei explored new business areas, such as building 5G infrastructure for mining operations and supplying energy storage systems for data centers. After losing access to Google’s Android and Oracle software, it developed its own operating system, HarmonyOS-now running on over a billion devices-and a proprietary enterprise resource planning system, MetaERP.

Without access to U.S. semiconductor technology, Huawei has designed its own advanced chips, positioning itself as a competitor to Nvidia in AI hardware.

In the automotive sector, Huawei has strengthened its presence in autonomous driving technology, partnering with state-owned automakers to boost China’s electric vehicle industry. The company’s M7 and M9 models, featuring Huawei’s driver-assistance systems, have become bestsellers.