u-blox Holding AG

u-blox reported H1 2025 revenue growth of 32% year over year; Q2 revenue was up 5% sequentially and 11% in constant FX. Gross profit was CHF 71.9 million, up CHF 23 million year over year, with gross margin at 58.2%, 6 percentage points higher year over year. Adjusted cash EBIT was CHF 2.9 million, versus a CHF 26 million loss in H1 2024, and adjusted cash EBIT margin improved to 2.4% from minus 27.7%. Free cash flow was CHF 5.4 million, and net cash ended H1 at CHF 101 million. For Q3, management guided revenue to CHF 60 million-CHF 70 million and adjusted cash EBIT margin to 0%-10%; at constant FX, that midpoint implies 11% year-over-year growth and 6% sequential growth. For full-year 2025, management continued to expect double-digit growth.

Stephan Zizala framed the company as being in the middle of a strategic reset, with the Cellular divestment completed and resources now focused on positioning and other core businesses. He emphasized structural growth markets such as automated driving, precision agriculture/construction, and mobile robotics, and said u-blox is a technology leader with long-term growth potential. His tone was confident but not complacent: he highlighted strong order trends while also noting near-term visibility remains limited because of geopolitical uncertainty and slower customer recovery.

Camila Japur focused on the improvement in profitability, saying gross profit rose to CHF 71.9 million and gross margin reached 58.2%, helped by operating leverage, product mix and lower logistics costs. She highlighted cash discipline: cash R&D was CHF 44.9 million, SG&A fell 18% to CHF 23.4 million, cash EBIT improved to CHF 2.9 million, free cash flow was CHF 5.4 million, net working capital fell to CHF 33 million, and net cash reached CHF 101 million. She said the lower cost base and stronger working capital profile give u-blox flexibility to keep investing in innovation and navigate uncertainty.

Analysts pressed on gross margin upside, especially whether GNSS can move above 65% and how much additional operating leverage exists at COGS level; management said stronger revenue and operating leverage should lift gross margin, but did not disclose supplier-level detail. On R&D, management acknowledged R&D remains high as a percentage of revenue, but said they do not expect a large absolute reduction because they want to protect technology leadership; instead, the ratio should normalize as revenue grows. On autonomous driving and robotics order growth, Stephan Zizala said absolute revenues are still low and the company does not break them out, but stressed that real order intake for future quarters has increased significantly.