全球電信市場追蹤（2025 年第四季）：資本支出減少將有助於提高收益，使利潤率達到近 10 年來的最高水準。

本報告追蹤了全球144家電信網路營運商從2011年第一季到2025年第四季的業績，並對其財務和營運狀況進行了詳細分析。報告重點關注最近一個季度（2025年第四季），涵蓋了收入、人事費用、資本支出、營運支出和盈利等數據。

主要發現：

• 2025年第四季全球通訊業者營收年增5.4%至4813億美元，延續了前三個季度的穩定成長動能。以年化計算，2025年第四季營收年增3.5%至1.85兆美元。在前20大通訊業者中，年化營收成長率最高的分別是阿拉伯聯合大公國電信（Etisalat，23.1%）、Airtel（18.8%）、軟銀（SoftBank，9.8%）、德國電信（Deutsche Telekom，7.4%）和KDDI（4.9%）。另一方面，表現最差的是西班牙電信（Telefonica，下降8.2%）和Charter（下降0.6%），而成熟市場的營運商，例如英國電信（BT，成長0.2%）和中國電信（0.0%），則基本上保持穩定。
• 2025年第四季資本支出依然低迷，年增僅0.2%至866億美元，通訊業者優先考慮資本紀律、人工智慧驅動的效率提升以及從以往的5G投資中獲利。以年計算，資本支出下降0.9%至2,957億美元，連續第二年跌破3,000億美元大關。依公司分類，資本支出年化增幅最大的公司依序為：瑞士電信（40.7%）、阿拉伯聯合大公國電信（40.5%）、Airtel（24.4%）、軟銀（10.5%）和德國電信（10.3%）。另一方面，資本投資降幅最大的公司是中國電信（下降 13.6%）、西班牙電信（下降 12.3%）、中國聯通（下降 11.5%）、Reliance Jio（下降 10.8%）和中國移動（下降 8.1%）。
• 隨著通訊業者持續推動自動化、外包、國家層級資產剝離以及人工智慧主導的業務轉型舉措，2025年第四季全球通訊業業從業人員數量年減1.9%，至434萬人。同時，薪資上漲、對數位人才的競爭以及幾個關鍵市場工會主導的薪資成長，推高了每位員工的平均年度人事費用，使其達到60,200美元。更多詳情，請參閱單獨的《電信人才追蹤報告》。
• 2025年第四季，儘管資本支出成長放緩且成本上漲，但盈利依然強勁。年化息稅前利潤率為15.7%，略低於2025年第三季16.2%的峰值，但仍接近十多年來的最高水準。通訊業者持續採用人工智慧主導的自動化、雲端原生架構、自主網路營運和軟體定義基礎設施管理，以提高效率並降低長期營運複雜性。
• 從區域來看，美洲地區在2025年第四季鞏固了其主導地位，佔全球電信收入的36.5%和資本支出的36.3%，這主要得益於T-Mobile US、AT&T和Verizon的強勁表現。亞洲的收入佔有率放緩至35.6%，資本支出佔有率下降至32.4%。值得注意的是，儘管中國通訊業者積極增加對人工智慧和資料中心的投資，但在5G初期投資階段之後，無線設備和硬體支出的減少抵消了這些成長，導致整體資本支出持續萎縮。

目錄

• 報告要點
• 概括
• 前景
• 市場概覽
• 分析
• 截至2025年第四季的關鍵統計數據
• 勞動與人力資源統計
• 通訊業者排名
• 公司詳細分析
• 企業標竿分析
• 國別分析
• 公司特定分析和國家特定分析
• 區域分析
• 基本數據
• 用戶數量和通訊流量分析
• 外匯
• 調查方法和範圍
• 關於這份報告

This report delivers a detailed financial and operational snapshot of 144 telecommunications network operators (telcos) worldwide, tracking performance from 1Q11 through 4Q25. It captures revenue, labor, capex, opex, and profitability data with a focus on the most recent quarter (4Q25).

Key findings:

• Global telco revenues climbed 5.4% year-over-year (YoY) in 4Q25 to reach $481.3 billion (B), continuing a stable growth trend witnessed over the past three quarters. On an annualized 4Q25 basis, revenues increased 3.5% YoY to $1.85 trillion (T). Focusing on the 20 largest telcos, the strongest annualized revenue growth by company came from Etisalat (23.1%), Airtel (18.8%), SoftBank (9.8%), Deutsche Telekom (7.4%), and KDDI (4.9%). The weakest performance came from Telefonica (-8.2%) and Charter (-0.6%), while mature operators such as BT (0.2%) and China Telecom (0.0%) remained broadly flat. Consolidation activity including Swisscom-Vodafone Italia and Vodafone-Three UK also materially influenced reported growth trends.
• Capex remained subdued in 4Q25, rising just 0.2% YoY to $86.6B as operators prioritized capital discipline, AI-enabled efficiency, and monetization of prior 5G investments. On an annualized basis, capex declined 0.9% to $295.7B, remaining below the $300B threshold for a second consecutive year. The strongest annualized capex growth rates were recorded by Swisscom (40.7%), Etisalat (40.5%), Airtel (24.4%), SoftBank (10.5%), and Deutsche Telekom (10.3%). The steepest capex declines came from China Telecom (-13.6%), Telefonica (-12.3%), China Unicom (-11.5%), Reliance Jio (-10.8%), and China Mobile (-8.1%).
• Global telco workforce declined 1.9% YoY to 4.34 million employees in 4Q25 as operators continued automation, outsourcing, country-level exits, and AI-driven operational transformation initiatives. Despite lower headcount, annualized labor cost per employee rose to $60.2K amid wage inflation, digital talent competition, and union-driven salary increases across several major markets. More details are available in our separately published “Telco Talent Tracker.”
• Profitability remained resilient in 4Q25 despite subdued capex growth and ongoing cost inflation. Annualized EBIT margins stood at 15.7%, easing modestly from the 3Q25 peak of 16.2% but remaining near the highest levels seen in more than a decade. Operators continue embedding AI-driven automation, cloud-native architectures, autonomous network operations, and software-defined infrastructure management to improve efficiency and reduce long-term operating complexity.
• Regionally, the Americas strengthened its lead in 4Q25, accounting for 36.5% of global telecom revenues and 36.3% of capex, supported by resilient performance from T-Mobile US, AT&T, and Verizon. Asia’s revenue share moderated to 35.6% and capex share fell to 32.4%. This is notable given that Chinese telcos have been ramping AI and data center spending, while overall capex continues to decline as cuts to radio/hardware spending post-5G more than offset these gains.

Table of Contents

• 1. Report highlights
• 2. Summary
• 3. Outlook
• 4. Market snapshot
• 5. Analysis
• 6. Key stats through 4Q25
• 7. Labor stats
• 8. Operator rankings
• 9. Company drilldown
• 10. Company benchmarking
• 11. Country breakouts
• 12. Country breakouts by company
• 13. Regional breakouts
• 14. Raw data
• 15. Subs & traffic
• 16. Exchange rates
• 17. Methodology & scope
• 18. About

Figure & Charts

• 1. TNO market size & growth by: Revenues, Capex, Employees – 1Q19-4Q25
• 2. Regional trends by: Revenues, Capex – 1Q19-4Q25
• 3. Opex & Cost trends
• 4. Labor cost trends: 1Q20-4Q25
• 5. Profitability margin trends: 1Q20-4Q25
• 6. Spending (opex, labor costs, capex): annualized and quarterly trend
• 7. Workforce & productivity trends: 1Q14-4Q25
• 8. Operator rankings by revenue and capex: latest single-quarter and annualized periods
• 9. Top 20 TNOs by capital intensity: latest single-quarter and annualized periods
• 10. Top 20 TNOs by employee base: latest single-quarter
• 11. Company Drilldown: YoY growth in single quarter revenues
• 12. Company Drilldown: Revenue and revenue split, single quarter and annualized 1Q16-4Q25
• 13. Company Drilldown: Capex and capital intensity (annualized), 1Q16-4Q25
• 14. Company Drilldown: Revenue split by country, 4Q25
• 15. Company Drilldown: Costs and Profitability, 1Q16-4Q25 ($ Mn)
• 16. Company Drilldown: Labor costs, per employee and % opex trends, 1Q16-4Q25
• 17. Company Drilldown, Cash & debt levels (2011-25)
• 18. Company Drilldown: Software as % of total capex
• 19. Company Drilldown: Software & spectrum spend
• 20. Company Drilldown: Total M&A, spectrum and capex (excl. spectrum)
• 21. Country Breakouts: Revenue and Capex, Market Share, and Capital Intensity