The financial report exploded, Hesai surged 50%! The "visual data" competition has just begun?

Hesai Technology's financial report announces the arrival of the profitable year for the lidar industry, and the new wave of humanoid robots has begun?

Overnight, Chinese concept stock Hesai Technology surged over 50%, driven by its latest impressive financial report and better-than-expected performance guidance, marking the official transition of the lidar industry from a "money-burning track" to a "profit era."

More importantly, with the arrival of the physical AI era and the rise of humanoid robots, visual data will become the focus of competition. As a leading lidar company, Hesai Technology is expected to welcome a second growth curve and may lead the industry towards broader development space.

The lidar industry welcomes its first publicly listed company to achieve profitability

On March 11, Hesai Technology released its Q4 2024 and full-year performance. The data shows that the company has become the world's first publicly listed lidar enterprise to achieve full-year profitability and positive operating cash flow.

The financial report indicates that Hesai Technology's annual revenue reached 2.08 billion yuan (approximately 285 million USD), a year-on-year increase of 10.7%; among which, Q4 revenue was 720 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 33%. In terms of profitability, on a non-GAAP basis, the company achieved a net profit of approximately 13.7 million yuan for the year, reversing the previous year's net loss of 241.3 million yuan.

Notably, Hesai Technology performed exceptionally well in terms of shipment volume. The total lidar delivery for the entire year of 2024 was 501,900 units, a year-on-year increase of 126.0%; among which, the single-quarter shipment in Q4 reached 222,100 units, exceeding the total level of 2023, demonstrating strong market demand and supply capability.

In terms of sales guidance, the company has significantly raised its 2025 shipment guidance from the previous 1 million units to 1.2-1.5 million units, equivalent to a year-on-year growth of 139%-200%, with growth even surpassing last year's 126.0%.

In terms of revenue, the company expects to reach 3-3.5 billion yuan for the full year of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 44%-49%, far exceeding last year's growth rate of 10.7%. Profitability will also achieve a qualitative leap, with net profit expected to reach 350-500 million yuan on a non-GAAP basis, 24-35.7 times that of last year.

The rise of robotic lidar, visual data becomes the focus of competition

In terms of its main business, Hesai Technology has made significant progress in the fields of ADAS and robotic lidar, especially the latter, which is widely regarded as the company's second growth curve.

This strategic layout is highly aligned with the current rise of humanoid robots. Morgan Stanley previously stated that AI is expanding from the purely digital realm into the physical world, such as in the fields of autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) According to Morgan Stanley's recent TMT conference report, humanoid robots are rapidly evolving from a "niche interest" to a "mainstream investment hotspot." Not only technology investors but also investors from traditional industries and the automotive sector are beginning to flock to this field.

Goldman Sachs predicts in its latest research report that by 2027, global shipments of humanoid robots will reach 76,000 units, soaring to 1.38 million units by 2035, with the market size expected to reach $38 billion by 2030.

For this new battlefield of humanoid robots, visual data may become the focal point for major companies competing for market share.

Morgan Stanley stated in its report that just as chatbots require text data to train large language models (LLM), physical robots need data to train their vision-language-action models (VLA). This data demand will encompass various aspects of life, including warehouses, factories, hospitals, schools, stores, vehicles, airports, mines, homes, and forests, with even biological visual data becoming an important resource.

Therefore, Morgan Stanley pointed out that the acquisition of large-scale video data will become key for AI training, with visual data becoming the core resource for AI training, triggering a "visual data competition."

Goldman Sachs also emphasized that the explosive growth of humanoid robots is inseparable from the evolution of "eyes." To achieve precise perception of their surroundings, humanoid robots need to rely on 3D vision technologies, such as stereo cameras, ToF cameras, and LiDAR, which presents significant opportunities for related technology suppliers