uCloudlink Group (NASDAQ:UCL) executives highlighted 2025 profitability gains, expanding usage metrics across newer product lines, and a wide 2026 revenue outlook during the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call. Management also discussed macro and geopolitical pressures that weighed on hardware-related product sales, while emphasizing continued investment in growth initiatives spanning IoT connectivity, eSIM solutions, consumer devices, and an AI-powered pet ecosystem.
Management frames 2025 as resilient amid macro headwinds
Chief Executive Officer Chaohui Chen said the company navigated “significant macroeconomic headwinds through 2025,” including tariffs, while continuing to invest across what he described as three new business lines. Chen said net income for the year rose 38.2% year-over-year to $6.3 million, and net cash inflow from operations reached $3.2 million.
Beyond financial results, Chen described uCloudlink’s strategy in terms of bridging multiple “digital divides,” including international roaming barriers, device-to-network connectivity through its CloudSIM and HyperConn technologies, and what he called an “emotional digital divide” through an AI-driven pet ecosystem.
Product and platform updates: GlocalMe Life, IoT, SIM, and PetPogo
Chen detailed business momentum across several lines:
- GlocalMe Life: Chen said average daily active terminals in the first quarter surged 897.9% year-over-year, while average daily active users (excluding pet phones) increased 409.1% year-over-year. He cited continued competitiveness of the UniCord Plus and UniCord Pro series, highlighting multi-network connectivity, “SafeTap,” global positioning, and faster charging.
- PetPhone and PetPogo ecosystem: Chen said PetPhone orders continued to “scale and accelerate” after an initial launch in the prior quarter. At CES in Las Vegas and MWC in Barcelona, the company introduced its PetPogo ecosystem and a new PetCam device intended to complement PetPhone, enabling owners to “see, hear, and interact” with pets in real time. Management said market response generated significant attention and that purchase orders were growing alongside consumer feedback, which it expects to support broader commercialization in 2026.
- MeowGo G50 Max: Also introduced at CES, Chen described the MeowGo G50 Max as an AI-powered connectivity hub combining “sky-to-ground 5G satellite and Wi-Fi integration,” including two-way messaging and an emerging satellite SOS function. He said it uses the company’s AI HyperConn technology to switch between terrestrial 5G and Wi-Fi networks.
- GlocalMe IoT: Chen said adoption and revenue contribution increased strongly year-over-year, with first-quarter average daily active terminals up 434.8% year-over-year. He said the company is seeing traction in sectors such as in-car infotainment and security cameras and plans to expand to additional verticals.
- GlocalMe SIM: Chen said the eSIM Trio solution gained traction following pilot programs, with cumulative SIM card sales surpassing “several hundred thousand units.” He said average daily active terminals for the business increased 180.8% year-over-year in the quarter. He also said a carrier co-issuance program began pilot deployment and is expanding, positioning it as a “low CapEx solution” for operators to enhance roaming capabilities.
Operational metrics: usage growth led by newer engines
Chief Financial Officer Yimeng Shi reviewed key operating metrics including daily active terminals (DATs) and monthly active terminals (MATs), as well as daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU).
Shi said average MATs in the first quarter were 704,393, up 11.1% from 634,245 in the first quarter of 2024, driven by growth in the company’s newer lines. He said average MATs for GlocalMe IoT, GlocalMe SIM, and GlocalMe Life increased 127.5%, 133.8%, and 616.9%, respectively, from the same period last year. Shi added that average MATs from GlocalMe NearGo (previously referred to as Mobile Fixed Broadband) decreased 0.5% year-over-year, reflecting a “relatively stable user base.”
For the fourth quarter, Shi said average DAU rose 10.4% year-over-year to 353,278, and average MAU increased 9.2% to 738,777. He also cited early usage for a newly launched Platform offering, noting first-quarter average DAT and MAT of 257 and 571, respectively, and average DAU and MAU of 745 and 977.
Shi said that as of December 31, 2025, uCloudlink had 206 patents (181 approved and 25 pending) and approved SIM cards from 398 mobile network operators globally.
Financial results: revenue down, margins higher, full-year profit growth
Shi reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $22.1 million, down 14.6% from $26.0 million in the same period of 2024. Service revenue was $15.2 million, up 1.1% from $15.0 million, and represented 68.5% of total revenue in the quarter versus 57.8% a year earlier.
By geography for the fourth quarter, Shi said Japan contributed 43.6% of revenue, Mainland China 26.8%, North America 11.2%, and other regions 18.4%, compared with 33.6%, 20.0%, 12.1%, and 14.3% in the same period of 2024.
Fourth-quarter gross profit was $11.4 million compared with $11.2 million a year earlier, while overall gross margin improved to 51.6% from 43.0%. Service gross margin was 61.6% versus 58.6% in the prior-year quarter. Excluding share-based compensation, operating expenses were $9.4 million compared with $13.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $3.1 million, compared with a net loss of $1.5 million a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA was positive $3.1 million versus negative $2.3 million.
For full-year 2025, Shi reported total revenue of $81.4 million, down from $91.6 million in 2024. Service revenue totaled $60.0 million, up 1.8% year-over-year, including data connectivity service revenue of $47.8 million versus $47.6 million in 2024. International data connectivity service revenue increased to $41.41 million from $39.5 million. Full-year gross margin was 52.4% compared with 48.4% in 2024. Shi reported net income of $6.3 million versus $4.6 million in 2024, and adjusted EBITDA of $17.2 million versus $7.1 million.
2026 outlook and Q&A: growth expected from new lines; product sales pressured by geopolitics
Management provided revenue guidance for 2026, forecasting first-quarter 2026 revenue between $15 million and $17 million, representing a decrease of 9.1% to 14.4% compared with the same period in 2025. For full-year 2026, the company expects revenue between $85 million and $200 million, which it said would represent an increase of 4.4% to 22.9% from 2025.
In response to a question about guidance implying a stronger second half, Chen said growth drivers are expected to be GlocalMe IoT, GlocalMe SIM, GlocalMe Life, and PetPogo, which he described as being separated into its own business line in 2026. He said the legacy mobile broadband Wi-Fi business has remained stable and provides cash flow to support investment in the newer initiatives.
Asked for more detail on IoT, Chen said the company has invested for years and completed trials, leading to partners embedding its CloudSIM solutions into devices such as security cameras, car infotainment, and monitoring applications. He said partners forecast larger deployments as Chinese manufacturers increasingly sell devices outside China, and he expressed confidence in scaling to “millions of connections” over the next several years.
On research and development costs, management said the company improved R&D efficiency through program management and AI tools such as AI coding, while continuing to invest resources into new business lines, including a platform business that was spun off as a separate subsidiary in 2025. Management also referenced pursuing fundraising for the platform business.
Addressing the decline in product sales, Chen pointed to reduced hardware deliveries in the legacy mobile broadband business and said the category was “heavily impacted” by economic and political conditions. He cited factors including earthquake-related concerns and rumors in Japan during a key travel period, tensions related to Sino-U.S. and Sino-Japan relationships, and the impact of war in the Middle East on traveler demand. Chen said domestic business remained stable, and that improved global conditions could help the travel-related portion recover.
About uCloudlink Group (NASDAQ:UCL)
uCloudlink Group Inc is a technology company specializing in global mobile data connectivity solutions. The company’s core offering is a cloud SIM virtualization platform that enables seamless roaming for consumers and enterprise users without the need for physical SIM cards. Leveraging proprietary CloudSIM technology, uCloudlink provides portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices, embedded IoT connectivity modules, and eSIM products designed to deliver high-speed data access in multiple countries.
Through its CloudSIM platform, uCloudlink dynamically switches between multiple mobile network operators to optimize coverage and data speeds while controlling costs.
