--- title: "GoerTek: Past Vietnam hiring trap; margins recovering, growth still stalled?" type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40142811.md" description: "GoerTek released its Q1 2026 results and FY2025 annual report (fiscal year ended Mar 2026) after the A-share close on Apr 23, 2026 Beijing time. Key takeaways include: 1) Overall results.$歌尔股份 (002241.SZ) reported total revenue of RMB 18.7bn in Q1 2026, up 14% YoY. Revenue returned to growth, driven mainly by intelligent components and related businesses, but was still well below the market’s RMB 21.7bn expectation.GPM was 13.8%, up 140bps YoY. Margins have swung sharply over the past two quarters..." datetime: "2026-04-23T14:39:14.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40142811.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/40142811.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/40142811.md) author: "[Dolphin Research](https://longbridge.com/en/news/dolphin.md)" --- # GoerTek: Past Vietnam hiring trap; margins recovering, growth still stalled? GoerTek released its Q1 2026 results and FY2025 report (through Mar 2026) after the A-share close on Apr 23 Beijing time. Key takeaways are below: **1) Overall results**: $Goertek(002241.SZ) **Q1 revenue was RMB 18.7bn, up 14% YoY.** The top line returned to growth on strength in smart components, **but still missed the street at RMB 21.7bn**. **GPM was 13.8%, up 140bps YoY**. Margin swings over the past two quarters were driven mainly by volatility in smart acoustic assemblies. **The notable recovery in overall margins signals share recovery on key orders**. **2) Smart devices**: **H2 2025 revenue was RMB 33.4bn, down 10% YoY**. Legacy lines (PS series, older Quest models) saw shipment declines, weighing on revenue. New lines (AI glasses, next-gen MR) **have yet to produce a 'hit' product**. **3) Traditional hardware and components** **① Smart acoustic assemblies H2 2025 revenue RMB 14.6bn, +8.5% YoY**, mainly on the product cycle. The 2025 new AirPods boosted demand but did not scale meaningfully. As for margins in smart acoustic assemblies, GPM has largely recovered to ~10%, and share has visibly rebounded. **On the H2 2025 GPM 'flash crash' to ~0.4%, Dolphin Research believes it was mainly driven by US–China tariff dynamics, which prompted capacity relocation to Vietnam.** Meanwhile, many peers built plants and hired aggressively in Vietnam, and GoerTek’s higher wage offers to secure labor inflated costs, compressing margins in the near term. **② Precision components H2 2025 revenue RMB 10.4bn, +18.7% YoY**. This is the most resilient segment. Despite softer downstream electronics demand as state subsidies tightened, the market still sought upgrades in high-end components, sustaining growth. **4) Opex and operations**: Core operating expenses totaled RMB 1.9bn this quarter, with a **core expense ratio of 10%, roughly flat YoY**. Inventory stood at RMB 13.56bn, up RMB 0.48bn QoQ. **Inventory-to-revenue was 0.73, indicating a higher inventory level**. **Dolphin Research view: Margins revived, but the growth engine is still shifting gears** **GoerTek’s quarterly print was average.** Revenue and margins improved YoY, but sales were clearly below expectations. **The positive is the margin rebound, suggesting last H2’s margin dip was a short-term shock**. **As Q1 disclosures are limited, we read them alongside the annual report**: **a) Smart acoustic assemblies:** Some recovery, but still soft, mainly because the new AirPods launched by the key customer (Apple) in Sep did not become a breakout hit. **b) Smart devices: posted a double-digit decline, reflecting a transition between old and new products.** Within smart devices, the largest revenue contributors are game consoles and VR/MR, where the company is a major supplier for PS5 and Oculus. **However, PS5 is late-cycle, and Oculus 3S has also been weak**. **On the other hand, AI glasses are still early-cycle with no standout product yet, weighing on smart device momentum**. **c) Precision components: maintaining double-digit growth, the most stable segment**. Even with muted downstream electronics, **precision components should benefit from value-per-unit upgrades and higher penetration of in-house parts**. **The biggest 'bomb' in the annual report was the sharp drop in smart acoustic assembly margins to 0.4%**. **For the H2 2025 margin 'flash crash', the main reasons were: ① US–China tariff effects triggered a rush to expand and hire in Vietnam, creating a temporary labor shortage and forcing higher wages;** ② **smart acoustic assemblies are highly concentrated in Vietnam and are labor-intensive assembly; ③ AirPods shipments peak in H2**. **Dolphin Research sees this as a short-term labor mismatch**. **Q1 margins also confirm it is not a structural issue**. With GoerTek’s current mkt cap at RMB 86.2bn, this implies ~21x 2026E PE (assumptions: revenue +1%, GPM 14%, tax rate 9%). Versus its historical 20x–40x range, current valuation sits near the low end, mainly because growth visibility is lacking. **Overall, the margin rebound this quarter signals share gains at key accounts and fading labor cost pressure. Even so, growth remains elusive**. **PS5’s late-cycle phase and Oculus weakness will keep pressure on results, while AI glasses still lack a blockbuster, leaving smart devices in a transition.** Adding a weaker USD as a headwind (nearly 90% of revenue is overseas), earnings and multiples may stay under pressure. Below are GoerTek’s financials and related charts: Dolphin Research historical coverage on GoerTek: Oct 24, 2025 earnings take: [GoerTek: Steady build for peak season, Meta lukewarm — when will VR/AR bring the boom?](https://longportapp.cn/en/topics/35597406) Aug 21, 2025 earnings take: [GoerTek: Margin recovery on track — could new Meta launches help again?](https://longportapp.cn/en/topics/33210973) Apr 21, 2025 earnings take: [VR stalls and tariffs bite — where does GoerTek go from here?](https://longportapp.cn/en/topics/29040782) Risk disclosure and disclaimer: [Dolphin Research disclaimer and general disclosure](https://support.longbridge.global/topics/misc/dolphin-disclaimer) ### Related Stocks - [002241.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/002241.CN.md) ## Comments (3) - **大通摩史丹利 · 2026-04-23T15:02:09.000Z**: Not optimistic about this company. It achieves short-term cost reduction by exploiting labor in Greater China, which is unsustainable in the long run. - **Dont be serious** (2026-04-23T22:31:50.000Z): Which Chinese company isn't like this? They're all just trash that knows how to exploit human resources. - **Dolphin Research** (2026-04-24T01:51:18.000Z): Labor issues do have a temporary impact, but the core pressure is still the product gap and growth discontinuity.