Roborock(SH:688169) 凤凰网财经·2025-07-29 15:32Core Viewpoint - Stone Technology is facing significant challenges as it attempts to rebound from declining stock prices and net profits amid a backdrop of intense competition and trust issues following the founder's cash-out incident. The company's upcoming IPO in Hong Kong is seen as a critical opportunity to recover, but it is burdened by a "growth without profit" dilemma and rising operational costs [2][4]. Group 1: Financial Performance - The company's revenue has shown a growth trend, with projected revenues of 66.11 billion RMB, 86.39 billion RMB, and 119.18 billion RMB from 2022 to 2024, respectively. The first quarter of 2025 saw a remarkable 86% year-on-year increase, reaching 34.28 billion RMB [2][4]. - Despite revenue growth, net profit has declined, with figures of 11.83 billion RMB, 20.51 billion RMB, and 19.77 billion RMB from 2022 to 2024, indicating a 3.6% drop in 2024. The first quarter of 2025 experienced a significant 32.92% year-on-year decline in net profit, amounting to only 2.67 billion RMB [4][6]. - The company's gross margin has also been under pressure, decreasing from 54.1% in 2023 to 50.4% in 2024. The gross margin for the core product, robotic vacuum cleaners, fell from 54.9% to 52.1% during the same period [4][5]. Group 2: Cost Structure - Sales expenses have surged dramatically, with figures of 12.28 billion RMB, 17.13 billion RMB, and 29.67 billion RMB from 2022 to 2024, marking a 73.23% increase in 2024 alone. Advertising and marketing expenses rose from 10.84 billion RMB in 2023 to 19.24 billion RMB in 2024, a 77.5% increase [6][7]. - The first quarter of 2025 continued this trend, with sales expenses reaching 9.51 billion RMB, a staggering 149% increase compared to the same quarter in 2024 [6][7]. Group 3: Market Dynamics - Stone Technology's overseas revenue has surpassed half of its total income, increasing from 42.29 billion RMB in 2023 to 63.88 billion RMB in 2024, contributing 53.6% to total revenue [10][11]. - The company faces external challenges, including rising tariffs in key markets like the U.S. and intense competition from rivals such as iRobot and Ecovacs, which has pressured profit margins [12][13]. - Internally, the transition from a distributor model to a direct sales model in Europe has led to increased costs, impacting profitability [13]. Group 4: Trust and Leadership Issues - The founder's cash-out of approximately 8.88 billion RMB has raised concerns among investors, particularly as it coincided with a significant drop in company performance. His shareholding decreased from 23.15% to 21.09% following the cash-out [19][20]. - The founder's public statements urging investors to be patient amid declining performance have sparked backlash, leading to a loss of trust among shareholders [22][24].