ECARX Reports $156 Million Q2 Revenue

ECARX(NASDAQ:ECX) reported earnings on August 26, 2025, posting revenue of $156 million and shipping 532,000 units despite seasonal headwinds. The company achieved a 20% year-over-year reduction in operating expenses, secured over $1 billion in lifetime overseas contract value, and reiterated guidance for adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) breakeven for each remaining quarter. Key insights below explore revenue composition shifts, global customer diversification, and R&D commercialization beyond automotive.

ECARX revenue mix shifts toward proprietary platforms

In-house developed Antora, Venato, and Skyland platforms more than doubled their contribution to total sales of goods revenue versus the previous year, reaching 56% compared to 28% a year earlier. Software license revenue fell 85% year-over-year to $1.2 million, while the gross margin (GAAP) dropped 12 percentage points year-over-year to 11% amid price reductions intended to accelerate platform adoption.

"Our Antora, Venato, and the Skyland platforms now contribute a remarkable 56% to total sales of goods revenue, more than doubling from 28% in the prior year period. Software license revenue decreased 85% year over year to $1.2 million, primarily from a decline in per vehicle software license revenue coupled with lower intellectual property licenses revenue. Intellectual property licenses contributed $3.9 million revenue in the same period last year."

-- Phil Zhou, Chief Financial Officer

Accelerating adoption of proprietary hardware platforms drives growth in unit sales and market share, but falling software and IP (intellectual property) revenues raise questions about recurring revenue scalability and gross margin durability in the current competitive environment.

Global customer pipeline diversifies ECARX revenue base

The Geely Auto business comprised 40%-50% of company revenue, with the Geely ecosystem at 30%-40%, and non-Geely business, which is about 15%. The company’s business mix by geography has shifted to 60% China and 40% overseas, including major wins with Volkswagen (VW).

"For example, the Geely Auto business occupied nearly 40% to 50% of our total business and the Geely Ecosystem brands occupy nearly 30% to 40% and the rest of our business came from non-Geely business, which is about 15%, all right? And in terms of the customer structure, China versus overseas, now in the second quarter, our business already has been optimized to 60% and this just came from China OEMs and the rest of 40% came from global OEMs. Of course, those global OEMs include Volvo, Polestar, Smart, Proton, and other Geely ecosystem. Meanwhile, we are adding new names, new global OEMs into our portfolio for sure. Volkswagen, that is the one we won the nomination in Q1 2025 and we foresee more revenue, more business from the international brands will be in our portfolio."

-- Phil Zhou, Chief Financial Officer

This geographic and OEM diversification reduces reliance on a single customer and signifies traction in competing for marquee global auto programs.

Non-automotive R&D commercialization expands addressable market

ECARX debuted monetization of its proprietary 3D LiDAR technology outside automotive with a leading global robotic lawnmower developer, opening mass-production scale in 2026 and validating multi-industry appeal. The company highlighted systematic efforts to adapt its SoC (system-on-chip) sensors and software for broader industrial automation and AI applications.

"Notably, we also began monetizing our automotive R&D investments across new high-growth sectors with a leading developer of robotic lawnmowers selecting our LiDAR technology during the quarter. With mass production planned for 2026, this partnership will broaden our horizon beyond the automotive sector, validate the application of our cutting-edge technologies, and help pave the way for future opportunities in the vast robotics market."

-- Ziyu Shen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

This initial design win outside core auto markets demonstrates the company’s ability to leverage automotive R&D for additional revenue streams, increasing its long-term growth potential through cross-industry technology transfers.

Looking Ahead

With expectations to ship 1.4 million to 1.5 million vehicles in the second half and to achieve adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) breakeven for every remaining quarter. Concrete milestones include initiating mass production of robotics LiDAR in 2026 and operationalizing the global headquarters in Singapore in the second half of the year. No additional numerical guidance or concrete medium-term profitability targets were provided beyond 2025.

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This article was created using Large Language Models (LLMs) based on The Motley Fool's insights and investing approach. It has been reviewed by our AI quality control systems. Since LLMs cannot (currently) own stocks, it has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.