Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company [7][16]. Core Insights - The company experienced a 28.7% year-over-year decline in total revenue for Q4, amounting to 22.2 billion RMB, primarily due to a high base in 2024. The adjusted net profit was 520 million RMB, which was 12% below expectations due to one-time personnel optimization costs of approximately 700 million RMB [1][5]. - The report anticipates a significant improvement in Q1, with total revenue expected to decline by 21% year-over-year, but with signs of recovery in the real estate market, particularly in Shanghai [1][2]. - The company is expected to enhance its market share in the brokerage business by 1-2.5 percentage points in 2026, supported by ongoing store layout optimization and improved employee efficiency [1][2]. Summary by Sections Q4 Performance - Total revenue for Q4 was 22.2 billion RMB, down 28.7% year-over-year, aligning with Bloomberg consensus expectations. Revenue from existing homes, new homes, home decoration, and rental services decreased by 39%, 44%, 12%, and increased by 18% respectively. The gross margin fell by 1.6 percentage points to 21.4% due to a lower proportion of high-margin brokerage income [1][11]. Existing Home Business - The existing home GTV decreased by 35% in Q4, which was 0.7% worse than expected. Revenue from this segment fell by 39%, primarily due to a decline in monetization rates and an increase in non-chain GTV. However, signs of marginal improvement are expected in Q1 2026, with a potential stabilization in prices [2][12]. Home Decoration Business - Revenue from the home decoration segment decreased by 12% in Q4, but losses narrowed to approximately 500 million RMB compared to 2 billion RMB in 2024. The report expects improvements in this segment as the existing home market recovers [3][12]. Rental Business - The rental revenue grew by 18% in Q4, with profits improving to around 400 million RMB. The number of managed rental units exceeded 700,000, a 62% year-over-year increase. The report suggests that the rental business can partially offset the weakness in the overall real estate market [4][12]. Profit Forecast and Valuation - The revenue forecast for 2026 and 2027 has been reduced by 11.7% and 10.2% respectively, primarily due to changes in rental revenue recognition. The adjusted net profit estimates for 2026 and 2027 have been slightly lowered to 6.29 billion RMB and 7.21 billion RMB respectively. The report introduces a forecast for 2028, projecting revenues of 85.82 billion RMB and adjusted net profits of 7.66 billion RMB [5][12][14]. - Target prices are set at 21.24 USD for the US stock and 55.17 HKD for the Hong Kong stock, reflecting a 27.3 times PE ratio for 2026, which is above the global comparable companies' average of 22.3 times [5][16].
贝壳-W（02423）：4Q利润暂时承压，1Q环比或显著改善