BofAS: TME-SW's Third Quarter Results Mostly Meet Expectations
Earnings Performance: TME-SW's 3Q25 results showed a 33% YoY increase in adjusted net profit to RMB2.41 billion, exceeding market expectations by 4%, driven by revenue growth and lower tax expenses.
Investor Concerns: Despite positive earnings, BofA Securities noted a lack of disclosure regarding the number of SVIPs and highlighted rising investor concerns about competition from ByteDance, which could impact market sentiment.
Analyst Ratings: BofA Securities maintained a Neutral rating on TME-SW with a target price set at HKD98.13.
Market Activity: TME-SW experienced a significant drop in stock price by 12.463%, with short selling activity reported at $7.05 million and a ratio of 5.605%.
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Release of Seedance 2.0: ByteDance launched its AI video generation model Seedance 2.0 in February, showcasing advanced capabilities in full-modal input/output and narrative consistency, quickly gaining global attention.
Impact on Content Platforms: CICC reports that while AIGC tools like Seedance 2.0 may enhance efficiency and lower content creation barriers, they are unlikely to significantly disrupt mainstream online content platforms due to differing consumption scenarios.
Market Dynamics: The rise of AIGC tools could stabilize oversupplied markets like short videos while potentially increasing demand in undersupplied areas such as long videos and music, possibly leading to the emergence of new platforms.
Stock Market Reactions: Various companies in the tech and entertainment sectors, including Tencent and Kuaishou, are experiencing fluctuations in stock prices and short selling activity, reflecting investor sentiment amid the shift towards AI-driven products.

Apple's Commission Rate Reduction: Apple has lowered the commission rate for the China App Store from 30% to 25% for in-app purchases and paid app transactions, which is expected to positively impact the entertainment sector with a low single-digit effect on major companies' earnings this year.
Impact on Tencent: Tencent's smartphone game revenue is projected to grow by 11.7% YoY to RMB256 billion, with 30% of this revenue coming from iOS, benefiting from the reduced commission rate.
NTES-S Revenue Forecast: NTES-S is expected to see an 8.5% YoY increase in game revenue to RMB97 billion, with a minimal impact of less than 3% on earnings this year due to the commission rate change.
Kuaishou and Online Music Platforms: Kuaishou's live streaming revenue is projected to remain flat, with a less than 2% positive impact on earnings from the commission reduction, while online music platforms like TME-SW and NetEase Music are anticipated to see a 1% to 2% increase in earnings in 2026.

Trendy Toy Industry Growth: China's trendy toy industry is experiencing significant growth, transitioning from a manufacturing focus to content elevation, driven by the "self-pleasing economy."
Investment Recommendations: CICC has expressed optimism about the growth potential of the trendy toys and IP industry, recommending stocks such as POP MART, MNSO, CHINA LIT, and DAMAI ENT.
Investment Ratings and Target Prices: CICC provided investment ratings and target prices for several Hong Kong stocks, with all recommended stocks rated as "Outperform."
Short Selling Data: The report includes short selling data for the recommended stocks, indicating varying levels of short interest among them.

Stock Performance: TME-SW (01698.HK) has seen a decline in stock price by 0.364%, with short selling amounting to $7.28M and a ratio of 13.045%.
Market Concerns: Goldman Sachs highlights escalating market concerns, including competition in music streaming, profit margin pressures from non-subscription services, and the potential impact of AI on the music industry.
Valuation Insights: The stock is currently trading near the lower end of its five-year valuation range, prompting Goldman Sachs to view the risk-reward as attractive.
Rating Adjustment: Despite the challenges, Goldman Sachs maintains a Buy rating on TME-SW but has reduced its target price from HKD90 to HKD78.
US Stock Market Performance: US stocks showed mixed results, with the DJIA slightly up by 17 points while the Nasdaq fell by 1.2% due to Nvidia's decline.
Hong Kong Stock Market Opening: The HSI opened 66 points higher after a previous drop, while the HSCEI and HSTECH also saw slight increases in their opening values.
Tech Sector Updates: BIDU-SW reported a 42% YoY decline in non-GAAP net profit, leading to a 5.7% drop in its ADR, while MEITUAN-W postponed its launch in Brazil but opened higher.
Financial Sector Movements: HSBC HOLDINGS and AIA opened higher, while HKEX remained flat, indicating a generally positive trend in the financial sector despite varying short selling ratios.

Market Overview: The HSI opened 1.5% lower at 26,640, with significant declines in tech stocks such as TENCENT and KUAISHOU, which dropped 1.7% and 1.9% respectively.
Short Selling Activity: Notable short selling was observed in several tech stocks, including BIDU and BILIBILI, with ratios exceeding 20%, indicating bearish sentiment among investors.
PPI Data: China's Producer Price Index (PPI) YoY for January showed a decline of 1.4%, slightly better than the previous value of -1.9% and above the forecast of -1.5%.
AI Stock Rally: The AI sector saw gains with MINIMAX-WP rising 11.9% after launching a new programming model, while KNOWLEDGE ATLAS also experienced a significant increase of 16.9%.






