HTSC·2025-05-22 05:55Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company with a target price of HKD 99.50 and USD 102.20 [7][28]. Core Insights - The company's total revenue for Q1 2025 reached RMB 32.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.0%, driven by strong growth in AI cloud revenue [1]. - The core revenue of the company increased by 7.0% year-on-year to RMB 25.5 billion, primarily due to better-than-expected AI cloud revenue [2]. - The management indicated that 35% of search results now include AI-generated content, reflecting a proactive approach to AI transformation [3]. Financial Performance - Non-GAAP net profit for Q1 2025 was RMB 6.5 billion, with a non-GAAP net profit margin of 19.9%, which is a decline of 2.3 percentage points year-on-year due to pressure on the higher-margin advertising business [1][2]. - AI cloud revenue grew by 42% year-on-year to RMB 6.7 billion, contributing to 26.1% of the company's core revenue, an increase of 6.5 percentage points year-on-year [1][2]. - The company adjusted its non-GAAP net profit forecasts for 2025, 2026, and 2027 to RMB 25.2 billion, RMB 28.5 billion, and RMB 30.9 billion, respectively, reflecting a downward revision primarily due to the advertising business [4][24]. Business Segments - The advertising revenue decreased by 6.1% year-on-year to RMB 16 billion, attributed to moderate demand from advertisers and the impact of AI search transformation [2]. - The company is actively exploring new search forms in the AI era, prioritizing multimodal content to meet changing user preferences [3]. - The autonomous driving business has expanded internationally, with significant growth in order volume, reaching 1.4 million orders in Q1 2025, a 75% increase year-on-year [3]. Valuation - The report provides a sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation, with a target price of USD 102.20 and HKD 99.50, reflecting a decrease from previous estimates due to adjustments in the advertising business outlook [4][28]. - The core advertising business is valued at USD 47.5 per ADS based on a 5.0x 2025 PE, while the AI cloud business is valued at USD 46.2 per ADS based on a 4.0x 2025 PS [28][29].