How to Invest in Huawei Pre-IPO

By Frank Bass – Updated Jul 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM | Fact-checked by Robin Hartill, CFP

Key Points

Huawei, under scrutiny for security risks, is banned in several countries including the U.S. and U.K.
The company is not publicly traded and does not currently plan an IPO, limiting direct investment options.
Investors can alternatively consider bonds or shares in competing firms like Ericsson or Nokia for telecom exposure.

Huawei is the largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment in the world. The company has been in the news lately -- and not for great reasons. Amid fears that its products could be used by China's military and intelligence communities, sales by Huawei have been totally or partially blocked in the United States, European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

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Find out more about Huawei here -- if you can invest in it, when it might be publicly traded, if it's profitable, and other ways to gain exposure to the company.

What is Huawei?

Huawei is a major global conglomerate that manufactures telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics. It became the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in the world in 2012 and (briefly) the biggest manufacturer of smartphones in 2020. It's also a major player in the buildout of next-generation high-speed 5G networks.

The company has enjoyed steady growth since its 1987 founding by a former deputy director of the People’s Liberation Army engineering corps, boosted by an estimated $46 billion in support by the Chinese government. It became a leading provider of telecommunications networks in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in the late 1990s, and its foreign sales topped domestic orders in 2005.

Although the Chinese-based company would appear attractive to investors who believe its reach and products will continue to grow, it's become problematic for a major reason. A law passed in 2017 requires it to provide intelligence to the Chinese government. As a result, it's been banned from doing business in several countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

The U.S. has also prevented sales of the advanced chips necessary for 5G networks to the company, and several countries have chosen competitors such as Ericsson (ERIC +1.33%) or Nokia (NOK -0.65%) to build their 5G networks because of concerns over the potential for spying. Its smartphone business was launched in 2009 and passed Samsung (SSNL.F +56.02%) as the world's top seller barely a decade later, but sanctions forced Huawei to sell off its smartphone business in November 2020.

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Bottom line on Huawei

Weak consumer consumption and slowing property investment have caused problems for the Chinese economy, and a trade war with the United States isn't helping. Increasingly, China is viewed as a competitor rather than a customer. The economic woes of the world's second-most-populous country combined with suspicion over Huawei's motives make the company an extremely risky bet if and when the company goes public.

FAQ

About the Author

Frank Bass is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst and editor covering energy, healthcare, consumer, and financial sectors. Frank has decades of experience in financial journalism, holding reporting and editing roles at The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Bloomberg. He also currently edits research on the global energy transition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas Tech University and is a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Fun Facts: Frank has hiked The Long Trail in Vermont from end to end, and currently lives in a semi-dry cabin in Interior Alaska.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Frank Bass has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Cisco Systems, Nvidia, Tencent, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.