大华继显研报：维持水滴公司(WDH.US)“买入”评级 给予2.91美元目标价

Core Insights - Waterdrop Inc. (WDH.US) reported a significant net profit growth of over 60% year-on-year for Q3 2025, driven by strong premium growth and efficiency improvements from AI applications [1][2] - The company achieved a cumulative net profit of 406.8 million yuan for the first nine months of 2025, exceeding management's growth guidance, prompting analysts to raise full-year profit forecasts [1] - Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a "Buy" rating for Waterdrop, setting a target price of $2.91 [1] Financial Performance - In Q3 2025, Waterdrop's net operating revenue reached 975 million yuan, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 158 million yuan, marking the fifteenth consecutive quarter of profitability [1] - Operating expenses, including sales, management, and R&D, accounted for 39.6% of revenue, a decrease of 8.3 percentage points year-on-year [1] - Insurance-related revenue was 870 million yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 44.8%, with first-year scale premiums increasing by 32.3% quarter-on-quarter [1] AI Integration and Strategy - The company's focus on AI has led to significant cost reductions and efficiency improvements across its operations, with AI models enhancing underwriting, customer service, quality inspection, product innovation, and sales [2] - AI-driven medical insurance has seen a remarkable 82% quarter-on-quarter growth in scale premiums, while the AI customer service tool "Bao Xiaohui" handled over 600,000 service requests in a month [2] - The AI underwriting expert "KEYI.AI" has streamlined the underwriting process, reducing response times from minutes to near-instantaneous [2] Stock Buyback - Since announcing a stock repurchase plan in September 2021, Waterdrop has repurchased approximately 58.1 million ADS from the open market as of November 30, 2025 [1]