Deep Adjustment in the Black Electronics Industry: The Rise and Fall of the "Big Three" by 2025

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Recently, Hisense Visual, TCL Electronics, and Skyworth Group—three major players in the black home appliance (TV) sector—have successively released their 2025 performance reports. Against the industry downturn in which global TV shipment volume edged down 0.1% and domestic color TV sales fell to 27.63 million units, a historic low, the three companies have traced markedly different performance curves. Their response strategies, growth drivers, and future plans have become an important set of reference samples for observing the transformation of the black home appliance industry.

Results vary widely; overseas markets have become the core growth engine

Looking at key financial figures, the three companies show a clear divergence. TCL Electronics is undoubtedly the “top student” of 2025: revenue first surpassed the HKD 100 billion mark, reaching HKD 8B, up 15.4% year over year; adjusted attributable net profit was HKD 2.51B, soaring 56.5% year over year. Profitability continued to improve: the overall gross margin rose from 15.4% in 2024 to 16.5%, and the gross margin for the large-size display business reached 16.8%. In 2025, TCL TV remained second globally in TV shipment volume, with Mini LED TV shipments up 118% year over year, a market share of 31.1%—staying firmly in first place globally—and quantum dot TV shipments up 29.6% year over year.

Hisense Visual achieved profit growth against a backdrop of slightly lower revenue. Full-year operating revenue totaled RMB 57.68B, down 1.45% year over year; attributable net profit was RMB 2.45B, up 9.24% year over year. The quality of earnings improved significantly, with gross margin up 1.05 percentage points year over year to 16.70%. In the fourth quarter, single-quarter gross margin was as high as 19.70%, showing strong cost control and product-structure optimization capabilities. In 2025, Hisense TVs increased their share of global TV shipments to 14.56%; the revenue share of 75-inch and above TVs and Mini LED TVs rose to 39% and 23%, respectively.

In 2025, Skyworth Group’s operating revenue grew 8.2% year over year to RMB 70.32B, setting a record high. However, attributable net profit dropped 37.3% year over year to RMB 356 million, and overall gross margin fell from 13.5% in 2024 to 12.8%. The decline in profit was mainly driven by three factors: a narrowing gross margin space in the modern services sector, rising raw material costs such as steel, and the increase in the share of its new energy business—whose relative gross margin is lower—diluting overall profitability.

Omdia data shows that in 2025, global TV market shipment volume reached 208 million units, down 0.1% year over year. Meanwhile, data from All View Cloud Network (AVC) indicates that in 2025, China’s color TV sales fell to a historic low of 27.63 million units. Faced with ongoing contraction in the domestic market, all three companies turned their attention to overseas markets and upgrading product structure, each carving out its own distinct path of breakthrough.

Overseas markets have become a key force driving corporate growth. In 2025, Hisense Visual’s overseas revenue reached RMB 29.23 billion, up 4.57% year over year, accounting for more than 50% of total revenue, becoming the main engine of performance growth. Its global shipment share increased to 14.56%; it continued to deepen its presence in mature markets such as North America and Europe, while accelerating expansion into emerging markets.

TCL Electronics’ global expansion results are even more evident. In overseas large-size display business revenue was HKD 47.5B, up 15.7% year over year, and gross margin rose sharply—up 29.4% year over year. The move toward larger screens in overseas markets accelerated: shipments of TVs 65 inches and above grew 50% year over year, with its share rising to 24.2%; overseas Mini LED TV shipments surged 228%. At present, TCL TV ranks in the top three for retail unit market share in more than 20 countries globally, with the North American market’s share growth rate ranked first.

Skyworth Group also made breakthroughs in overseas markets. In its smart home appliance segment, overseas smart TV business revenue rose significantly by 21.8%, becoming an important driver of growth for that segment.

Exploration and practice of diversified deployment

In terms of product structure, all three companies accelerated their transition to high-end offerings, using technological innovation to enhance product added value. TCL Electronics’ strengths in Mini LED and quantum dot technologies stand out: Mini LED TV shipments grew 118% year over year to a market share of 31.1%, firmly maintaining the No. 1 position globally; quantum dot TV shipments grew 29.6% year over year. In the domestic market, the share of TV shipments of 65 inches and above increased to 57.6%; the average size expanded to 64.3 inches. The optimized product structure improved domestic market gross margin by 1.9 percentage points year over year to 21.7%.

Hisense Visual closely follows the trend toward larger screens. Its market share in the domestic market for TVs 75 inches and above has continued to rise. Relying on technological advantages such as ULED and laser display, it has consolidated its position in the high-end market. Its sharply improved gross margin in the fourth quarter directly reflects the increased share of high-end products.

Besides the traditional black TV business, all three companies are actively opening up a “second growth curve” and looking for new performance growth points. Hisense Visual, building on its display technology strengths, is actively expanding into smart display and system solution businesses, continuing to push forward in areas such as commercial displays and laser displays. At the same time, it has laid out upstream and downstream industries including cloud services and chips, building an end-to-end industrial ecosystem. In 2025, revenue from its new display and new business increased from RMB 6.8 billion in the previous year to RMB 8.5 billion, covering laser display, Micro LED display, smart glasses, display chips, LED chips, and other businesses.

The TCL Group has built a diversified industrial layout. Its subsidiary TCL Huaxing has continued to break through in display panel technology. In the large-size TV panel market, its share remains among the leading in the world. For automotive display, the shipped display area grew 61% year over year, and market share increased to 11%. It is also starting construction of the world’s first next-generation high-generation printed OLED production line, laying the groundwork for next-generation display technologies. TCL Electronics’ internet business revenue grew 18.3% year over year to HKD 3.11B, with a gross margin as high as 56.4%, becoming a new highlight of profitability. Its smart commercial display business focuses on four major scenarios such as office and retail, with revenue up 28.4% year over year.

Skyworth Group has bet on the new energy sector. New energy business revenue grew 16.5% year over year to RMB 23.69B, accounting for 33.68% of total revenue, becoming the fastest-growing segment. It has cumulatively built and connected to grid photovoltaic power stations with installed capacity exceeding 29.3 gigawatts, showing a deep layout in the new energy field. In addition, its intelligent system technology business has been deployed in areas such as set-top boxes and automotive electronics, building momentum for future growth.

Outlook for 2026: Deployment and challenges in the new cycle

Looking ahead to 2026, the global TV market is expected to grow by 1%, surpassing 210 million units, but the domestic market will still face pressure from weak demand. All three companies have formulated targeted deployment strategies.

TCL Electronics will continue to deepen its globalization and high-end strategy, increase R&D and promotion efforts for technologies such as Mini LED and quantum dots, accelerate channel penetration in overseas markets, and expand its internet business and smart commercial display business to build a diversified profitability system.

Hisense Visual says it will further strengthen its overseas market deployment, increase its global market share, and at the same time increase R&D investment in high-end technologies such as laser display and ULED X, to promote ongoing upgrades to product structure and explore new applications in smart home scenarios. In 2026, it will roll out RGB-Mini LED TVs. It will focus on markets such as the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as Europe and Australia, emphasizing large-screen models of 65 inches and above. It will expand into new tracks for smart wearables and AI hardware, with its display chip business expanding from TV to monitors and laptop fields. In the face of trade risks brought by geopolitical factors, it will accelerate the construction of regional operations centers.

Skyworth Group says it will consolidate growth in its new energy business, while optimizing the structure of its smart home appliance business, increasing the proportion of high-end products, and at the same time strengthening cost control and supply chain management to improve profitability.

However, the three companies also face shared challenges: uncertainty in the global trading environment, fluctuations in raw material prices, and pressure on R&D investment for emerging technologies. How to maintain a leading position amid faster technology iteration, and how to achieve effective integration of resources in diversified deployments, will be key to determining each company’s future development.

Overall, 2025 has been a year of deep adjustment in the black home appliance industry. Amid difficult circumstances, the three major players have demonstrated different approaches and results in intelligent transformation and transition. As the industry gradually enters a new development cycle, technological innovation, globalized deployment, and diversified businesses will become the core drivers for companies to break out of the market, and the black home appliance industry will also find new opportunities for development during its transformation.

Reporting & writing: Nandu · Bay Finance and Society reporter Kong Xueshao