Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Autohome had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 4.44%. The company had revenue of $196.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. Autohome’s revenue was down 26.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Autohome’s conference call:

• Profitability declined year over year: Q3 operating profit fell to CNY 96 million from CNY 147 million, while adjusted net income dropped to CNY 253 million from CNY 407 million. Gross margin improved to 67.2% from 63.7%, and operating expenses were lower.
• Management expects the auto market to remain under pressure in the near term, forecasting a 20%–25% year-over-year decline in Q4 retail sales. For next year, it cited an industry forecast of 0%–5% growth, with demand increasingly driven by NEVs and replacement purchases.
• Autohome reported steady user growth, with September mobile DAUs up 3.4% year over year to 79.14 million, and said it ranked first in automotive-source citations across six major AI platforms for three consecutive months. It launched its AI service agent and is expanding online-to-offline offerings, although AI has not yet generated revenue at scale.
• The company is expanding transaction services: its online car-purchasing model covered 38 cities and more than 1,700 dealers, while its Good Car franchise network exceeded 170 stores. Used-car sales pilots expanded to six cities, and cross-border transactions have increased monthly since the first export in July, though export volumes remain small.
• Autohome reported CNY 17.65 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, and continued shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends. It had repurchased about $155 million of a newly authorized $400 million program by October 30 and approved an approximately CNY 1 billion cash dividend.

Autohome Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ATHM traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.82. The company had a trading volume of 961,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,911. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.36. Autohome has a 1 year low of $15.57 and a 1 year high of $26.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.04.

Trending Headlines about Autohome

Here are the key news stories impacting Autohome this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Autohome reported Q3 earnings per share of $0.36, above the $0.29 consensus estimate, and revenue of $196.1 million, ahead of expectations of about $189.9 million. Autohome Q3 earnings results
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a $0.395-per-share cash dividend. A Seeking Alpha commentary also highlighted the earnings beat and shareholder distributions as reasons for a bullish view. Autohome dividend announcement Seeking Alpha analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 26% year over year to RMB1.315 billion ($196.1 million), and other earnings coverage reported a drop in quarterly income. The contraction underscores pressure on Autohome’s core business despite the quarterly beat. Autohome Q3 financial results

Insider Activity at Autohome

In other Autohome news, Director Quan Long sold 34,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $181,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 175,984 shares in the company, valued at $930,955.36. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 5,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $29,560.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 56,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,366.20. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,304 shares of company stock worth $260,818. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ATHM. Weiss Ratings raised Autohome from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Autohome from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.50 price target on shares of Autohome in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research raised Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut Autohome from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Autohome presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.95.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates an online automotive platform serving consumers, automobile manufacturers, dealers and other industry participants primarily in China. Through its websites and mobile applications, the company provides information and digital tools to help users research vehicles, compare models, read reviews, explore pricing and connect with sellers.

The company’s services include automotive news and editorial content, vehicle specifications, user-generated discussions, professional evaluations, sales-lead generation and online marketing solutions.