VNET reported a strong first-quarter 2026 result with net revenue growth of 19.8% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 30.6%. The first quarter was ahead of management's unchanged 2026 guidance of net revenue growth of 15.6%-18.6% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 19.2%-25.9%.
VNET’s rapid expansion leaves it well positioned to capitalize on the huge demand for data centers brought on by cloud usage and Artificial Intelligence.
Bears
VNET's data centers are not significantly differentiated from those that others, including its large customers, could supply.
VNET started as AsiaCloud in 1999 and moved into the data center business, opening its first self-developed data center in 2010. The firm listed (as 21Vianet) on the Nasdaq in April 2011, subsequently changing its name to VNET Group in 2021. It originally focused on providing data center services such as colocation and cloud services to retail clients in China, but added hyperscale customers in 2019 and now counts large Chinese hyperscalers such as Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Huawei Cloud as customers. At the end of December 2025, it had 49,863 retail cabinets, with the majority in Beijing, Shanghai, and the Greater Bay area. It also had 889 MW of wholesale capacity in service, with a further 452 MW under construction and a further 840 MW held for future development.