Autohome (NYSE:ATHM – Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $196.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.93 million. Autohome had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 4.44%. Autohome’s quarterly revenue was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share.
Here are the key takeaways from Autohome’s conference call:
- Profitability declined year over year: Q3 operating profit fell to CNY 96 million from CNY 147 million, while adjusted net income dropped to CNY 253 million from CNY 407 million. Gross margin improved to 67.2% from 63.7%, and operating expenses were lower.
- Management expects the auto market to remain under pressure in the near term, forecasting a 20%–25% year-over-year decline in Q4 retail sales. For next year, it cited an industry forecast of 0%–5% growth, with demand increasingly driven by NEVs and replacement purchases.
- Autohome reported steady user growth, with September mobile DAUs up 3.4% year over year to 79.14 million, and said it ranked first in automotive-source citations across six major AI platforms for three consecutive months. It launched its AI service agent and is expanding online-to-offline offerings, although AI has not yet generated revenue at scale.
- The company is expanding transaction services: its online car-purchasing model covered 38 cities and more than 1,700 dealers, while its Good Car franchise network exceeded 170 stores. Used-car sales pilots expanded to six cities, and cross-border transactions have increased monthly since the first export in July, though export volumes remain small.
- Autohome reported CNY 17.65 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, and continued shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends. It had repurchased about $155 million of a newly authorized $400 million program by October 30 and approved an approximately CNY 1 billion cash dividend.
Autohome Price Performance
NYSE ATHM traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.82. 961,441 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 673,871. Autohome has a 52-week low of $15.57 and a 52-week high of $26.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.36.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have weighed in on ATHM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Autohome from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Bank of America cut Autohome from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.50 price target on shares of Autohome in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Autohome from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.95.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Autohome
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Quan Long sold 34,400 shares of Autohome stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $181,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 175,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $930,955.36. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 5,588 shares of Autohome stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $29,560.52. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 56,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,366.20. The trade was a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,304 shares of company stock worth $260,818. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Trending Headlines about Autohome
Here are the key news stories impacting Autohome this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings came in at $0.36 per share, ahead of the $0.29 consensus estimate. Revenue of $196.1 million also topped estimates of about $189.9 million, though it was down 26% from a year earlier. Earnings report
- Positive Sentiment: Autohome announced an ordinary cash dividend of $0.395 per share. An investor commentary also pointed to the earnings beat and shareholder distributions as reasons for a bullish view. Dividend announcement Bullish investor commentary
- Negative Sentiment: Despite beating forecasts, revenue declined to RMB1.315 billion from RMB1.778 billion a year earlier, and reported earnings were also lower year over year. The sustained contraction in revenue is a key headwind for the stock. Q3 financial results
Autohome Company Profile
Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates an online automotive platform serving consumers, automobile manufacturers, dealers and other industry participants primarily in China. Through its websites and mobile applications, the company provides information and digital tools to help users research vehicles, compare models, read reviews, explore pricing and connect with sellers.
The company’s services include automotive news and editorial content, vehicle specifications, user-generated discussions, professional evaluations, sales-lead generation and online marketing solutions.
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