Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE:CHT) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Tuesday that marked its highest annual earnings in eight years, fueled by a surge in digital transformation and 5G migration.
The Taipei-based carrier posted fourth-quarter net income of $299.3 million, or 39 cents per share, on revenue of $2.12 billion.
For the full year, profit reached $1.24 billion ($1.60 per share) on total revenue of $7.58 billion, as the company benefited from a dominant 40% mobile revenue market share in Taiwan.
Despite the record profit, the company’s outlook for 2026 shifts focus toward a massive infrastructure ramp-up under its new strategic vision, “Igniting the Future with AI.”
Chunghwa announced a 14.6% increase in capital expenditures for the coming year, earmarked for a "sea, land, sky, and space" network.
This includes the construction of the East-to-Asia (E2A) submarine cable, the expansion of cloud AI data centers, and the deployment of a multi-orbit satellite network involving Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) partnerships to ensure national digital resilience.
Following the quarter's performance, management guided 2026 revenue to grow between 2.5% and 3.2%, though it warned that the heavy front-loaded investments in AI and cybersecurity would likely keep earnings per share flat for the next fiscal year.