Autohome Inc Class A (2518) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: HK$22.01B
• Dividend Yield: 9.97%
• Average Volume (3M): 27.40K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 13.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.93
• Revenue Growth: -5.74%
• EPS Growth: -14.46%
• Country: HK
• Employees: 4,345
• Sector: Communication Services
• Sector Strength: 97
• Industry: Internet Content & Information
• EPS (TTM): 0.97
• Shares Outstanding: 509,387,600
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 27,320
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 27,403
• PEG Ratio: -0.16
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.95
• Price to Sales (P/S): 3.23
• P/FCF Ratio: 18.45
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: HK$54.09
• Price Target Upside: 21.22% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 8
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 60 Neutral
• Price Target: HK$47.00 ▲(5.33% Upside)

The overall stock score of 60 reflects a mix of strengths and challenges. The company's solid financial health and attractive valuation are significant positives. However, technical indicators suggest bearish momentum, which could pose short-term risks. The absence of recent earnings call insights limits the assessment of current strategic direction.

Positive Factors

Strong balance sheet

Low leverage and a high equity base give Autohome durable financial flexibility. This supports multi-quarter investment in product development, marketing, or M&A, and provides resilience through cyclic advertising downturns, preserving strategic optionality and capital allocation capacity.

Focused platform business model

A specialized auto content and lead-generation platform creates structural advantages: concentrated audience, recurring advertising and dealer subscriptions, and data monetization. These dynamics support steady demand from OEMs and dealers and long-term customer stickiness if product relevance is maintained.

Healthy gross profit margin

Sustained gross margin indicates structural unit economics that can support operating leverage. Strong core margin gives room to invest in product, content, and tech while absorbing some advertising price variation, enabling consistent cash generation at the gross-profit level over multiple quarters.

Negative Factors

Negative revenue trend

A multi-year decline in reported revenue growth signals challenges scaling monetization or retention. Over 2–6 months this trend pressures the company’s ability to expand market share and fund organic initiatives, requiring strategic fixes to restore durable top-line momentum.

Eroding operating margins

Falling EBIT/EBITDA margins suggest rising operating costs or weaker pricing power versus advertisers and dealers. Persisting margin erosion reduces incremental profitability from growth, limits reinvestment capacity, and makes long-term cash returns more dependent on margin recovery.

Declining free cash flow trend

Although FCF remains positive, a downward trend shrinks the company’s financial buffer. Over the medium term this constrains capital for product investment, marketing to regain growth, or larger strategic initiatives and increases sensitivity to cyclicality in auto advertising spend.

Autohome Inc Class A Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Autohome Inc. operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People's Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps. It provides media services, including automaker advertising services and regional marketing campaigns; and leads generation services comprising dealer subscription services, advertising services for individual dealers, and used automobile listing and other platform-based services. The company also offers Autohome Mall, an online transaction platform for users to review automotive-related information, purchase coupons offered by automakers for discounts, and make purchases to complete the transaction; data products; and online bidding platform for used automobiles, as well as collects commissions for facilitating transactions of auto-financing and insurance products on its platform. The company was formerly known as Sequel Limited and changed its name to Autohome Inc. in October 2011. Autohome Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

How the Company Makes Money

Autohome generates revenue through several key streams. Primarily, the company earns income from online advertising, where automotive manufacturers and dealerships pay to promote their brands and vehicles on the platform. Additionally, Autohome offers subscription-based services to dealerships, which provide enhanced visibility and marketing tools. The company also earns revenue through leads generated from users seeking to purchase vehicles, as it connects buyers with local dealerships. Significant partnerships with various automotive manufacturers enhance its advertising revenue, while the growing trend of digitalization in car sales continues to boost its income potential.

Autohome Inc Class A Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Autohome Inc. demonstrates solid financial health with strong profitability and a robust balance sheet marked by low leverage and high equity. However, recent years have seen challenges in revenue growth and operating margins, which need addressing to sustain long-term growth. Cash flow management appears adequate but requires close monitoring due to recent fluctuations.

Income Statement

The company's gross profit margin remains healthy, indicating effective cost management. However, there's been a decline in both EBIT and EBITDA margins over recent years, reflecting potential challenges in operating efficiency. Revenue growth has been inconsistent, with a notable drop from 2020 to 2023, which could be a concern for future growth.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is strong with a low debt-to-equity ratio, suggesting financial stability. The company maintains a high equity ratio, indicating a solid equity base. However, the declining trend in net income affects return on equity, which could be improved.

Cash Flow

The free cash flow has been positive but showed a declining trend in the most recent years, potentially impacting future investment capabilities. Despite fluctuations, the operating cash flow has generally supported net income well, yet the lack of data for 2024 makes recent assessments challenging.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	6.76B	7.04B	7.18B	6.94B	7.24B	8.66B
Gross Profit	4.87B	5.56B	5.77B	5.71B	6.19B	7.70B
EBITDA	1.30B	1.25B	1.38B	1.55B	2.09B	3.32B
Net Income	1.60B	1.79B	2.03B	1.94B	2.56B	3.28B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	28.77B	30.22B	30.84B	29.72B	28.53B	23.73B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	21.89B	23.32B	23.55B	22.08B	20.73B	14.63B
Total Debt	32.09M	96.71M	196.14M	110.39M	124.78M	202.71M
Total Liabilities	3.45B	5.02B	5.66B	4.63B	4.59B	4.92B
Stockholders Equity	24.07B	23.95B	23.93B	23.89B	22.62B	17.63B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	0.00	1.23B	2.37B	2.45B	3.30B	3.06B
Operating Cash Flow	0.00	1.37B	2.45B	2.57B	3.52B	3.33B
Investing Cash Flow	0.00	-3.05B	1.00B	-3.11B	-3.81B	-2.99B
Financing Cash Flow	0.00	-1.70B	-1.12B	-1.14B	2.90B	-546.97M

Autohome Inc Class A Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 44.62
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For HK:2518, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 44.62 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 44.15, above the 50-day MA of 43.67, and below the 200-day MA of 47.63, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.13 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 52.78 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 64.16 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for HK:2518.

Autohome Inc Class A Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
1024	77 Outperform	HK$349.90B	18.28	25.67%	―	11.37%	16.74%
1698	73 Outperform	HK$184.53B	17.21	14.50%	1.01%	13.62%	80.52%
9888	63 Neutral	HK$420.23B	50.45	3.29%	―	-2.92%	-57.12%
Sector *	60 Neutral	$48.67B	4.58	-11.27%	4.14%	2.83%	-41.78%
2518	60 Neutral	HK$22.01B	13.37	6.05%	9.97%	-5.74%	-14.46%
9898	60 Neutral	HK$20.54B	6.24	12.49%	8.13%	-1.40%	22.37%
2390	53 Neutral	HK$2.42B	22.37	2.39%	―	-23.80%	―

Autohome Inc Class A Corporate Events

Invesco Updates Ownership in Autohome Inc.

Autohome Inc. announced that its shareholder, Invesco Ltd., has filed an Amendment No. 1 to Schedule 13G with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating changes in its beneficial ownership of the company’s securities. This regulatory announcement reflects ongoing shareholder activities and could impact the company’s market perception and investor relations.

The most recent analyst rating on (HK:2518) stock is a Hold with a HK$55.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Autohome Inc Class A stock, see the HK:2518 Stock Forecast page.