TENCENT(00700) 华兴证券·2025-01-20 14:23Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for Tencent Holdings (700 HK) with a target price of HK$520.00, implying a 37% upside from the current price of HK$380.00 [1][2] Core Views - Tencent is well-positioned for sustained strong performance in 2025, driven by robust growth in its gaming and advertising segments [7] - The company's gaming revenue is expected to grow by 16% YoY in 4Q24 and 8% YoY in 2025, supported by evergreen titles and new releases like Dungeon & Fighter Mobile [8] - Advertising revenue is projected to grow 15% YoY in 4Q24 and 2025, with video ads and WeChat Channels gaining market share [9] - Fintech and business services revenue is forecasted to grow 5% YoY in 2025, driven by economic recovery and new tools like WeChat Mini Shops [9] Financial Performance - Tencent's adjusted operating profit margin is expected to expand to 34.7% in 4Q24 and 37.9% in 2025, supported by a shift towards higher-margin businesses [10] - The company's adjusted net profit margin is projected to rise to 30.3% in 4Q24 and 34.1% in 2025 [10] - Revenue is forecasted to grow 9% YoY in 4Q24 and 8% YoY in 2025, with net income reaching RMB 240.9 billion in 2025 [20][21] Gaming Segment - Domestic gaming revenue is expected to grow 16% YoY in 4Q24, driven by strong performance of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile and deferred revenue of over RMB 100 billion [8] - International gaming revenue is projected to grow 17% YoY in 4Q24, supported by the release of Path of Exile 2 and contributions from Supercell's Brawl Stars [8] - Tencent's gaming pipeline includes titles like Honor of Kings World and Valorant Mobile, set for release in 2025 [17] Advertising Segment - Social advertising revenue is expected to grow 16% YoY in 4Q24, while media advertising revenue is forecasted to grow 4% YoY [9] - WeChat Channels and video ads are gaining market share, contributing to the segment's outperformance [9] Valuation - The SOTP valuation for Tencent is HK$5.4 trillion, with the gaming segment valued at HK$1.6 trillion (18x 2025E P/E) and the advertising segment at HK$1.2 trillion (18x 2025E P/E) [23][24] - The target price of HK$520.00 is based on a 19x 2025E P/E multiple [10][23] Peer Comparison - Tencent's 2025E P/E of 14.0x is lower than global gaming peers like EA (17.0x) and Take-Two (21.3x) [25] - The company's 2025E P/S of 4.7x is higher than cloud service peers like Alibaba (1.4x) and Baidu (1.5x) [25]