Core Viewpoint - The report from China Merchants Securities International indicates a downward revision of revenue forecasts for NetEase Cloud Music (09899) for the fiscal years 2025 and 2026 by 4% to 5% due to weakening expectations in the social entertainment business, while core operating profit forecasts are raised by 25% and 23% respectively [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - NetEase Cloud Music's online music service revenue reached 2.97 billion RMB in the first half of the year, representing a year-on-year growth of 16%, which aligns with expectations and accounts for 78% of total revenue [1] - Gross margin improved by 1.4 percentage points to 36.4%, exceeding the market expectation of 34.1% [1] - Core operating profit increased by 35% to 905 million RMB, surpassing market expectations by 40% [1] - The company ended the period with a net cash reserve of 12.4 billion RMB [1] Group 2: Future Outlook - China Merchants Securities International anticipates that the online music business will achieve a year-on-year growth rate of 17% in the second half of 2025, contributing to overall revenue growth for the group [1] - The projected core operating profits for NetEase Cloud Music are 1.7 billion RMB and 2.1 billion RMB for the fiscal years 2025 and 2026, reflecting year-on-year growth rates of 33% and 21% respectively [1] Group 3: Valuation and Rating - The target price for NetEase Cloud Music has been significantly raised from 208 HKD to 330 HKD based on the sum-of-the-parts valuation method (SOTP) [1] - The music business is assigned a 30x price-to-earnings ratio for the next 12 months, while the social entertainment business is assigned a 10x price-to-earnings ratio, leading to expected price-to-earnings ratios of 21x and 26x for the fiscal years 2025 and 2026 respectively [1] - The overall rating for NetEase Cloud Music is upgraded to "Buy" [1]