Autohome Inc. Q4 FY2025 earnings call

• Focused on transforming from an automotive information platform into an automotive service ecosystem, strengthening high-quality content construction, enhancing creator ecosystem and new media distribution capabilities, and accelerating development of fully integrated online to offline services. - Used AI as a core engine to drive product innovation and optimize operations, launched Cangjie Big Model and Tianshu Smart Service Platform, and fully AI upgraded Zhijia's products. - Organized over 5,000 offline automotive exhibitions and group purchase events nationwide in 2025, launched Car Shopping City and Auto Home Mall in the second half of last year. - Achieved progress in content ecosystem, with Autohome Wanxiang platform attracting over 2,500 car manufacturers and new media experts by the end of 2025, and MCN system covering over 500 high-quality creators with new media reaching over 100 million users. - NEV-related revenues including new retail business maintained steady growth, increasing by 30.2% year-over-year in 2025, and completed series of product AI upgrades, achieving full AI-assisted coverage across new cars and used cars user scenarios. - Deepened standardization of service system construction, with AI vehicle inspector successfully applied on multiple third-party platforms and Vehicle Certification Alliance established partnering with nine full-scale testing institutions, completing over 500,000 standardized tests.

Media service income is 3.34 billion yuan, leads generation service income is 6.68 billion yuan, and online marketing and other income is 4.6 billion yuan. Net revenues for the fourth quarter were 1.46 billion yuan, with media services revenues 334 million, leads generation services revenues 68 million, and online marketplace and others revenues 400 million. For the full year 2025, total revenues were 6.45 billion yuan, with media services revenues 1.15 billion, leads generation services revenues 2.71 billion, and online marketplace and others revenues 2.59 billion, representing an increase of 8.8% year over year. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome was 1.61 billion with an adjusted net margin of 24.9%. Cash, cash equivalent, short-term investments, and long-term financial products totaled 21.36 billion yuan as of December 31, 2025, and cash flow from business activities in 2025 amounted to 0.89 billion yuan.

• On March 5, 2026, the board of directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which up to US$200 million of Autohome's ADS may be repurchased over the next 18 months. - Firmly remain committed to distributing no less than 1.5 billion in total in cash dividends for the full year. - Believe the total vehicle sales in 2026 are expected to increase slightly or modestly with overall industry profitability still under pressure, and competition in the auto market will shift from price war to value war. - After Haier became a major shareholder, overall strategic direction not materially changed, still focused on user first, transforming from information platform to transaction platform, and will rely on Haier's advantages in channel supply chain and service network to optimize online and offline integration model. - Will continue to explore NEV transaction business model, target to increase its scale gradually, and will work with dealer clients to find solutions to help their operations.

• Potential risks and uncertainties include those outlined in public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, such as factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. - The auto industry overall profitability remains under pressure, with profit margin in 2025 only 4.1% down from 4.3% of the previous year. - Dealerships suffered severe losses, with over 70% of dealers nationwide in China in loss-making, and total number of dealers declined by approximately 5% at the end of last year due to tough environment.

Q: Can management provide more color about your thoughts about the auto industry outlook? And about capital return, how should we think about the dividends?

A: Believes total vehicle sales in 2026 expected to increase slightly or modestly with overall industry profitability still under pressure, policy side purchase tax incentives for NEVs gradually phased out and new subsidy policy shifted, competition will shift from price to value; firmly remain committed to distributing no less than 1.5 billion in total in cash dividends for the full year and board authorized new share repurchase program.

Q: After Haier became a major shareholder of our company, is there any update to the company's business plan? And how about the space for collaboration? And what are the expansion plans for offline stores?

A: No material change in overall strategic direction, still focused on user first, transforming from information platform to transaction platform, will rely on Haier's advantages to optimize online and offline integration model; will continue to expand primary franchise model, focusing on covering more cities from tier 3 to tier 5 low tier cities to help OEMs strengthen channel networks.

Q: About the NEV business in 2026, what benefits to partners and key indicators to assess progress? About AI agents' impact on automotive media and company's strategies and progress in AI applications? And about dealer side revenue decline?

A: NEV transaction business provides complete end-to-end solution from car searching to transaction conversion, metrics include number of brands cooperating and transaction volume; AI agents change interaction model, company builds auto home AI agent to enhance 2C user experience and establish AI-based intelligent service network, made progress in developing Cangjie large model and AI intelligent assistant; dealer side revenue decline due to tough environment, will work with dealer clients to find solutions through digital products and O2O businesses to help their operations.