VNET Group Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Management said 2025 was “exceptional,” driven by wholesale expansion — the company delivered a record 404 megawatts for the year (107 MW in Q4), brought wholesale capacity in service to 889 MW with 70.1% utilization, and reported a ~2.2 GW wholesale pipeline while targeting 450–500 MW of deliveries over the next 12 months and 70–75% utilization (quarterly variability expected).
• Financially VNET posted FY2025 revenue of RMB 9.95 billion (+20.5%) and adjusted EBITDA of RMB 2.98 billion (+22.6%), and guided 2026 revenue of RMB 11.5–11.8 billion (+15.6–18.6%) and adjusted EBITDA of RMB 3.55–3.75 billion (+19.2–25.9%); it plans RMB 10–12 billion of CapEx in 2026 and is using project loans and private REIT capital recycling (recent listings ~RMB 6.36 billion plus an RMB 860 million ABS) to fund growth and manage leverage.

VNET Group NASDAQ: VNET management said 2025 was an “exceptional year” for the company, citing strong AI-driven demand and execution under its “dual-core strategy” and “Hyperscale 2.0 framework” as key contributors to growth in its wholesale data center business. On the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call, executives also provided 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance, discussed capacity delivery plans, and addressed financing and industry conditions during a question-and-answer session.

Wholesale growth and capacity expansion

Management said wholesale IDC continued to post “significant” growth in the fourth quarter, supported by customer demand and delivery capabilities. As of December 31, 2025, wholesale capacity in service reached 889 megawatts, up about 107 megawatts quarter over quarter. Wholesale capacity utilized by customers rose to 623 megawatts, an increase of about 41 megawatts from the prior quarter, and the utilization rate reached 70.1% after customers moved into 270 megawatts over the full year.

The company highlighted that mature capacity utilization was 93.1%, and attributed fourth-quarter utilization dynamics to a mix of mature sites and newly delivered “ramp-up” capacity. In Q&A, management said utilization can fluctuate in quarters with heavy delivery activity because late-quarter deliveries can temporarily depress the utilization metric. For 2026, management said it was confident utilization would be maintained in a 70% to 75% range, with quarter-to-quarter variability.

VNET also detailed its wholesale resource pipeline, stating total wholesale resource capacity was around 2.2 gigawatts at quarter-end, including:

• About 452 megawatts under construction
• About 513 megawatts held for short-term future development
• About 327 megawatts held for long-term future development

On deliveries, management said it delivered about 107 megawatts in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year 2025 deliveries to a record 404 megawatts, in line with its plan. The company said it had seven data centers under construction—six in the Greater Beijing area and one in the Yangtze River Delta—and planned to deliver 450 to 500 megawatts over the next 12 months to meet wholesale demand.

Orders and demand trends

Management said fourth-quarter order momentum remained strong. VNET secured five wholesale orders totaling 135 megawatts during the quarter, including a 12-megawatt order from an internet customer in the Yangtze River Delta, a 56-megawatt order from a cloud service provider, a 25-megawatt order from an intelligent driving customer, and an 11-megawatt order from another internet customer in the Greater Beijing area, in addition to a previously mentioned 32-megawatt order.

On the retail side, the company said it won approximately 2 megawatts of new retail orders across multiple sites from customers in intelligent driving, local services, AIOT, and financial services.

In Q&A, management said it had participated in customer tenders held early in the year and indicated it would disclose progress and wins in future earnings releases.

Retail update and pricing commentary

VNET said its retail IDC business “progressed smoothly,” with retail utilization stable at 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Retail capacity in service decreased to 49,863 cabinets from 52,288 in the prior quarter because a target retail data center under a private REITs project was excluded from consolidated capacity.

Retail monthly recurring revenue (MRR) per cabinet rose to RMB 9,420 from RMB 8,948 in the prior quarter. Management attributed the increase to greater adoption of value-added services amid AI-driven demand. During Q&A, executives said retail pricing trends were supported by strong demand, an increase in unit price per cabinet, and higher power-density cabinets that generate higher MRR, adding that they expected MRR to show “a relatively stable” upward trend in 2026.

Financial results, liquidity, and balance sheet

For the fourth quarter, VNET reported total net revenues of RMB 2.69 billion, up 19.6% year over year, driven mainly by wholesale growth. Wholesale revenues rose 47.1% to RMB 978.1 million, which management tied largely to activity at NOR Campus 02A. Retail revenues increased 7.6% to RMB 1.04 billion, while non-IDC revenues rose 8.8% to RMB 670.8 million.

Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter increased 11.6% to RMB 805.1 million. Management noted that excluding a one-off impact from asset disposals in the fourth quarter of 2024, adjusted EBITDA would have increased 39.3% year over year. Adjusted cash gross margin was 42.3% versus 41.1% a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 30.0%.

For the full year 2025, total revenues increased 20.5% to RMB 9.95 billion and adjusted EBITDA rose 22.6% to RMB 2.98 billion. Management said both metrics exceeded the raised guidance it issued in the third quarter. Full-year wholesale revenue increased 77.4% to RMB 3.46 billion, retail revenue increased 3.5% to RMB 3.96 billion, and non-IDC revenue increased 1.8% to RMB 2.52 billion.

On liquidity, the company reported net operating cash inflow of RMB 546.4 million in the fourth quarter and RMB 1.92 billion for the year, or RMB 2.15 billion excluding RMB 231.0 million of income tax tied to one-off asset and equity disposal. Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments totaled RMB 6.58 billion at year-end.

Regarding leverage, management said net debt to adjusted last-quarter annualized EBITDA was 4.3, and total debt to adjusted last-quarter annualized EBITDA was 6.2, with adjusted trailing 12-month EBITDA to interest coverage of 6.7. In Q&A, executives said they aimed to keep leverage within a “stable” range while balancing CapEx cadence and market demand.

CapEx, capital recycling, and 2026 outlook

VNET reported full-year 2025 CapEx of RMB 8.24 billion, mainly for wholesale expansion, and said spending came in below prior guidance due to economies of scale and improved supply-chain management. For 2026, the company guided CapEx of RMB 10 billion to RMB 12 billion, primarily to support the planned 450 to 500 megawatts of delivery. In Q&A, management said most 2026 CapEx would support 2026 deliveries, with “very little” intended for 2027 capacity expansion.

On financing, management said it primarily uses project loans and noted it can secure “long-term” loans at “low” rates. It also cited annual operating cash flow of “around CNY 2 billion,” private REITs, and potential equity financing at both the listed-company and project levels as additional tools, while emphasizing a balance between debt and equity financing.

The company also highlighted progress in capital recycling. Management said it issued an RMB 860 million holding-type green real estate asset-backed security in November 2025 under a private REIT program, and in March 2026 two private REIT projects were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with a combined offering size of approximately RMB 6.36 billion. The company discussed valuation references of approximately 13x EV/EBITDA for the November 2025 issuance and around 13x to 14x for the March 2026 listings, and said proceeds would be reinvested into development and expansion while helping reduce leverage and optimize capital structure.

For 2026, VNET guided total net revenues of RMB 11.5 billion to RMB 11.8 billion, implying year-over-year growth of 15.6% to 18.6%, and adjusted EBITDA of RMB 3.55 billion to RMB 3.75 billion, implying growth of 19.2% to 25.9%. In Q&A, management characterized wholesale and retail IDC as expected to grow year over year, while describing the non-IDC business as relatively stable.

Management also commented on policy and competitive dynamics. Executives said NDRC “window guidance” on new power quota releases could be favorable by tightening supply, and said VNET obtained approval for a Greater Beijing area data center application by the end of the fourth quarter. On pricing, management described overall rental costs as stable, but said tightening supply-demand dynamics could lead prices to stabilize and then potentially rise.

About VNET Group NASDAQ: VNET

VNET Group, Inc NASDAQ: VNET is a leading carrier-neutral internet data center (IDC) services provider in China. Established in 1999 and headquartered in Beijing, the company delivers a full spectrum of infrastructure solutions that support the growing digital economy. Its core offerings include data center colocation, managed hosting, network connectivity, and disaster recovery services designed to meet the performance and reliability requirements of enterprise and internet content customers.

The company's product portfolio spans private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud deployments, enabling clients to scale computing resources on demand.

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