Hesai Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

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Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) reported second-quarter 2026 revenue growth and a fifth consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability, while outlining an expanded strategy centered on LiDAR, spatial intelligence and robotic actuation modules.

Total net revenue rose approximately 22% year over year to RMB 861 million, or US$127 million, according to CFO Andrew Fan. Gross margin was 40%, while GAAP net income increased 60% from a year earlier to RMB 71 million, or US$10 million. Non-GAAP net income was RMB 101 million, or US$15 million.

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The company said it has begun reporting results through two segments: its core LiDAR business and strategic growth initiatives, or SGI. CEO David Li described the company’s broader vision as a platform for robotics and physical AI across three layers: helping machines “see” through LiDAR, “understand” through the COSMO spatial-intelligence platform, and “act” through robotic actuation modules.

LiDAR revenue and shipments rise

Core LiDAR revenue totaled RMB 816 million, or US$120 million, and the segment generated operating profit of RMB 66 million, Fan said. Total LiDAR shipments exceeded 628,000 units, up nearly 80% year over year.

• ADAS LiDAR shipments rose about 60% to more than 485,000 units.
• Robotics LiDAR shipments increased about 193% to more than 142,000 units.
• Hesai said it has worked with more than 50 embodied-AI companies globally, including Unitree, Robiant, Galbot, Galaxea and Dexmo.

Li said the company won a design win with Great Wall Motor for mass-production programs using its ETX ultra-long-range LiDAR, with start of production expected in late 2026. He also cited multi-LiDAR programs with Changan Automobile and other OEMs, as well as mass production of Li Auto’s L8 and L9 models, which each use four Hesai LiDAR units.

Internationally, Li said Hesai secured a design win with Volkswagen covering multiple models from the automaker’s China joint-venture brands, following its work with Mercedes-Benz. He also cited an expanded collaboration with GAC Toyota.

According to Li, third-party data provider Gasgoo showed Hesai held 44% of China’s long-range ADAS LiDAR market in June, extending its lead in that category to 17 consecutive months. Fan said the company expects LiDAR penetration on electric vehicles to continue rising and sees growing use of multiple sensors per vehicle for coverage and redundancy.

Strategic growth initiatives begin contributing revenue

SGI generated its first quarterly revenue contribution in the second quarter, producing RMB 45 million, or US$7 million, driven by early demand for robotic actuation modules. The segment posted an operating loss of RMB 64 million as the company invested in development, commercialization and manufacturing capacity for actuation products and COSMO.

Management raised its full-year 2026 SGI revenue outlook to RMB 200 million to RMB 300 million, from previous guidance of RMB 100 million. Fan said the company expects SGI to generate about US$100 million in revenue in 2027 and reach break-even that year.

Li said robotic actuation modules will account for the majority of SGI revenue in 2026, while COSMO is expected to make a smaller, low-eight-digit RMB contribution because its commercialization is beginning later in the year. He said COSMO’s future revenue mix could increasingly include cloud processing, subscriptions and licensing of 3D spatial assets.

COSMO combines an AI spatial camera, algorithms, 3D assets and cloud services to capture and reconstruct physical environments. Li said prototypes shipped in July, and the company received initial orders within seven days, including from humanoid robotics company Galbot. COSMO is expected to begin contributing revenue in the third quarter.

The company said more than 200 prospective partners have approached it since COSMO’s April preview, spanning robotics, film, gaming, tourism, luxury and advertising applications. Li did not disclose customer names or order values for the platform.

Actuation modules ramping

Hesai said it began generating revenue from robotic actuation modules in the second quarter and had cumulatively shipped more than 10,000 modules by quarter-end. Its dedicated production line is operating, with the company ramping toward about 10,000 modules of monthly capacity in the near term. Management expects six-digit module volumes in 2027.

Li said the company is supplying modules to Sharpa, a humanoid robotics company he co-founded. Hesai expects Sharpa to begin a commercial deployment at a Dairy Queen store in Shanghai in August, where a humanoid robot is expected to prepare Blizzard treats autonomously.

The company is seeking shareholder approval to raise the annual cap for product supply transactions with Sharpa to RMB 300 million from RMB 100 million. Li said most of the anticipated transactions this year would involve actuation modules.

Management said full-body actuation modules for applications including shoulder and wrist joints are expected to reach start of production in the second half of 2026. Li said the modules have torque and power density roughly three times that of leading currently available products, are 37% smaller and have transmission efficiency above 95%, with performance validated through 2 million operating cycles.

Third-quarter and full-year outlook

For the third quarter, Fan forecast total revenue of RMB 1.1 billion to RMB 1.15 billion and LiDAR shipments of roughly 800,000 to 850,000 units. SGI is expected to account for a high-eight-digit RMB portion of third-quarter revenue.

Hesai reiterated its full-year 2026 LiDAR shipment forecast of 3 million to 3.5 million units. It shipped about 1.1 million LiDAR units in the first half, Fan said, adding that the company expects a stronger second half due to automotive industry seasonality.

Fan also reaffirmed the company’s expectation for full-year gross margin near 40%. He said robotics LiDAR and international business generally carry higher margins than domestic ADAS products, while management expects long-term SGI margins of about 40%. COSMO, with cloud services as part of its model, is expected to carry structurally higher margins than hardware-only offerings.

About Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI)

Hesai Group is a technology company specializing in the development and production of advanced LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors and perception software platforms for autonomous vehicles, robotics, industrial automation and mapping applications. The company’s core business centers on delivering high-performance, high-reliability LiDAR solutions designed to enable precise three-dimensional sensing and real-time environment perception. Hesai’s product lineup spans mechanical rotating LiDAR units, solid-state and MEMS-based sensors, as well as integrated software stacks for object detection, tracking and data fusion.

Founded in 2014 by a team of laser sensing and robotics researchers, Hesai built its reputation on improving range, resolution and reliability of LiDAR systems while driving down cost and size.

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