STO(SZ:002468) HTSC·2025-10-28 05:08Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is maintained as "Buy" with a target price of RMB 21.02 [1][5]. Core Views - The report highlights that the company's revenue and net profit have shown significant year-on-year growth, with Q3 2025 revenue reaching RMB 13.546 billion, up 13.62% year-on-year, and net profit of RMB 302 million, up 40.32% year-on-year [1][2]. - The "anti-involution" trend in the industry is expected to continue, leading to a recovery in pricing and benefiting the company, which is anticipated to enhance its service capabilities and market share [1][4]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In Q3 2025, the company achieved a gross margin of 6.18%, improving both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, which positively impacted net profit per ticket, reaching RMB 0.046 [3]. - The company’s total revenue for the first three quarters of 2025 was RMB 38.570 billion, with a net profit of RMB 756 million, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 15.17% and 15.81%, respectively [1][2]. Industry Context - The overall express delivery business volume in China reached 49.43 billion pieces in Q3 2025, growing 13.3% year-on-year, while the average price per piece decreased by 4.4% [2]. - The company’s express delivery volume was 6.52 billion pieces in Q3 2025, up 10.7% year-on-year, with a business revenue of RMB 13.04 billion, up 10.3% year-on-year [2]. Future Outlook - The report anticipates that the pricing recovery will continue into Q4 2025, supported by the e-commerce peak season and ongoing regulatory measures against "involution" [4]. - The company is also in the process of acquiring Zhejiang Dan Niao Logistics Technology Co., which is expected to enhance its quality express delivery services and expand into regional distribution and instant retail markets [4]. Profit Forecast and Valuation - The profit forecasts for 2025-2027 have been raised to RMB 1.323 billion, RMB 1.687 billion, and RMB 2.015 billion, respectively, with corresponding EPS estimates of RMB 0.86, RMB 1.10, and RMB 1.32 [5]. - The company is assigned a PE ratio of 19.1x for 2026, reflecting a premium due to its superior cost control capabilities and expected benefits from pricing improvements [5].