Embattled Huawei Knocks $30 Billion off Revenue Forecast

Turns out Huawei is anything but “self-sufficient.” Barely a month after asserting their own defiant autonomy, Huawei announced a projected revenue decrease of $30 billion.

Back in May, the Huawei-owned HiSilicon – China’s largest domestic IC designer – struck an insolent tone, describing the global blacklist as a “crazy decision” that brought this “extreme and dark moment”. HiSilicon insisted they’d long-prepared for this “extreme scenario” and could ensure a steady supply.

HiSilicon President He Tingbo claimed they’d been “secretly developing back-up products for years” in the event Huawei was barred from purchasing U.S. chips and technology. The ban went into effect (along with 10 indictments and the arrest of Huawei’s CFO), and the Shenzhen telecom giant is suddenly in hot water.

In May, He said it was time for “all the spare tires in the safe” to become useful. HiSilicon supposedly produced $7.5 billion worth of chips in 2018, compared to $21 billion from outside vendors, so they’d easily maintain self-sufficiency for a least a little while.

But all actions have consequences, including and especially the most obvious ones.

Huawei Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei recently bemoaned that “We cannot get components supply, cannot participate in many international organizations, cannot work closely with many universities, cannot use anything with U.S. components, and cannot even establish connection with networks that use such components.”

Right or not, the global blacklist is taking its toll.