The glass display maker is betting big on AI glasses and embodied intelligence as its next big growth drivers
Key Takeaways:
- Lens Technology reported that third-quarter revenue reached 207 billion yuan, up 19.3% year-on-year
- The glass display maker is investing heavily in AI wearables and embodied intelligence as new growth drivers
Twenty years ago, a company in central China’s Hunan province broke a major business barrier when it entered Apple’s airtight supply chain with its scratch-resistant panels that met the US tech titan’s strict standards. Twenty years later, that same manufacturer — Lens Technology Co. Ltd. (6613.HK; 300433.SZ) – is looking for its second ‘iPhone moment’ in the unfolding AI revolution as its legacy smartphone business matures.
Founder Zhou Qunfei has become a business legend with the story of her rise from female factory worker to ‘Apple supply chain queen’. Since founding Lens Technology in 2003, it has leveraged sapphire glass and tempered glass processing to work its way into Apple’s supplier ecosystem. It emerged as a major supplier for iPhones, iPads and Macs while becoming the envy of precision manufacturers around the world.
The company released its latest quarterly figures report following the listing in Hong Kong in July, which complemented the existing listing in Shenzhen. Revenue in the first nine months of 2025 rose 16.1% year-on-year to 53.7 billion yuan ($7.54 billion), while profit rose a similar 19.9% to 2.84 billion yuan. Third-quarter revenue was 20.7 billion yuan, up 19.3% year-on-year, pushing net profit up 12.6% to 1.7 billion yuan.
The company’s core glass and related structural components remained the foundation of the company in the latest report. But investors are starting to look for the next new thing to keep the steady growth story alive. Lens attributed its latest growth in part to improving smartphone demand, while also highlighting the sequential volume growth of its products that focus on a new generation of AI-powered wearables and embodied intelligence products.
Zhou, who started making glass at the age of 16, recognizes that business operations can be just as vulnerable as the glass at the heart of her business. With the global smartphone market showing increasing signs of maturity, including low single-digit growth and even frequent contraction, she has positioned her company to break new ground in the emerging areas of smart glasses, embodied intelligence and premium robotics.
A doubling down on AI glasses
For AI glasses, Lens says it supplies precision mechanical, optical and acoustic components to a key North American customer that it is not identifying. Analysts and business observers believe the company is Meta (META.US), which has developed high-tech smart glasses together with Ray-Ban. The product includes voice assistants, computer vision and live translation, and is being hailed as the first truly commercialized smart wearable of the AI era, with sales above target since late 2024.
Global shipments of AI/AR glasses reached 6.7 million units in 2024 and are expected to total 12 million units in 2025, an increase of nearly 80% from 2024, according to Canalys and Counterpoint. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, accounts for more than 40% of the market and ranks first globally. The rapid expansion has led to strong demand for Lens as the company has evolved from pure lens and construction work to higher-end integrated products such as Surface-Mount technology (SMT) and full assembly modules, as well as wireless charging solutions.
The segment contributed modest sequential revenue and margin growth in the third quarter, although no breakthroughs have yet been reported. Management told investors that the company has introduced volume deliveries in AI hardware and that this segment is expected to become the main growth vector next year. Much of the growth will likely come from Meta expanding its eyewear business in the coming quarters.
Lens has established an optics subsidiary in the Hunan capital Changsha to develop waveguide lenses and high-performance components that directly serve AI glasses and AR display supply chains. At the end of February, the company entered into an important strategic partnership with AI glasses maker Hangzhou Rokid Technology, which supports Lens with its technology.
With the rapid rise of embodied intelligence over the past decade, Lens has built a platform for manufacturing four- and two-legged robots on an OEM basis for its customers. The company is on track to open a new headquarters and innovation center for embodied intelligence this month, capable of producing 3,000 humanoid robots and more than 10,000 robot dogs annually – with production already flowing to prominent Chinese and North American buyers. That shows that Lens could potentially become an important upstream core supplier in the AI robotics industry.
Lens raised about HK$4.77 billion ($614 million) from its July listing in Hong Kong, with 48% of that earmarked for product expansion and another 28% for international initiatives. About 70% of stock market proceeds remained unused at the end of September, mainly reserved for offshore infrastructure commitments and AI investments, giving the company significant financial firepower for operational flexibility.
Expansion for future supplies
The company’s net operating cash flow was a solid 5.84 billion yuan in the first nine months of the year, although that was down about 7% from a year earlier. With a significant 7.26 billion yuan of cash on hand, the company should have sufficient financial resources to support its continued R&D in new areas. The company’s construction work-in-progress balance increased by approximately 48% year-on-year in the third quarter due to the expansion of production facilities in Vietnam and Thailand in anticipation of growing demand from offshore customers, including mass production for AI-related products.
Lens currently has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 31 times for its Hong Kong shares, ahead of 24 for Sunny optically (2382.HK) and more modest 13 for Largan precision (3008.TW). Such a premium reflects Lens’ lead in the drive toward AI hardware-driven wearables alongside its early move into robotics as it strays from its roots as a contract supplier to Apple. Continued acceleration of the eyewear business would validate the company’s move into embodied AR optics, creating the opportunity for even more multiple expansion, although slower-than-expected progress could have the exact opposite effect.
Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid third party contributor. It does not represent Benzinga reporting and is not edited for content or accuracy.
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