Autohome - Earnings Call - Q3 2025

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for Autohome's Third-Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow management prepared remarks. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. A live and archived webcast of this earnings conference call will also be available on Autohome's IR website. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mr. Sterling Song, Autohome's IR Director. Mr. Song, please go ahead.

Sterling Song (IR Director)

Thank you, Operator. Hello everyone, and welcome to Autohome's Third-Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Earlier today, Autohome distributed its earnings release, which can be found on the company's IR website at ir.autohome.com.cn. Joining me on today's call is our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Craig Yan Zeng. Management will go through the prepared remarks, which will be followed by a Q&A session where it is available to answer all your questions. Before we continue, please know that the discussion today will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to those outlined in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Autohome does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law. Please also know that Autohome's earnings press release and this conference call include discussions of certain unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. I will now turn the call over to Autohome's Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Craig Yan Zeng, for opening remarks. Please go ahead, Craig.

Craig Yan Zeng (CFO)

[Foreign language] Thank you, Sterling. Hello everyone, this is Craig Zeng. Thank you for joining our earnings conference call today. [Foreign language] In the third quarter, we continue to advance our AI and O2O strategies. On AI, we significantly strengthened the integration of AI technologies with our products, fostering business innovation while enhancing both user experience and customer operational efficiency. On O2O, we continuously improved our O2O platform by integrating online and offline resources, optimizing the end-to-end user experience, and building a comprehensive closed-loop ecosystem that spans the entire customer journey from initial traffic acquisition through transaction completion to after-sales services. [Foreign language] In terms of AI technology applications, we completed a comprehensive upgrade of our AI assistance by strengthening model capabilities, integrating user inquiries with specific vehicle models, and expanding usage scenarios. We achieved precise matching between user queries and car models.

This has created a decision-making loop of content-driven engagement; engagement leads to action. In addition, we've also introduced two new features: the AI Car Selection Assistant and the AI Vehicle Fault Diagnostics, providing users with more intuitive and efficient tools for their car-related needs.

[Foreign language] In September, we launched the first inaugural Global AI Technology Conference. This established a premium platform for technical exchange among leading enterprises, showcased cutting-edge advances in China's intelligent automotive technologies, and elevated the collective image for Chinese auto brands. The conference's success also served as a testament to Autohome's professional influence as a trusted media platform. The conference received authoritative endorsements from five major automotive associations and was strongly supported by fourteen key corporate partners. Seven top executives from leading companies in the industry delivered impact keynote speeches. Following the conference, over thirty automotive brands engaged with Autohome's official Weibo account, while more than sixty professional editors, technical experts, and PGC creators formed a multi-dimensional communication matrix that drew widespread attention across the industry.

[Foreign language] In building our O2O ecosystem, we soft-launched our Autohome Mall on September 20th, marking a major milestone and significant progress in our one-stop online-to-offline strategy. This initiative further improves our new retail business model through continuous upgrades and makes our model more complete. This strategy extends Autohome's role from being a decision-making hub for car selection and research to the final car purchase and ordering for transactions, creating a full-digitalized closed loop for the entire car purchase experience and significantly increasing the value of our traffic. [Fore Specifically on content, we strengthened our content matrix by increasing professional depth and expanding the breadth of perspective while continuously advancing our diversified content ecosystem. [Foreign language] For our 2025 series of coverage on domestic and international auto shows, we adopted a dual-track approach to achieve comprehensive reach from global influence to local penetration.

At the Munich Auto Show, we took a global perspective, focusing on world premiers and Chinese brands going global. We built a professional and exclusive content matrix. Through intensive bilingual live streaming and video production, then leveraged global mainstream media networks to amplify China's automotive innovation and brand recognition worldwide. At the Chengdu Auto Show, we focused on new car launches and purchase guidance, integrating resources from 18 automakers to create Autohome-exclusive live streaming sessions. This provided users with an immersive auto show experience. On the first day of the auto show, we achieved 100% coverage of all new car launches. [Foreign language] Beyond our professional auto show coverage, we've made significant strides in developing a content-centered interactive ecosystem. The newly established Autohome Media MCN is committed to building a multi-category influencer matrix that centers on automotive vertical while extending into technology, travel, and overseas content.

We've also developed a rich and diverse content ecosystem that combines professional and engaging PGC content, in-depth and authoritative OGC insights, and authentic user-generated experiences that resonate. To date, we have gathered over 200 high-quality creators across multiple platforms, covering professional car reviews, technology, travel, and other areas, continuously enhancing Autohome's platform influence. According to QuestMobile, the average mobile DAUs reached 76.56 million in September 2025, up by 5.1% from the same period last year. [Foreign language] In NEV, we continue to focus on user and client needs while building a comprehensive automotive ecosystem. Online, centered around our newly soft-launched Autohome Mall, introduced in late September, provides transaction services while our offline network of franchise stores, car tech outlets, and used-car dealerships is designated to integrate the entire process from online ordering to offline delivery and service.

Building on the successful trial, we plan to officially launch the Autohome Mall during the 11/11 Shopping Festival. By integrating resources from across the industry value chain, we are committed to providing users with more precise, professional, and efficient car purchase experiences. Furthermore, total revenues from NEVs in the third quarter, including those from the new retail business, have continued to grow, increasing by 58.6% from last year. [Foreign language] On digitalization, our five major digital intelligence product lines are leveraging Autohome's platform capabilities of full-lifecycle data tracking to continuously help clients improve targeting accuracy and service efficiency. Furthermore, at the Global AI Technology Conference, we officially launched the Tianshu Intelligence Service Platform, powered by Autohome's proprietary Cangjie Large Language Model. The platform uses an open toolkit and service distribution capabilities to redefine collaboration among users, the platform, and the ecosystem partners.

This advancement drives Autohome's transformation from an automotive information platform to an industry-wide intelligent hub, further strengthening our core advantages in technology and ecosystems. [Foreign language]

For our used-car business, we continue to advance the standardization of both transactions and services. The AI car inspection expert, developed based on historical transaction data and algorithmic models, has achieved industry-leading accuracy in vehicle valuation. Meanwhile, our flagship certified used-car stores have further expanded its network of partner dealers. In the future, we'll continue to uphold integrity and standardization as our foundation, deepen our collaboration with high-quality used-car dealers, and continuously strive to provide consumers with a more reliable and worry-free used-car buying experience. [Foreign language] In summary, this year we focused on AI and O2O to comprehensively accelerate our business expansion.

Looking ahead, we'll continue driving innovation in both products and business models, building a more efficient automotive ecosystem and service system that creates sustained value for the industry and ensures our long-term stable development. [Foreign language] With that, now, please let me briefly walk you through the key financials for the third quarter 2025. Please note that I will reference RMB only in my discussion today unless otherwise stated. [Foreign language] Net revenues for the third quarter reached RMB 1.78 billion. To break it down further, media services revenues contributed RMB 298 million, leads generation services revenues were RMB 664 million, and the online marketplace and others revenues increased by 32.1% year-over-year to RMB 816 million.

[Foreign language] With respect to costs, cost of revenues in the third quarter was RMB 646 million compared to RMB 408 million in the third quarter of 2024. Gross margin in the third quarter was 63.7% compared to 77% during the same period last year. [Foreign language] Turning to operating expenses, sales and marketing expenses in the third quarter were RMB 620 million compared to RMB 877 million in the third quarter of 2024. Product and development expenses were RMB 279 million compared to RMB 339 million in the third quarter of 2024. General and administrative expenses were RMB 125 million compared to RMB 137 million during the same period last year.

[Foreign language] Overall, we delivered an operating profit of RMB 147 million in the third quarter compared to RMB 83 million for the same period of 2024. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome was RMB 407 million in the third quarter compared to RMB 497 million in the corresponding period of 2024. [Foreign language] Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per share in the third quarter were RMB 0.87 and RMB 0.86 respectively compared to RMB 1.02 for both in the corresponding period of 2024. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS in the third quarter were RMB 3.47 and RMB 3.45 respectively compared to RMB 4.09 and RMB 4.08 respectively in the corresponding period of 2024.

[Foreign language] As of September 30th, 2025 our balance sheet remained robust with cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of RMB 21.89 billion. We generated net operating cash flow of RMB 670 million in the third quarter. [Foreign langauge] On September 4th, 2024, our board of directors authorized a new share repurchase program, under which we are permitted to repurchase up to $200 million of Autohome's ADS for a period not exceeding twelve months thereafter. On August 14th, 2025, the board approved an extension of the term of this program through December 31st, 2025. As of October 31st, 2025, we've repurchased approximately 5.48 million ADS for a total cost of approximately $146 million.

[Foreign language] In addition, in accordance with our dividend policy, our board of directors has approved a cash dividend of $1.20 per ADS or $0.30 per ordinary shares payable in U.S. dollars to holders of ADS and ordinary shares of record as of the close of business on December 31st, 2025. The aggregate amount of the dividend will be approximately CNY 1 billion and expected to be paid to holders of ordinary shares and ADS of the company on or around February 12th, 2026 and February 19th, 2026 respectively. [Foreign language] On September 30th, 2025, the company announced the approval of a cash dividend of approximately CNY 500 million. Overall, the company has fulfilled its commitment to shareholders to distribute no less than CNY 1.5 billion in dividends for the full year of 2025.

Looking ahead, we remain committed to maintaining a long-term stable and proactive approach to shareholder returns, and we sincerely thank our shareholders for their continued strong support to the company. [Foreign langauge] So that concludes our financial summary. We are ready to open up Q&A session. Operator.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask questions on the phone, please press star one, one and wait for your name to be announced. If you'd like to cancel your request, you can press star one, one again. Our first question comes from the line of Thomas Zhang of Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Thomas Zhang (Research Analyst)

[Foreign language] Thanks, Management, for taking my question. I have two questions. The first question is about the outlook for 2026 auto market. How should we think about the industry trend? And my second question is about AI. We mentioned AI in our prepared remarks, so I just want to get some more color about the progress of our AI product offerings. Thank you.

Craig Yan Zeng (CFO)

[Foreign language] Thank you for your question. [Foreign language] First, let me share some, you know, market recent developments and the future trends with you. [Foreign language] First of all, the price war in the auto market has shown some signs of easing, and the automakers are accelerating their intelligent technology efforts. In recent months, you know, multiple government agencies have rolled out intensive policies calling for the industry to end devolution and provided policy guidance to ease the ongoing price war in the auto sector. All these measures have helped to cool down the price war in the auto market, and we have also observed that over 20 automakers have gradually phased out their fixed-price promotions.

[Foreign language] Since the start of this year, major automakers have successfully announced their plans for intelligent driving technologies to accelerate the adoption and application of intelligent driving. So from this, it's quite clear that, future industry competition will depend more on the company's comprehensive capabilities in integrating intelligent technology, user scenarios, and meeting user needs, et cetera, rather than any single technological advantage. So for next year, the price competition is expected to shift more towards a battle of technological cost-effectiveness. [Foreign language] Secondly, the NEV market still remains the core growth driver, even though this year their growth number is comparatively a little bit slower than last year. But according to the data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the NEV penetration rate exceeded 50% in seven out of the first nine months of this year.

This was mainly driven by the extension of favorable policies, et cetera. We believe for next year, the overall market, auto market, is expected to continue to undergo structural adjustments, which will redefine how consumers make their purchasing decisions. [Foreign language] At the same time, the China auto industry continues to remain under high pressure, which has been lasting so long, and this pressure, you know, includes severe overcapacity, declining profit margins, and the intense or fierce market competition, et cetera. We see both traditional automakers or dealers also, you know, undergoing such business pressures. Confronted with both price wars and the shrinking profits and the margins, we see OEMs and dealers alike, so they have raised their expectations for both online consumer acquisition and offline sales conversion efficiencies. [Foreign language] Looking ahead to next year, we believe the following few points merit our attention.

[Foreign language] We believe there are short-term challenges, but it coexists with long-term opportunities because the auto market still faces significant short-term pressures, mainly stemming from the shift of the NEV purchase tax exemption policy from full exemption to half exemption and the expiration of tax incentives for the ICEs. Combined with the price war in traditional ICEs, all such factors may further impact the auto market. [Foreign language] Despite the above short-term pressures we just mentioned, there are still upgrades in intelligent technologies, improvements to and recovery in the market order, and if there's further support by introduction of additional long-term policies, we believe it will still stimulate consumer demand in the auto market, and the market is expected to achieve modest and steady growth in 2026. [Foreign language] For us, for Autohome, we will continue to deepen our AI and auto strategies, as I just mentioned.

On one hand, we will keep advancing the product innovation and upgrades, accelerating the application of AI technology across contents, intelligent customer services, and scenario-based services, et cetera. On the other side, we will continuously explore ways to leverage our online and offline resources to achieve integration, build a closed loop for auto transactions, and better serve our users and clients. [Foreign language] The second question is our AI product program. So in the field of intelligent technologies, you know, we have already completed a strategic layout of multiple products, built a technology product mix. Spans the entire lifecycle of auto consumption, and continuously we drive improvements in both user experience and customer business efficiency [Foreign langauge] For our users, you know, our AI smart assistant and the used car AI smart buyer are continuously being upgraded.

The new generation of the smart assistant has moved beyond simple question-and-answer models to proactive understanding and links provision. It can automatically identify the car models and theories mentioned in the conversation and directly push product links. It shortened the use of search process and improved decision-making efficiency. [Foreign language] For our clients, you know, we have deployed five major AI product lines covering core business scenarios such as the marketing insights, online customer acquisition, store visit invitation, dealer store operations, and used cars, et cetera. Through the intelligent tools, we can continuously empower our business team members to realize the full-chain digital operations. [Foreign language] For our technology foundation, you know, we have our own proprietary Cangjie Large Language Model.

For example, our used-car AI smart buyer is powered by this Cangjie engine, and it is, besides, it is combined with Autohome's unique data assets, so it can deliver highly accurate and efficient recommendations, achieving a high degree of matching between the vehicle sources and the user needs. [Foreign language] Currently, Autohome is comprehensively and vigorously promoting the AI-driven upgrade of the products, achieving a comprehensive transformation from the underlying architecture to application scenarios. In the future, we will continue to deepen the integrated application of AI across multiple scenarios, using the technological innovation to drive an efficiency revolution in the auto sector, in the industry. [Foreign language] Operator.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. One moment for the next question. The next question comes from the line of Xiaodan Zhang from CICC. Please go ahead.

Xiaodan Zhang (Equity Research)

[Foreign language] So, thanks, Management for taking my questions. So, can Management share your outlook on the traditional business for the upcoming quarters? And also, is there any update on the shareholder return plans? Thank you.

Craig Yan Zeng (CFO)

[Foreign language] Thank you for your question. In the third quarter, we do see that the OEM promotional discount still remains at high level, and the price war has been there for so long, and the overall discount for OEMs has already exceeded 23%. So for the car sales volume and the profits, I still remain, you know, concentrated among the leading companies. So the price cutting for volume strategy has made a lot of OEMs control their marketing budgets.

[Foreign language] For the media services revenue, you know, in Q3 still declined year-over-year, but the decline has narrowed down significantly, and the continued decline is mainly due to the continued pressure from the OEMs price wars in the market. As Q4 is approached to the year-end, we believe OEMs are expected to maintain high professional discounts to boost their sales revenues, and this still puts pressure on our media services revenues. We do expect we will achieve a slight year-over-year decline. [Foreign language] For our lead generation business, because of the market inventory backlog and the inverted pricing, dealers continue to face operational pressure, and we see that over 50% of dealers operating at a loss in the first half of the year, and it doesn't look very optimistic for their survival for many dealers.

Accordingly, our lead generation services also face some ongoing pressure in the second half of the year. [Foreign language] Nevertheless, our customer penetration rate still remains at a good level. As the market, once the market and customer operating conditions improve, our traditional business can be, you know, hit the bottom, rebound, and stabilize, as I just mentioned, our media segment, business segment, already, you know, narrowed down their decrease. On the other hand, our innovative business developed quite strong, quite well. So to some extent, our, you know, it offsets the situation of our traditional businesses. [Foreign langauge] On the shareholder return, you know, on dividends today, we just announced a cash dividend of CNY 1 billion for the second half of this year, and combined with the CNY 500 million we announced in September, you know, we have fulfilled our commitment to a total.

Annual cash dividend of no less than RMB 1.5 billion for the whole year 2025. You know, our board of directors will, you know, continue this stable dividend policy. [Foreign language] On the share repurchase program, you know, of the $200 million share repurchase program, you know, until today we have completed over 70%, and the overall execution of this program is progressing quite well. In the next few months, we will continue to carry out the remaining share repurchase program. [Foreign language] For a long time, you know, we have been committed to building a comprehensive shareholder return plan centered on the continuous dividends and the share repurchases, providing shareholders with predictable and stable shareholder returns. Over the long term, we are very confident in our business operations in the future, so we will continue to uphold our long-term stable and proactive approach to shareholder return. We sincerely thank all our shareholders for their long-standing strong support to the company. Operator.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. Thank you for the questions. One moment for the next question. The next question comes from the line of Ritchie Sun from HSBC. Please go ahead.

Ritchie Sun (Director of Internet Research)

[Foreign language] Thank you, management, for taking my questions. So I have two. First of all, the gross profit margin, it has been dropping year-on-year in Q1 and Q2 in the third quarter. So why is that, and what is the trend going forward? Secondly, I want to ask about the energy space stores and satellite stores. So what is the development progress and the 2026 target? Thank you.

Craig Yan Zeng (CFO)

[Foreign language]Thank you for your question. Since the beginning of 2025 this year, so in order to accelerate the development of our new. Innovative businesses, we have been actively expanding in.

We have been actively developed our business, and so it increased our upfront investment, and consequently it resulted in higher costs. [Foreign language] Specifically, you know, our innovative business such as the new retail business has scaled up in the third quarter as compared to the same period last year. For example, we soft-launched the Autohome Mall business in September, and although this model is quite early in its early stage, but we observed where we get quite positive market feedbacks, and we believe such staged investments are quite necessary for our future development. For our, you know, to explore new avenues of growth and create much greater room for future development. [Foreign language]The gross margin of our transaction business, it cannot be, of course, it cannot be compared for our, you know, traditional business.

For example, the media business and the lead generation business is much lower than our traditional business. [Foreign language] So going forward, we will adhere to our consistent practice of the strict cost controls, and we will uphold the prudent principles in managing the scale of our investment. We will pay attention to our gross margin change. We will focus on that. [Foreign language] The second question is about Autohome space station and the satellite stores development. The development of our offline network. Always centered on using our digital technology to streamline the car purchasing process and improve the transaction efficiency. Our advantage is in our ability to cover areas in low-tier markets where OEMs or dealers, they do not reach, so we can help them to expand their sales network. [Foreign language] This business model is also being continuously upgraded and iterated.

As I just mentioned, you know, we are integrating the online and offline resources, bringing our online technology and the traffic advantages to offline. We try to transform from an auto content-oriented platform to a transaction service platform. [Foreign language] After we complete the controlling shareholder, you know, we will continue to work on combining our online and offline efforts to provide platform services that are more convenient and efficient, and we try to find new ways to grow beyond our traditional business models. [Foreign langauge] Operator.

Operator (participant)

Thank you for the question. One moment for the next question. Our final question comes from Brian Gong from Citi. Please go ahead.

Brian Gong (Internet & Media Research)

[Foreign language] I will translate myself. The used car market seems still a little bit weak recently. How does management view the outlook for used car market ahead? Thank you.

Craig Yan Zeng (CFO)

[Foreign language] Thank you for your question. Since the beginning of this year, the used car market has generally shown a trend of rising transaction volume and falling prices. According to China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), for the first half, the transaction volume for used-cars rose 2% yea-over-year, while the average transaction price decreased by 12% year-over-year. At the same time, we see there are two notable structural trends emerged in the market. First is the increased cross-regional flow. Second is the rapidly increasing NEV used cars sales. [Foreign language] While the transaction volumes are expanding, the operational pressures in the industry continue to intensify due to the impact of price wars in the auto market. We see the proportion of loss-making used car companies has expanded to over 70%.

With lengthening average inventory cycles, continued high customer acquisition costs, and intensified homogeneous competition, etc. Despite this, positive factors still remain. For example, the trade-in policies have stimulated replacement demand and brought more high-quality used cars into the market, with the new energy used-car becoming a key growth engine. The CADA forecast for the full year, the used-car transaction volume could exceed 20.5 million units and increase of 4%-5% year-over-year. [Foreign language] Currently, the used-car sector has entered a crucial stage of deep adjustment and value chain reconstruction. The negative impact from the price cutting for volume model is gradually becoming apparent. However, China's large vehicle ownership base and resilient consumer demand provide strong support for the middle to long-term development of the used-car industry.

Autohome will continue to collaborate with industry partners to actively address challenges through refined operations and service upgrades, exploring new business models and locking new value to advance the used car industry towards high-quality development. Operator.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. Yeah, no further questions at this time. I'll turn the conference back to Management for closing remarks.

Sterling Song (IR Director)

[Foreign language] Thank you very much for joining us today. We appreciate your support and look forward to updating you on our next quarter's conference call in a few months' time. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or comments. Thank you, everyone.