Mei Ri Jing Ji Xin Wen·2025-08-09 02:28Core Viewpoint - Agricultural Bank of China has surpassed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to become the largest stock by market capitalization in A-shares, marking a significant shift in the market landscape [2][4]. Group 1: Market Capitalization Change - On August 6, 2025, Agricultural Bank's market capitalization reached 21,421.29 billion yuan, while Industrial and Commercial Bank's was 21,002.79 billion yuan [2]. - This change represents the first time Agricultural Bank's market value has exceeded that of Industrial and Commercial Bank [2]. Group 2: Historical Performance - In early 2022, Agricultural Bank's market value was 9,385.78 billion yuan compared to Industrial and Commercial Bank's 12,483.05 billion yuan, indicating a significant gap at that time [2]. - From 2022 to 2025, Agricultural Bank's stock price increased by 229.24%, while Industrial and Commercial Bank's stock price rose by 127.84% [2][3]. Group 3: Valuation and Performance Metrics - In early 2022, Agricultural Bank had a lower price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 4.27 compared to 4.74 for Industrial and Commercial Bank, and a lower price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.5 versus 0.57 [3]. - By early 2023, Agricultural Bank's valuation remained lower, but by the end of 2023, both banks had similar valuations, with current P/E ratios of 8.28 for Agricultural Bank and 7.66 for Industrial and Commercial Bank [3]. - Agricultural Bank's net profit growth rates from 2022 to 2024 were 7.48%, 3.91%, and 4.72%, respectively, while Industrial and Commercial Bank's were 3.67%, 0.79%, and 0.51% [3]. Group 4: PE-g Strategy - The shift in market capitalization is attributed to the classic value investment strategy known as PE-g, which seeks lower valuations combined with higher earnings growth [4]. - The strategy has been validated by numerous quantitative research reports indicating that stocks with lower valuations and higher growth rates tend to outperform the market over the long term [4][6].