ATHM

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET IR Director - Sterling Song Chief Financial Officer - Craig Yan Zeng Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for Autohome's Second Quarter and Interim 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time. A live and archived webcast of today's call will be available on Autohome's IR website. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Sterling Song, Autohome's IR Director. Mr. Song, please go ahead. Sterling Song: Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Autohome's Second Quarter and Interim 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Earlier today, Autohome distributed its earnings release, which can be found on the company's IR website at ir.autohome.com.cn. Joining me on today's call is our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Craig Yan Zeng. Management will go through the prepared remarks first, which will be followed by a Q&A session where they will be available to answer all your questions. Before we begin, please note that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Autohome undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable laws. Please also note that Autohome's earnings press release and today's conference call include discussions of certain unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release. I will now turn the call over to Autohome's CFO, Mr. Craig Yan Zeng, for opening remarks. Mr. Zeng, please go ahead. Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you, Sterling. Hello, everyone. This is Craig Zeng, Chief Financial Officer of Autohome. Thank you for joining our earnings conference call today. In the second quarter, our innovative business continued to make steady progress, driving Autohome's upgrade towards a comprehensive automotive service ecosystem. For our new retail business with the authorized dealer model in pilot operation and expanding into more cities, we launched the offline franchised chain brand, Autohome Good Car, further expanding our offline service network. In addition, our global expansion into used car trading is advancing steadily. Our cross-border export platform completed its first transaction in July, providing valuable experience to further expand our service capabilities. We also made major strides in AI, particularly in cutting-edge AI agent technologies. In early July, we unveiled our proprietary intelligent agent product, Cheese Car Butler and opened it for public beta as the automotive industry's first stand-alone agent product. It represents not only a pioneering exploration of intelligent applications, but also a key milestone in enriching our product portfolio and establishing a differentiated competitive edge for us. Specifically, in the second quarter, we made solid progress across content offerings, product capabilities and traffic alliances. On content, in May, we launched our annual IP, China Intelligent Manufacturing Exploration Plan jointly created with the News and Publicity Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Six episodes will be released throughout the year, covering exciting technological trends, including the low-altitude industry, intelligent cockpits, intelligent driving and embodied AI -- the premier episode focused on flying cars, combining immersive visits to the front lines of intelligent manufacturing with a fresh, innovative user-oriented storytelling perspective to make cutting-edge technologies more relatable and engaging for younger users. This series also marks our first major content initiative following Autohome's brand refresh. After its launch, the program sparked lively discussion on social media was covered by over 20 leading media outlets and generated over 70 million views across various platforms. On the product side, we launched our intelligent driving channel, which systematically profiles the intelligent driving capabilities of nearly 200 mainstream models and provides easy comparisons to help users understand differences across models and choose cars efficiently. In addition, we continue to advance collaboration across our multi-platform multi-scenario traffic ecosystem. A notable example was our partnership with Alipay in June, under which our mini program became the exclusive provider of comprehensive automotive services for Alipay's auto live channel, offering differentiated content to match the varied needs of first-time buyers, repeat buyers and those upgrading their vehicles. According to QuestMobile, in June, our daily active users steadily increased year-over-year, reaching 76.5 million. In the New Energy Vehicle sector, in late April, we launched a pilot online car purchase model in Shenzhen and Xi'an in partnership with authorized dealers. Under this model, local partners, dealerships posted competitive pricing on the mall, enabling consumers to select the vehicle and place deposits online and then complete the contract signing and take delivery offline. During this pilot period, over 400 dealers joined across these 2 cities, offering more than 1,000 models and over 1,000 transactions were completed within 70 days, receiving positive feedback from both our dealer partners and users. Based on the experience gained from the pilot cities in the second quarter, we replicated this model to 3 additional cities, Suzhou, Jinan and Shijiazhuang, steadily broadening our network coverage in Northern and Eastern China. At the same time, to address the service gap in low-tier cities, we launched our offline franchise chain brand, Autohome Good Car at the end of June with a focus on the underserved low-tier cities. Through precise traffic redirection and standardized operating and management systems and streamlined resource support system, we help dealerships in low-tier cities achieve scalable growth. At present, over 100 franchise stores joined Autohome Good Car. Going forward, the Autohome APP will remain the core of our online customer acquisition efforts while offline, Autohome Good Car franchisees and authorized dealer stores will handle vehicle delivery. Through standardized services, we aim to support users throughout the entire vehicle life cycle from vehicle discovery, selection to purchase and ownership. In AI and models powered by Autohome's proprietary large language model, we launched Cheese Car Butler, our intelligent agent product for the automotive vertical, the agent leverages our core assets accumulated in the automotive field, including our professional content, product database, MCN ecosystem and offline service network to provide users with a broad range of services, including multidimensional vehicle comparison, vehicle purchase guidance and maintenance services, et cetera, establishing a unique differentiated competitive advantage. Currently, Cheese Car Butler is available to users and has entered the feedback collection phase with the initial market response being positive. In the future, we will continue to enhance the underlying model capabilities, optimize the product's interactive experience and gradually integrate more offline service resources to steadily improve the product value and service quality. In the used car business, we continue to develop both our core domestic and overseas platforms. For our full process used car sales service platform, we continue to improve service quality through greater standardization. Recently, we completed an upgrade and integration of our vehicle inspection system, expanding the number of inspection items from 128 to 265, including 82 newly added assessments specifically designed for new energy vehicles further improving the accuracy and reliability of our inspection report. For our cross-border used car export service platform, we formally obtained the official export qualifications during the second quarter. We also established an online multilingual international website and an offline fulfillment network with business leads spanning over 100 countries. In early July, we successfully completed the first used car export order on our platform, making a breakthrough from 0 to 1 for our business. In the next phase, we will focus on 3 key areas: high-quality vehicle supplies upstream, expanding overseas customer acquisition downstream and improving platform operational efficiency. All of this supports our all-out effort to create a new one-stop channel for used car exports. In summary, since the beginning of the year, we achieved meaningful progress across all businesses. While steadily developing our businesses, we've consistently delivered on our commitment to shareholder returns. The USD 200 million stock buyback program announced in March 2026 was completed ahead of schedule in less than 6 months. In late July, we announced a new 12-month USD 400 million repurchase plan, demonstrating our strong confidence in the company's long-term value. In addition, the RMB 500 million cash dividend for the first half of the year was distributed at the end of July. Looking ahead, we will continue to deepen our new business development, provide high-quality services to users and partners and deliver sustainable returns to our shareholders. With that, let me briefly walk you through the key financials for the second quarter of 2026. Please note that I will reference RMB only in my discussion today, unless otherwise stated. Net revenues for the second quarter were RMB 1.2 billion. To break it down further, media services revenues were RMB 280 million. Leads generation services revenues were RMB 560 million and online marketplace and others revenues were RMB 357 million. With respect to costs, cost of revenues in the second quarter was RMB 274 million compared with RMB 503 million in the second quarter of 2025. Gross margin in the second quarter was 77.1% compared with 71.4% in the same period last year. Turning to operating expenses. Sales and marketing expenses in the second quarter were RMB 552 million compared with RMB 630 million in the second quarter of 2025. Product and development expenses were RMB 223 million compared with RMB 253 million in the second quarter of 2025. General and administrative expenses were RMB 96 million compared with RMB 133 million in the same period last year. Overall, we recorded an operating profit of RMB 130 million in the second quarter compared with RMB 297 million in the same period of 2025. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome was RMB 277 million in the second quarter compared with RMB 476 million in the corresponding period last year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per share in the second quarter were RMB 0.62 and RMB 0.61, respectively, compared with RMB 1.01 for both in the corresponding period of 2025. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS in the second quarter were both RMB 2.46 compared with RMB 4.06 and RMB 4.04, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. As of June 30, 2026, our balance sheet remains robust. Cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and other long-term investments totaled RMB 19.36 billion. We generated net operating cash flow of RMB 261 million in the second quarter of 2026. On March 5, 2026, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program under which we are committed to purchase up to USD 200 million of Autohome's ADS over a period not to exceed 18 months as of July 30, 2026. We have completed this share repurchase program ahead of schedule with a total of approximately 10.63 million ADS repurchased. In addition, on July 28, 2026, our Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which we may repurchase up to USD 400 million of Autohome's ADS over the next 12 months. As of August 14, 2026, we had repurchased approximately 1.9 million ADS for a total cost of approximately USD 43.6 million. That concludes our financial summary. Now we are ready to open up the Q&A session. Operator, please. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Thomas Chong of Jefferies. Thomas Chong: [Interpreted] I have two questions. The first one is about the auto industry, which is softer than market expectations. Can management comment about the second half industry outlook? And my second question is about the export of used car business. Can management comment about our competitive edge and the latest business progress? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you for your question. I will answer your question. Since the beginning of this year, the overall retail sales in the auto market has remained under pressure. In the first 7 months, domestic retail sales of passenger vehicles declined by 20% year-over-year, while the domestic new vehicle sales fell by 22% year-over-year in Q2. Even the New Energy Vehicle NEV, which had previously been the primary growth driver, it already see a sales decline of 8% in Q2 year-over-year for consecutive period. And the traditional ICEs, that is Internal Combustion Engine vehicles performed even worse. The sales declining 38% year-over-year in Q2. At the same time, the industry -- the auto industry profitability has been deteriorated. In the first half of the year, the profit for the auto manufacturing industry declined by 20% year-over-year with the profit margin at just 3.8%, which is a historical low. The market expectations for the overall industry sales at the beginning of the year was optimistic, but now this expectation has been revised downward. The China Passenger Car Association, CPCA, now forecast that the full year for 2026 passenger vehicle retail sales will decline by 16% year-over-year. So it brings the overall total annual sales to fewer than 20 million units. So this means that the overall China auto market will continue to face quite a lot of pressure in the second half this year. And we expect the auto industry to be characterized by a combination of weak domestic demand, structural differentiation and exports providing support. From the industry level, we can see the new energy transition is accelerating and auto exports is becoming a new growth driver. So for the China auto market, now it has entered into an existing market stage with the weak domestic demand becoming a major problem, major constraint on growth. And at the same time, you can see the penetration rate for NEV continue to pick up. So in April, it is the penetration rate is 60%. And now in July, it climbed further to a new high of 65%. So in contrast to the weak domestic demand, the auto export has maintained its strong growth momentum. During the first 7 months of 2026, passenger vehicle exports increased by 74% year-over-year with NEV accounting for more than half of the total export volumes. And with the weak domestic demand and strong overseas growth, simultaneously, auto exports has become a key engine for automakers to offset the weak domestic demand and drive profit growth. From the market level, we can see there is an increasing structural differentiation and consumers are increasingly in a mode -- they are in a mode of wait and see. So currently, the market is experiencing clear structural differentiation across segments. By price range, you can see the auto market is diverging at both ends. The entry-level market for vehicles priced below RMB 50,000 has contracted sharply, declining 55% year-over-year in the first half. On the other side, sales of high-end NEVs priced above RMB 400,000 surged 46%, demonstrating greater market resilience. So overall, the sales of traditional ICE and low-end NEVs continue to decline, while the middle to high-end NEVs have emerged as a growth segment. So in summary, the auto market in the first half of this year can be characterized as cold domestically hot overseas. Domestic demand weakened year-over-year, while NEV penetration continued to increase and auto exports became the primary growth driver for the overall industry. As China's auto market enters an existing market competition stage, currently, only those companies who can capture consumers' needs throughout their entire life cycle and provide value-added services across the entire customer journey will be best positioned for the future development in the transforming period and the market. So this is also one of the key areas we will continue to focus on and explore going forward. The second question about the used car export. The used car export market is sufficiently fragmented with a sufficiently large and diverse supply of used car vehicles. So this is favorable for us to build our long-term competitive advantage and sustainable barriers for entry. And if the market was more highly concentrated, it would be more difficult for platform companies. And for our advantages in this area, first is the brand, strong brand from Autohome. We are the leading auto vertical media platform. So we have a strong brand -- strong brand recognition and credibility. And also, we are newly listed. This also help us in our branding. Second is the stable supply, used car vehicle supply and a standardized system. We have access to a stable and compliant supply of used cars, supported by a standardized industry-leading vehicle inspection system, which can enable comprehensive assessment of the vehicle condition. So overseas buyers value accurate and complete and comprehensive vehicle inspection report as well as those maintenance and insurance claim records. So Autohome can provide all of this. So this gives overseas buyers greater confidence in their purchase process. Third is the digital one-stop service. This is our advantage. We leverage our online digital tools to improve the operational efficiency, including the 24/7 customer support, those dynamic matching of the vehicle supply and those multilingual website services, et cetera. So all these capabilities facilitate more effective communications between buyers and sellers. For our business progress update on the used car, in the second quarter, we just mentioned, we officially obtained the government qualification for the used car exports, and we successfully completed the first used car export transaction on our platform. So this represents an important 0 to 1 breakthrough for this business segment. And for the work ahead of us, on one hand, we will expand our high-quality used car vehicle sourcing. On the other hand, we will focus on expanding our overseas customer base. And also at the same time, we will continue to optimize our used car export service platform and improve the overall operation efficiency with the goal to build a one-stop new channel for the used car exports. Operator: The next question comes from the line of Zhang Xiaodan of CICC. Xiaodan Zhang: [Interpreted] First of all, the company has recently taken proactive steps on shareholder returns. So how do you view the sustainability of the shareholder return program going forward? And over the medium to the long term, how will you balance the cash reserves as well as the shareholder returns? And secondly, regarding the new retail business, what is the company's current strategic positioning for this segment? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you for your question. Autohome has always placed a strong emphasis on the shareholder return and the long-term market value management. To further enhance our shareholder return mechanism and improve investment value, we have established a dual track return framework, combining a regular cash dividend policy with share repurchases, making our shareholder return policy more transparent and predictable. For the share repurchase, as we just mentioned, the USD 200 million share buyback program we completed ahead of schedule at the end of July. And also on July 28, we -- the company announced a new USD 400 million share repurchase program. And as of last week, approximately 10% of this buyback program has been completed. So going forward, in the future, we will continue to actively execute this buyback program in the open market in accordance with our established strategy. For the cash dividend, in March, the company announced the RMB 500 million cash dividend for the first half of this year, and this was successfully distributed to all our shareholders by the end of July. And also this year, we'll continue to execute our commitment to pay at least RMB 1.5 billion in cash dividends for the full year. For our long-term capabilities, Autohome has a healthy balance sheet, and we have ample cash reserves and stable business operations. So this gives us the capacity to deliver sustainable and stable and long-term returns to all shareholders. So in the future, we will continue to improve operational efficiency and strengthen the resilience of our business, ensuring we can fulfill our commitment to all the shareholders. For the new retail business, it is an important strategic initiative for Autohome as we build our transaction ecosystem and address gaps in our offline service capabilities. For online, we are leveraging the Autohome APP to build an automotive transaction service platform, Autohome mall. For offline, we leverage offline car purchase and Autohome Good Car to expand offline service network, connecting online demand with offline service fulfillment. So on the online to offline scenarios, we are leveraging our AI technologies to provide end-to-end support, including the vehicle selection through our AI car selection assistance and purchase support through AI price inquiry, et cetera. So going forward, we are planning to expand AI-enabled services into the vehicle ownership stage. In terms of our new retail business update and progress, as you can see that the implementation has been moving at a relatively rapid speed. For online car purchase, it began its pilot program in late April, and now it's expanded to 5 cities, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Jinan and Shijiazhuang, primarily targeting at high-tier cities. For Autohome Good Car, it opened up its franchise program in late June and has now more than 100 franchise stores with a primary focus on low-tier markets. So ultimately, our goal is to become a comprehensive automotive service ecosystem that deliver value throughout the entire auto life cycle from car discovery to car selection to purchasing owning and eventually replacing. Operator: Our next question comes from Ritchie Sun of HSBC. Ritchie Sun: [Interpreted] I want to ask management about how do you feel the recovery timing as well as the drivers behind the auto market and especially for the media services, how would you view the trend in the second half of this year? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Regarding the drivers for the auto industry recovery, we just mentioned, the auto market sales for the whole year expected to decline about 16% year-over-year. This has been downside. And however, it doesn't mean there is not any growth opportunities in the market. For example, the vehicles prepaid and replacement will still contribute more for more new vehicle purchasing demand. And we just mentioned that sales of the high-end EVs priced over RMB 400,000, it increased 46% year-over-year. So in our opinion, a sustainable stabilization and recovery of the auto market still depend on improvement in the broader macroeconomic environment and the strengthening of the consumer confidence. And exports, auto exports is another important growth opportunity. In the first half of this year, the key passenger vehicle PV exports increased by more than 70% year-over-year and the NEV exports surging 124%. And for NEVs, it accounted for over 50% of the total passenger vehicle exports. So it represents new opportunities in the auto market. For the -- regarding the media business in the second half of this year, as you know, there is always saying that Golden September and Silver October. And besides, there will be a multiple of new vehicle and new car launching in the market. So in our opinion, we believe the market will show kind of a recovery second half of this year. Operator: The next question comes from the line of Brian Gong of Citi. Brian Gong: [Interpreted] Given the pressure over auto dealers, how does management think about the outlook for our sales leads business? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] For the leads, the leads generation performance is highly related with the overall sales volume in the market. In Q2, the market and the sales of the autos decreased. So that is the main reason for the leads generation segment. So on one hand, for dealer continue to face significant operating pressures in the market. So many of them failed to meet their sales target for the first half this year. And according to the statistics data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, CADA, 77% of the dealerships achieved less than 90% of their first half year sales target. And so many of them -- many of those dealers, they respond with more losses and with high volumes of inventories. So that's why we believe -- as we just mentioned, the sales volumes for the new cars still face pressure and a decrease for the second half of this year. So we still see some opportunities in the market. On one hand, we are increasing our traffic and upgrading our products to improve the quality and the content quality of the lead and lay a solid foundation for the renewal of our dealership products, for example, the for the second half of this year and the next year as well. I'll give you some examples. For example, we take -- we're using our AI technology. We use the AI live streaming. We are leveraging the AI technology to empower dealers, new media live streaming operations so we can help them to reduce costs and improve their efficiency increase their operational efficiency and help them to enhance their conversion capabilities. And also, we have smart stores. So we can upgrade the intelligent guided tour function. So when users browse a dealer's online store, AI-generated voice commentary can match the content on the screen, and it can be played automatically. So it can help to create an immersive watch and listen experience, helping to increase the number of users who will submit and leave their contact information. So we expect through those products and service upgrades and technologies, we can help -- we can build a solid foundation for the renewal of our products next year. Operator: No further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to management for closing remarks. Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you very much, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to speaking with you all again on our next quarter's conference call and sharing the latest updates on the company's corporate strategy and business development. Should you have any further questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at any time. Thank you, everyone. Goodbye. Thank you, operator. Operator: That does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.] Before you buy stock in Autohome, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Autohome wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. 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As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Autohome (ATHM) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Make better investment decisions with Simply Wall St's easy, visual tools that give you a competitive edge. Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) is back in focus after reporting second quarter 2026 results, which showed lower sales, revenue and earnings compared with a year earlier, along with updates on its business initiatives and capital return plans. See our latest analysis for Autohome. At a share price of $22.22, Autohome has seen a 90 day share price return of 33.94%, yet the 1 year total shareholder return is down 15.8%, suggesting shorter term momentum has picked up while longer term performance remains weaker. If Autohome's recent swings have you thinking about diversification, this could be a useful moment to broaden your search with 21 top founder-led companies Autohome now trades slightly above analyst targets and an assessed intrinsic value, even after a sharp rebound off weak quarterly figures. Is the market being too cautious on the business, or already pricing in enough hope? Autohome's most followed valuation narrative points to a fair value of $20.73 compared with the last close at $22.22. This frames the recent rebound as slightly ahead of that assessment. Read the complete narrative. It is useful to examine what kind of revenue profile and margin path would need to hold for that valuation to be supported. The narrative focuses on specific ad trends, overseas expansion and a higher future earnings multiple. The detailed model then connects these elements to a single fair value number. Result: Fair Value of $20.73 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Autohome still faces pressure from weaker auto and advertising demand. In addition, rising direct digital channels for automakers could further challenge traffic and revenue. Find out about the key risks to this Autohome narrative. With mixed sentiment around Autohome's recent performance and valuation, this is a good time to review the evidence yourself and move decisively. To weigh up both the concerns and the potential upside, start with the 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign. If Autohome has sharpened your focus on where to put fresh capital next, do not stop with one stock. Let the data guide you toward stronger diversification. Target shares that combine quality with potential value by scanning through 48 high quality undervalued stocks to quickly spot candidates that might deserve a closer look. Prioritise resilience by using the 78 resilient stocks with low risk scores to focus on companies that score well on financial and risk metrics, so you can concentrate on your conviction. Get ahead of the crowd with the screener containing 19 high quality undiscovered gems to see which underfollowed stocks the screener flags before they appear on everyone else's radar. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include ATHM. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Autohome Inc. has reported past second-quarter 2026 results showing revenue of CNY1,198.01 million and net income of CNY247.81 million, both lower than a year earlier, alongside completion of a US$200 million share repurchase and authorization of a new US$400 million buyback plan. Despite weaker earnings for the quarter and first half, Autohome is committing significant capital to share repurchases while expanding its offline Autohome Good Car franchise, AI-based Cheese Car Butler service, and used-car export initiatives to broaden its revenue base. We’ll now examine how Autohome’s expanded US$400 million share repurchase authorization could reshape its existing investment narrative and risk profile. Uncover the next big thing with 22 elite penny stocks that balance risk and reward. To own Autohome today, you need to believe its AI tools, O2O retail ecosystem and used car export efforts can offset weaker advertising demand and dealer stress. The latest results, with lower revenue and net income, keep the main near term catalyst squarely on execution in these newer businesses, while underscoring the key risk that sustained gross margin compression and softer client budgets could further pressure profitability. The new US$400 million buyback does not materially change that trade off. The fresh US$400 million repurchase authorization is the most relevant development here, coming right after a US$200 million program and a CNY500 million interim dividend. Together, they highlight Autohome’s willingness to return capital even as margins and earnings decline year on year. For investors focused on catalysts, this steps up the importance of balance sheet strength and capital allocation discipline alongside the still early stage contributions from offline franchises and AI products. Yet behind this capital return story, investors should also be aware that Autohome’s shrinking margins and weaker dealer budgets could... Read the full narrative on Autohome (it's free!) Autohome's narrative projects CN¥5.4 billion revenue and CN¥1.1 billion earnings by 2029. This implies revenues declining by 3.8% per year while earnings are expected to remain flat at around CN¥1.1 billion. Uncover how Autohome's forecasts yield a $20.73 fair value, a 7% downside to its current price. Before this weak quarter, the most pessimistic analysts already expected Autohome’s revenue to fall about 11.4% a year and earnings to stay under roughly CN¥1.0 billion, so today’s results may prompt you to reassess which risk story you believe and explore how those more cautious views might evolve from here. Explore 2 other fair value estimates on Autohome - why the stock might be worth as much as $20.73! Disagree with existing narratives? Extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd, so go with your instincts. A great starting point for your Autohome research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision. Our free Autohome research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Autohome's overall financial health at a glance. Opportunities like this don't last. These are today's most promising picks. Check them out now: AI is about to change healthcare. These 41 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10b in market cap - there's still time to get in early. Invest in the nuclear renaissance through our list of 92 elite nuclear energy infrastructure plays powering the global AI revolution. Outshine the giants: these 16 early-stage AI stocks could fund your retirement. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include ATHM. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) shares gained 3.6% after the Chinese automotive services platform reported second-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, with adjusted earnings and revenue both coming in ahead of consensus forecasts despite a sharp year-on-year decline in sales. Adjusted earnings reached RMB2.46 ($0.36) per ADS, beating the analyst estimate of RMB2.04 by RMB0.42. Revenue came in at RMB1.20 billion ($176.6 million), slightly above expectations of RMB1.18 billion. However, quarterly revenue was down 32% from RMB1.76 billion in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting continued pressure across parts of Autohome’s automotive ecosystem. The decline in revenue was primarily driven by lower spending from automotive dealers as sales volumes contracted, alongside a reduced contribution from Autohome’s vehicle sales operations. Leads generation services revenue dropped 24% year on year to RMB560.4 million, while online marketplace and other revenue fell 52% to RMB357.3 million. Media services proved more resilient, with revenue remaining broadly stable at RMB280.4 million. Despite the substantial overall sales decline, the better-than-expected headline figures helped lift Autohome shares following the results. Management highlighted progress in expanding the company beyond its traditional automotive information and lead-generation operations. “During the quarter, our innovative business continued to make steady progress, driving Autohome’s upgrade towards a comprehensive automotive service ecosystem,” said Chi Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of that strategy, with Autohome investing in AI agents and related technologies designed to broaden its services. “We also made major strides in AI, particularly in cutting-edge AI agent technologies. In early July, we unveiled our proprietary intelligent agent product, Cheese Car Butler, and opened it for public beta.” The launch gives Autohome another avenue through which to integrate AI into its automotive platform as the company seeks new sources of engagement and growth. Profitability remained under pressure despite the earnings beat. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome declined 42% year on year to RMB277.3 million ($40.9 million), compared with RMB475.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The decline reflects the impact of weaker revenue across the dealer and online marketplace businesses, even as the company continues to invest in new products and its broader automotive services strategy. Capital returns also remain a significant part of Autohome’s strategy. The company completed the $200 million share repurchase programme announced in March 2026, buying back 10,627,269 ADSs by July 30. On July 28, the board authorised a new share repurchase programme worth up to $400 million. By August 14, Autohome had already bought back 1,895,093 ADSs for approximately $43.6 million under the new authorisation. The combination of an earnings beat, slightly better-than-expected revenue, continued AI investment and an expanded buyback programme helped support the positive share-price reaction. However, the steep decline in annual revenue and adjusted net income shows that Autohome still faces significant challenges as it works to offset weakness in its traditional dealer-focused businesses. Autohome stock price

Interested in Autohome Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Q2 financial performance weakened: Revenue was CNY1.2 billion and operating profit was CNY130 million, while adjusted net income fell to CNY277 million from CNY476 million year over year. Lower costs lifted gross margin to 77.1%, but earnings and operating profit still declined. Autohome is expanding beyond its core platform through online vehicle retailing, the Autohome Good Car franchise network, AI product Cheese Car Butler and used-car exports. Its online retail pilot surpassed 1,000 transactions, while daily active users reached 76.5 million in June. Capital returns remain a priority despite challenging auto demand: Autohome completed a $200 million ADS repurchase, launched a new $400 million buyback authorization and paid a CNY500 million interim dividend. Management plans to distribute at least CNY1.5 billion in cash dividends for the full year. 3 Fresh Stock Buybacks: These are the Ones to Buy Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) reported second-quarter revenue of CNY1.2 billion and an operating profit of CNY130 million, while outlining expansion plans in online vehicle retailing, offline franchise services, artificial intelligence and used-car exports. Chief Financial Officer Craig Yan Zeng said the company’s innovative businesses continued to advance during the quarter as it seeks to develop a broader automotive service ecosystem. The company reported CNY19.36 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and other long-term investments as of June 30, along with CNY261 million in operating cash flow for the quarter. → Datavault AI Locks Down CyberCatch in $94M Security Rollup Autohome’s media services revenue was CNY280 million in the second quarter, while lead generation services generated CNY560 million and online marketplace and other revenue totaled CNY357 million. Cost of revenue declined to CNY274 million from CNY503 million a year earlier, lifting gross margin to 77.1% from 71.4%. Sales and marketing expense fell to CNY552 million from CNY630 million, product development expense declined to CNY223 million from CNY253 million, and general and administrative expense decreased to CNY96 million from CNY133 million. → Michael Burry Is Betting Against Palantir Again—Should Investors Care? Despite the lower operating costs, operating profit fell from CNY297 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome was CNY277 million, compared with CNY476 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS were CNY2.46, down from CNY4.04 in the prior-year period. Zeng described new retail as an important strategic initiative intended to connect Autohome’s online demand generation with offline vehicle delivery and service capabilities. → Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond In late April, the company began piloting an online vehicle-purchase model with authorized dealers in Shenzhen and Xi’an. Dealers post pricing through the company’s mall, customers select vehicles and make deposits online, and contracts and delivery are completed offline. More than 400 dealers joined the two-city pilot, offering more than 1,000 models, and the program completed more than 1,000 transactions in 70 days, according to Zeng. Autohome expanded the model during the second quarter to Suzhou, Jinan and Shijiazhuang. The five-city program is focused primarily on higher-tier cities. The company also introduced Autohome Good Car, an offline franchise chain aimed at lower-tier cities. The franchise program launched at the end of June and had attracted more than 100 stores as of the call. Zeng said the Autohome app will remain central to online customer acquisition, while franchisees and authorized dealer stores will handle delivery. In early July, Autohome launched a public beta of Cheese Car Butler, its proprietary automotive-focused intelligent agent product. The product uses the company’s automotive content, product database, MCN ecosystem and offline service network to offer vehicle comparisons, purchase guidance and maintenance-related services. Zeng said Cheese Car Butler had entered a feedback-collection phase and received an initially positive market response. The company plans to improve its underlying model capabilities, refine the user experience and add more offline service resources. Autohome also introduced an intelligent-driving channel that profiles the intelligent-driving capabilities of nearly 200 mainstream vehicle models. Separately, its mini program became the exclusive provider of comprehensive automotive services for Alipay’s Auto Live Channel in June. According to QuestMobile data cited by management, Autohome’s daily active users reached 76.5 million in June, rising year over year. Autohome formally received used-car export qualifications in the second quarter and completed its first export transaction in early July. The company has established a multilingual international website and an offline fulfillment network, with business leads spanning more than 100 countries. Zeng said the company sees an advantage in its brand recognition, access to used-vehicle supply, standardized inspection systems and digital services such as around-the-clock customer support and multilingual tools. Autohome recently expanded its vehicle inspection checklist to 265 items from 128, including 82 additional assessments designed for new-energy vehicles. Management said it will focus next on securing higher-quality vehicle supply, expanding overseas customer acquisition and improving the export platform’s operating efficiency. On the broader market, Zeng said domestic passenger-vehicle retail sales fell 20% year over year in the first seven months of 2026, while domestic new-vehicle sales declined 22% in the second quarter. He cited a China Passenger Car Association forecast for full-year passenger-vehicle retail sales to decline 16% year over year to fewer than 20 million units. However, management pointed to continued new-energy vehicle penetration and export growth. Passenger-vehicle exports rose 74% year over year in the first seven months, Zeng said, with new-energy vehicles accounting for more than half of export volume. He said the company expects some recovery in the second half for its media business, citing the traditional September and October auto-sales period and multiple planned vehicle launches. Autohome completed its previously authorized $200 million ADS repurchase program ahead of schedule, repurchasing about 10.63 million ADS as of July 30. On July 28, the board authorized a new $400 million ADS repurchase program to be executed over 12 months. As of Aug. 14, the company had repurchased about 1.9 million ADS under the new authorization for approximately $43.6 million. The company also distributed a CNY500 million cash dividend for the first half of 2026 at the end of July. Zeng said Autohome remains committed to paying at least CNY1.5 billion in cash dividends for the full year. Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates one of China’s leading online destinations for automobile consumers, offering a comprehensive suite of digital platforms and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Headquartered in Beijing, the company’s core website and mobile applications deliver news, reviews, pricing information, photos, videos and interactive tools to help prospective buyers evaluate new and used vehicles. By aggregating rich editorial content with user-generated ratings and expert analyses, Autohome seeks to guide consumers through research, purchase and after-sales decision-making. In addition to its consumer-facing properties, Autohome provides automakers, dealers and service providers with integrated digital marketing and e-commerce solutions. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Autohome Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

BEIJING, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) ("Autohome" or the "Company"), the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2026. Second Quarter 2026 Highlights[1] Net revenues in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB1,198.0 million (US$176.6 million), compared to RMB1,758.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Net income attributable to Autohome in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB247.8 million (US$36.5 million), compared to RMB415.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025, while net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB247.8 million (US$36.5 million), compared to RMB398.9 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome (Non-GAAP)[2] in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB277.3 million (US$40.9 million), compared to RMB475.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Share repurchase: The US$200 million share repurchase program effective from March 5, 2026 was completed as of July 30, 2026, with a total of 10,627,269 American depositary shares ("ADSs") repurchased. On July 28, 2026, Autohome's Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to US$400 million of its ADSs over the next 12 months. As of August 14, 2026, the Company had repurchased 1,895,093 ADSs for a total cost of approximately US$43.6 million. Mr. Chi Liu, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Autohome, stated, "During the quarter, our innovative business continued to make steady progress, driving Autohome's upgrade towards a comprehensive automotive service ecosystem. For our new retail business, with the authorized dealer model now in pilot operation and expanding to more cities, we launched the offline franchised chain brand, Autohome Good Car, further extending our offline service network. In addition, our used-car-trading global expansion is advancing steadily ---- our cross-border export platform completed its first transaction in July, providing valuable experience for further expanding our service capabilities." "We also made major strides in AI, particularly in cutting-edge AI agent technologies. In early July, we unveiled our proprietary intelligent agent product, Cheese Car Butler, and opened it for public beta. As the first standalone agent product in the automotive industry, it represents both a pioneering exploration of intelligent applications and a key milestone in enriching our product portfolio and establishing a differentiated competitive edge." Mr. Craig Yan Zeng, Chief Financial Officer of Autohome, added, "We made significant progress during the quarter and maintain our unwavering commitment to delivering sustainable shareholder returns. The US$200 million buyback program announced in early March 2026 was completed ahead of schedule, in less than six months. In late July, we announced a new US$400 million buyback plan, demonstrating our strong confidence in the Company's long-term value and deep commitment to shareholder interests." Unaudited Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results Net Revenues Net revenues in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB1,198.0 million (US$176.6 million), compared to RMB1,758.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Media services revenues were RMB280.4 million (US$41.3 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB279.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Leads generation services revenues were RMB560.4 million (US$82.6 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB732.6 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The decline was primarily driven by reduced spending from dealers amid shrinking sales volumes, along with a decrease in the number of paying dealers. Online marketplace and others revenues were RMB357.3 million (US$52.7 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB746.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025. The decline was primarily driven by reduced revenue associated with the Company's vehicle sales business. Cost of Revenues Cost of revenues was RMB274.0 million (US$40.4 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB503.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025, primarily due to a decline in revenue, which correspondingly reduced the associated costs. Share-based compensation expenses included in cost of revenues in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB3.0 million (US$0.4 million), compared to RMB3.4 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Operating Expenses Operating expenses were RMB870.8 million (US$128.3 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB1,015.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Sales and marketing expenses were RMB552.2 million (US$81.4 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB630.0 million in the corresponding period of 2025, primarily due to a decrease in marketing and promotional expenses. Share-based compensation expenses included in sales and marketing expenses in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB7.1 million (US$1.0 million), compared to RMB13.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025. General and administrative expenses were RMB95.5 million (US$14.1 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB132.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Share-based compensation expenses included in general and administrative expenses in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB3.9 million (US$0.6 million), compared to RMB15.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Product development expenses were RMB223.1 million (US$32.9 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB253.0 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Share-based compensation expenses included in product development expenses in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB15.2 million (US$2.2 million), compared to RMB19.9 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Operating Profit Operating profit was RMB130.0 million (US$19.2 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB296.6 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Income Tax Expense Income tax expense was RMB33.6 million (US$4.9 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB60.6 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Net Income Attributable to Autohome Net income attributable to Autohome was RMB247.8 million (US$36.5 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB415.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Net Income Attributable to Ordinary Shareholders and Earnings per Share/ADS Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB247.8 million (US$36.5 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB398.9 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Basic and diluted earnings per share ("EPS") were RMB0.55 (US$0.08) and RMB0.55 (US$0.08), respectively, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to basic and diluted EPS of RMB0.85 and RMB0.85, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. Basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB2.20 (US$0.32) and RMB2.19 (US$0.32), respectively, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to basic and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB3.40 and RMB3.38, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Autohome (Non-GAAP) and Non-GAAP EPS/ADS Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome (Non-GAAP) was RMB277.3 million (US$40.9 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared to RMB475.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025. Non-GAAP basic and diluted EPS were RMB0.62 (US$0.09) and RMB0.61 (US$0.09), respectively, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to non-GAAP basic and diluted EPS of RMB1.01 and RMB1.01, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB2.46 (US$0.36) and RMB2.46 (US$0.36), respectively, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB4.06 and RMB4.04, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow As of June 30, 2026, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and other long-term investments of RMB19.36 billion (US$2.85 billion). Net cash provided by operating activities in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB261.2 million (US$38.5 million). Employees The Company had 3,839 employees as of June 30, 2026, including 1,163 employees from TTP Car, Inc. Conference Call Information The Company will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, August 20, 2026 (8:00 p.m. Beijing Time on the same day). Please register in advance of the conference call using the registration link provided below. Upon registering, each participant will receive a set of dial-in numbers and a personal PIN, which will be used to join the conference call. Registration Link:https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI296b7d951b7846ef99ed79972fbe1931 Please use the conference access information to join the call 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at https://ir.autohome.com.cn and a replay of the webcast will be available following the session. About Autohome Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) is the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. Its mission is to relentlessly reduce auto industry decision-making and transaction costs driven by advanced technology. Autohome provides occupationally generated content, professionally generated content, user-generated content, and AI-generated content, a comprehensive automobile library, and extensive automobile listing information to automobile consumers, covering the entire car purchase and ownership cycle. The ability to reach a large and engaged user base of automobile consumers has made Autohome a preferred platform for automakers and dealers to conduct their advertising campaigns. Further, the Company's dealer subscription and advertising services allow dealers to market their inventory and services through Autohome's platform, extending the reach of their physical showrooms to potentially millions of internet users in China and generating sales leads for them. The Company offers sales leads, data analysis, and marketing services to assist automakers and dealers with improving their efficiency and facilitating transactions. Further, through its websites and mobile applications, it also provides other value-added services, including auto financing, auto insurance, used car transactions, and aftermarket services. For further information, please visit https://www.autohome.com.cn/. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "future", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, Autohome's business outlook, Autohome's strategic and operational plans and quotations from management in this announcement contain forward-looking statements. Autohome may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in announcements made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Autohome's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Autohome's goals and strategies; Autohome's future business development, results of operations and financial condition; the expected growth of the online automobile advertising market in China; Autohome's ability to attract and retain users and advertisers and further enhance its brand recognition; Autohome's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its products and services; competition in the online automobile advertising industry; relevant government policies and regulatory environment of China; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Autohome's filings with the SEC and announcements on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Autohome does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures To supplement net income presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we use Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome, Non-GAAP basic and diluted EPS and earnings per ADS, Adjusted net margin and Adjusted EBITDA as non-GAAP financial measures. We define Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome as net income attributable to Autohome excluding share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisition, share of results of equity method investments, and non-recurring employee severance costs, with all the reconciliation items adjusted for related income tax effects. We define non-GAAP basic and diluted EPS as Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome divided by the basic and diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares. We define non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS as Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome divided by the basic and diluted weighted average number of ADSs. We define Adjusted net margin as Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome divided by total net revenues. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income attributable to Autohome before income tax expense, depreciation expenses of property and equipment, amortization expenses of intangible assets and share-based compensation expenses. We present these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by our management to evaluate our operating performance, in addition to net income prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are important to help investors understand our operating and financial performance, compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis and assess our core operating results, as they exclude certain non-cash charges or items that are non-operating in nature. The use of the above non-GAAP financial measures has certain limitations as they excluded certain items that have been and will continue to be incurred in the future, but such items should be considered in the overall evaluation of our results. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliation of non-GAAP and GAAP Results" set fourth at the end of this press release. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Autohome Inc.Sterling SongInvestor Relations Director Tel: +86-10-5985-7483E-mail: [email protected] Christensen China Limited Suri ChengTel: +86-10-5900-1548E-mail: [email protected] UNAUDITED RECONCILIATION BETWEEN U.S. GAAP AND IFRS Accounting Standards The unaudited condensed consolidated statements of income for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2026 (collectively, the "Unaudited Interim Financial Statements") of Autohome Inc., its subsidiaries, the variable interest entities, and the subsidiaries of the variable interest entities (collectively, the "Company") are prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (the "U.S. GAAP"), and the differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS Accounting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (together, the "Reconciliation Statement") have been disclosed in the Appendix — Unaudited Reconciliation Between U.S. GAAP and IFRS Accounting Standards attached herein. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditor of the Company in Hong Kong, has performed a limited assurance engagement on the Reconciliation Statement in accordance with International Standards on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised) "Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information" issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. Appendix The Unaudited Interim Financial Statements of the Company are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which differ in certain respects from IFRS Accounting Standards. The effects of material differences between the Unaudited Interim Financial Statements prepared under U.S. GAAP and IFRS Accounting Standards are as follows: View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/autohome-inc-announces-unaudited-second-quarter-and-interim-2026-financial-results-302856268.html

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Net Revenues: RMB1.2 billion for the second quarter of 2026. Media Services Revenues: RMB280 million. Leads Generation Services Revenues: RMB560 million. Online Marketplace and Others Revenues: RMB357 million. Cost of Revenue: RMB274 million, compared with RMB503 million in the second quarter of 2025. Gross Margin: 77.1%, compared with 71.4% in the same period last year. Sales and Marketing Expenses: RMB552 million, compared with RMB630 million in the second quarter of 2025. Product Development Expenses: RMB223 million, compared with RMB253 million in the second quarter of 2025. General and Administrative Expenses: RMB96 million, compared with RMB133 million in the same period last year. Operating Profit: RMB130 million, compared with RMB297 million in the same period of 2025. Adjusted Net Income: RMB277 million attributable to Autohome, compared with RMB476 million in the corresponding period last year. Non-GAAP Earnings per Share: Basic and diluted EPS were RMB0.62 and RMB0.61, respectively, compared with RMB1.01 for both in the corresponding period of 2025. Non-GAAP Earnings per ADS: Basic and diluted EPS were both RMB2.46, compared with RMB4.06 and RMB4.04, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. Cash and Investments: Cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and other long-term investments totaled RMB19.36 billion as of June 30, 2026. Net Operating Cash Flow: RMB261 million generated in the second quarter of 2026. Share Repurchase: Completed the USD200 million buyback program ahead of schedule, repurchasing approximately 10.63 million ADSs; announced a new USD400 million repurchase plan for the next 12 months. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Signs with ATHM. Is ATHM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 20, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Autohome Inc (NYSE:ATHM) successfully expanded its new retail business, launching the offline franchise chain 'Autohome Good Car' with over 100 stores in low-tier cities and replicating its online car purchase model to five cities, completing over 1,000 transactions in the pilot phase. The company made significant strides in AI, unveiling 'Cheese Car Butler,' the automotive industry's first standalone intelligent agent product, which received positive initial market feedback and enhances its differentiated competitive edge. Autohome Inc (NYSE:ATHM) strengthened its traffic ecosystem through partnerships like with Alipay, becoming the exclusive provider of automotive services for Alipay's AutoLiv channel, and saw daily active users grow to 76.5 million in June. The used car export business achieved a key milestone with the first transaction completed in July, backed by an upgraded inspection system (expanded to 265 items) and official export qualifications, positioning the company for growth in this fragmented market. Autohome Inc (NYSE:ATHM) demonstrated strong shareholder commitment by completing its USD200 million buyback ahead of schedule, announcing a new USD400 million repurchase plan, and distributing a RMB500 million cash dividend, supported by a robust balance sheet with RMB19.36 billion in cash. Autohome Inc (NYSE:ATHM) faces a challenging auto market environment, with domestic passenger vehicle retail sales declining 20% year-over-year in the first seven months and full-year 2026 sales expected to fall 16%, pressuring revenue growth. The company's financial performance weakened, with adjusted net income dropping to RMB277 million in Q2 2026 from RMB476 million in Q2 2025, and operating profit falling to RMB130 million from RMB297 million. Lead generation revenues are under pressure due to dealer financial strain, as 77% of dealerships failed to meet their first-half sales targets, leading to reduced spending on advertising and leads. The new energy vehicle (NEV) segment, previously a growth driver, saw sales decline 8% year-over-year in Q2, and traditional ICE vehicles performed even worse with a 38% drop, indicating broad market weakness. Industry profitability is at a historical low, with auto manufacturing profit margins at just 3.8% in the first half, which could limit automakers' and dealers' budgets for marketing services, impacting Autohome Inc (NYSE:ATHM)'s core business. Q: Can management comment on the second-half industry outlook for the auto market, and what is the latest progress and competitive edge in the used car export business?A: Craig Zeng (CFO): The auto market is under significant pressure, with domestic retail sales of passenger vehicles declining 20% year-over-year in the first seven months and NEV sales falling 8% in Q2. The CPCA now forecasts a 16% decline for full-year 2026, with total sales below 20 million units. The market is characterized by weak domestic demand, structural differentiation (high-end NEVs above RMB400,000 surging 46% while entry-level cars below RMB50,000 declined 55%), and exports as a key growth driver (passenger vehicle exports up 74% year-over-year). For used car exports, Autohome's competitive advantages include its strong brand recognition, access to stable and compliant vehicle supply with a standardized inspection system (expanded from 128 to 265 inspection items), and digital one-stop services. The company officially obtained export qualifications in Q2 and completed its first used car export transaction in early July, marking a zero-to-one breakthrough. Q: How does management view the sustainability of the shareholder return program, and how will the company balance cash reserves with shareholder returns? What is the strategic positioning for the new retail business?A: Craig Zeng (CFO): Autohome has established a dual-track return framework combining regular cash dividends with share repurchases. The USD200 million buyback program was completed ahead of schedule in less than six months, and a new USD400 million repurchase plan was announced on July 28, 2026, with approximately 10% already completed. The company distributed RMB500 million in cash dividends for the first half and remains committed to paying at least RMB1.5 billion in cash dividends for the full year. With a robust balance sheet and RMB19.36 billion in cash reserves, Autohome has the capacity for sustainable returns. For new retail, the strategy leverages the Autohome App for online transactions (Autohome Mall) and offline channels (Autohome Good Car franchise stores and authorized dealer stores) to create a comprehensive automotive service ecosystem covering the entire vehicle lifecycle from discovery to replacement. Q: What are the drivers behind the auto market recovery, and how will media services trend in the second half of this year?A: Craig Zeng (CFO): While the overall market is expected to decline 16% for the year, growth opportunities exist in vehicle upgrades and replacements, particularly in the high-end NEV segment. Auto exports represent another significant opportunity, with NEV exports surging 124% year-over-year and accounting for over 50% of total passenger vehicle exports. For the media business in the second half, the traditional "golden September and silver October" season, combined with multiple new vehicle launches, should support a recovery. The company expects the market to show improvement in the second half of the year. Q: Given the pressure on auto dealers, how does management think about the outlook for the sales leads business?A: Craig Zeng (CFO): Lead generation performance is highly correlated with overall market sales volumes, and the Q2 market decline was the main reason for the segment's performance. According to CADA data, 77% of dealerships achieved less than 90% of their first-half sales targets, reflecting significant operating pressures. However, Autohome sees opportunities by increasing traffic and upgrading products to improve lead quality. The company is leveraging AI technology, including AI live streaming to empower dealers' new media operations and smart store features with intelligent guided tours that use AI-generated voice commentary to create immersive experiences and increase user engagement. These product and service upgrades are expected to build a solid foundation for product renewals next year. Q: What were the key financial results for the second quarter of 2026?A: Craig Zeng (CFO): Net revenues for Q2 2026 were RMB1.2 billion, comprising media services revenues of RMB280 million, leads generation services revenues of RMB560 million, and online marketplace and others revenues of RMB357 million. Gross margin improved to 77.1% from 71.4% in the prior year period. Operating profit was RMB130 million, and adjusted net income attributable to Autohome was RMB277 million. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS were RMB2.46. The balance sheet remains robust with cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaling RMB19.36 billion as of June 30, 2026. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

BEIJING, July 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) ("Autohome" or the "Company"), a leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, today announced that it will report its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2026, before U.S. markets open on August 20, 2026. Autohome's management team will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, August 20, 2026 (8:00 PM Beijing Time on the same day). Please register in advance of the conference using the registration link provided below. Upon registering, each participant will receive a set of participant dial-in numbers and a personal PIN, which will be used to join the conference call. Details for the conference call are as follows: Event Title: Q2 2026 Autohome Inc Earnings Conference CallRegistration Link: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI296b7d951b7846ef99ed79972fbe1931 Please use the conference access information to join the call ten minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at https://ir.autohome.com.cn and a replay of the webcast will be available following the session. About Autohome Inc. Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) is the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. Its mission is to engage, educate and inform consumers about everything auto. Autohome provides occupationally-generated content, professionally-generated content, user-generated content, and AI-generated content, a comprehensive automobile library, and extensive automobile listing information to automobile consumers, covering the entire car purchase and ownership cycle. The ability to reach a large and engaged user base of automobile consumers has made Autohome a preferred platform for automakers and dealers to conduct their advertising campaigns. Further, the Company's dealer subscription and advertising services allow dealers to market their inventory and services through Autohome's platform, extending the reach of their physical showrooms to potentially millions of internet users in China and generating sales leads for them. The Company offers sales leads, data analysis, and marketing services to assist automakers and dealers with improving their efficiency and facilitating transactions. Autohome operates its "Autohome Mall," a full-service online transaction platform, to facilitate transactions for automakers and dealers. Further, through its websites and mobile applications, it also provides other value-added services, including auto financing, auto insurance, used car transactions, and aftermarket services. For further information, please visit www.autohome.com.cn. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Autohome Inc.Sterling SongInvestor Relations DirectorTel: +86-10-5985-7483E-mail: [email protected] Christensen China Limited Suri ChengTel: +86-10-5900-1548E-mail: [email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/autohome-inc-to-announce-second-quarter-and-interim-2026-financial-results-on-august-20-2026-302839841.html

BEIJING, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) ("Autohome" or the "Company"), the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, today announced that the following proposed resolutions submitted for shareholder approval have been adopted at its 2025 annual general meeting of shareholders held in Beijing today, including (i) a special resolution that the Company's Seventh Amended and Restated Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association are amended and restated by their deletion in their entirety and by the substitution in their place of the Eighth Amended and Restated Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, and (ii) ordinary resolutions that each of Mr. Chi Liu, Mr. Haishan Liang, Ms. Cuimei Zhang, Mr. Shenglei Zhou and Mr. Xing Fang is re-elected as directors of the Company and each director of the Company be and is hereby authorized to take any and every action that might be necessary to effect the foregoing resolution as such director, in his or her absolute discretion, thinks fit. About Autohome Inc. Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) is the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. Its mission is to engage, educate and inform consumers about everything auto. Autohome provides occupationally generated content, professionally generated content, user-generated content, and AI-generated content, a comprehensive automobile library, and extensive automobile listing information to automobile consumers, covering the entire car purchase and ownership cycle. The ability to reach a large and engaged user base of automobile consumers has made Autohome a preferred platform for automakers and dealers to conduct their advertising campaigns. Further, the Company's dealer subscription and advertising services allow dealers to market their inventory and services through Autohome's platform, extending the reach of their physical showrooms to potentially millions of internet users in China and generating sales leads for them. The Company offers sales leads, data analysis, and marketing services to assist automakers and dealers with improving their efficiency and facilitating transactions. Autohome operates its "Autohome Mall," a full-service online transaction platform, to facilitate transactions for automakers and dealers. Further, through its websites and mobile applications, it also provides other value-added services, including auto financing, auto insurance, used car transactions, and aftermarket services. For further information, please visit https://www.autohome.com.cn/. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: Autohome Inc.Investor RelationsSterling SongInvestor Relations Director Tel: +86-10-5985-7483E-mail: [email protected] Christensen China LimitedSuri ChengTel: +86-185-0060-8364E-mail: [email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/autohome-inc-announces-results-of-2025-annual-general-meeting-302807206.html

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 8 a.m. ET Chief Financial Officer — Yan Zeng Craig Yan Zeng, for opening remarks. Craig, please go ahead. Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you, Sterling. Hello, everyone. This is Craig Zeng. Thank you for joining our earnings conference call today. We began the year by rolling out a series of initiatives to accelerate the transformation of our platform from an automotive information media into a comprehensive automotive service ecosystem. On the user front, we've initiated a major brand refresh and APP upgrade, shifting our focus towards users' interests and the end-to-end car purchase journey to more precisely address consumers' demands. By strengthening the developments of premium content and expanding our new media matrix, we continue to grow our user base steadily, with average mobile daily active users surpassing 80 million, a new all-time high. With regards to our transaction platform development, our new retail business launched an online car purchase feature and began piloting collaborative initiatives with multiple dealers to explore new automotive e-commerce experiences. We also continue to advance our global expansion, YesAuto, our overseas platform, also went live. Together, officially launched operations in Thailand, and our global cross-border used car export platform also went live. Together, these advancements mark the beginning of a new development phase for Autohome, characterized by a dual-circulation model spanning both domestic and international markets. As our front-end business continues to expand, we are strengthening our core platform capabilities in parallel. AI and large language models are increasingly becoming a foundational pillar of our infrastructure. On the external services front, we provide our partners with an AI-powered intelligent product mix. On the internal operations front, we've already integrated large language model capabilities into the company's workflow. As a result, AI-driven platform operations are rapidly advancing from isolated efficiency gains to end-to-end systematic transformation. Specifically, in March of this year, our overseas content platform YesAuto officially launched operations in Thailand, expanding our professional strength into international markets. With a focus on localized operations, the platform has onboarded local creators, and established a professional content system. To-date, it covers 100 Chinese new energy vehicle model series and includes more than 10,000 product specifications, laying the groundwork for a China NEV database in Thailand. In addition, leveraging the momentum of the Bangkok International Motor Show, we partnered with 6 Chinese automotive brands and 12 media outlets to execute integrated communication campaigns and build a diverse topic matrix. This campaign generated over 140 million views and over 530,000 user interactions across platforms, giving us a strong start in our first overseas market and creating new opportunities to support the long-term diversified development of our business. In terms of MCN development, in the first quarter, Autohome Media MCN ecosystem improved in both quantity and quality. The number of premium creators across various fields exceeded 650, and cumulative reach across new media platforms approached 150 million users. The share of top-tier and middle-tier influencers increased significantly, and further enhancing the overall health of the ecosystem. Through various approaches including holiday-themed marketing campaigns, creator incentives, deep engagement at offline exhibitions, professional driver incubation, and the development of an overseas influencer ecosystem, et cetera, we are comprehensively building our differentiated content competitiveness. According to QuestMobile, Autohome's average mobile DAUs reached 80.73 million in March, representing a year-over-year increase of4.9%. In the new energy vehicle sector, we continue to focus on Autohome Mall as we build a new transaction ecosystem for the automotive industry. In late April, we launched the online car purchase feature in 2 cities, Shenzhen and Xi'an. Local partner dealerships posted competitive local pricing on the Mall, enabling users to complete the entire car purchasing process in one go, including online vehicle selection, configuration, and deposit payments. Users can then sign the contract offline and pay the remaining balance before taking delivery. To streamline the car purchasing process and address user concerns, we introduced 4 key guarantees that is officially certified vehicle sources, end-to-end supervision funds, transparent pricing and worry-free refundable deposit policy from sourcing compliance to fund security and from transparent pricing to flexible purchasing options. The platform prioritizes user right at every stage, delivering a secure and trustworthy car purchasing experience. In the area of AI and large language models, we are leveraging AI and large language models to reshape the entire workflow of our platform's content center, from tracking trending hot topics across the internet to content distribution. Through an AI-powered smart radar, we continuously monitor online trends around the clock. Combined with large language model assisted content packaging and AIGC enabled automated content generation, we've effectively integrated professional automotive topics with broader public hot topics, establishing a highly efficient rapid response mechanism. As a result, we have improved content relevance while significantly enhancing operational efficiency. In addition, we have applied both the reverse funnel model and the intelligent distribution model to our membership business. The reverse funnel model works by reasoning backwards from transactions to derive accurate user profiles and extract the key characteristics of these users, improving alignment between platform content and the high conversion user needs. The intelligent distribution model breaks through the limitations of isolated platform data by integrating multidimensional inputs such as omnichannel user behavior, scenario preferences, and transaction attribution data. This enables smarter, more precise traffic matching as well as more effective user targeting and reach. In the used car business, during the first quarter, we launched 2 core business platforms, a full process used car selling service platform and a cross-border used car export service platform. Together, they form a dual-engine model of improving quality and efficiency in domestic services while expanding into global markets. These platforms provide individual car owners, domestic dealers, and overseas buyers with one-stop integrated solutions, helping the industry move into a new stage of high-quality development defined by efficiency, transparency, and security. Our full process used car selling service platform offers free official inspections, dedicated full-stack services, and a nationwide price inquiry capabilities. Through deep integration of our underlying digital systems, we've established a standardized service system that covers the entire lifecycle of a car owner's selling journey. The platform is currently in pilot operation in 2 cities, and we plan to accelerate the rollout to more cities nationwide. Our cross-border used car export service platform represents our initial effort towards capturing growth opportunities in overseas markets. It enables dealers to list vehicles on both domestic and international platforms, with a single click. Each exported vehicle includes a detailed inspection report and a complete maintenance and insurance record. These standardized services help address overseas buyers' concerns and reduce the trust gap associated with cross-border transactions. Going forward, we will introduce more vehicle sourcing partners to further enrich the supply of export qualified vehicles. We also plan to build an end-to-end closed-loop system that integrates domestic vehicle sourcing and aggregation, cross-border transaction matching, and overseas delivery fulfillment, enabling used car dealers to execute compliant cross-border exports with no barriers. Overall, since the beginning of 2026, we've been actively advancing new initiatives and strategic deployments across multiple business areas, including our content ecosystem, new retail, and the used car businesses. While driving business development, we've maintained a healthy balance sheet and continue to deliver on our commitment to providing stable shareholder returns. Today, our Board of Directors approved a cash dividend plan for the first half of 2026, and we have been actively executing share repurchases in the open market. Looking ahead, we will remain focused on emerging growth areas while maintaining stringent cost controls to ensure long-term value for our shareholders. With that, let me briefly walk you through the key financials for the first quarter of 2026. Please note that, I will reference RMB only in my discussion today unless otherwise stated. Net revenues for the first quarter were RMB 1.05 billion. To break it down further, media services revenues were RMB 163 million, lead generation services revenues were RMB 503 million, and online marketplace and others revenues were RMB 382 million. With respect to cost of revenues in the first quarter was RMB 257 million compared with RMB 316 million in the first quarter of 2025. Gross margin in the first quarter was 75.5% compared with 78.3% in the same period last year. Turning to operating expenses, sales and marketing expenses in the first quarter were RMB 506 million compared with RMB 544 million in the first quarter of 2025. Product and development expenses were RMB 274 million, flat year-over-year. General and administrative expenses were RMB 120 million compared with RMB 131 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per share in the first quarter were both RMB 0.39 compared with RMB 0.88 in the corresponding period of 2025. The non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS in the first quarter were RMB 1.55 and RMB 1.54 respectively, compared with RMB 3.54 and RMB 3.52 respectively, in the corresponding period of 2025. As of March 31, 2026, our balance sheet remains robust. Cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and other long-term investments totaled RMB 20.04 billion. Net cash used in operating activities was RMB 143 million in the first quarter of 2026. On March 5, 2026, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program under which we are committed to repurchase up to USD 200 million of Autohome's ADS over period not exceeding 18 months. As of May 22, 2026, we repurchased approximately 3.47 million ADS for a total cost of approximately USD 62.3 million. In addition, in accordance with our dividend policy, our Board of Directors approved [ Audio Gap ] per ADS or USD 0.65 for ordinary share payable in U.S. dollars to holders of ADS and ordinary shares of record as of the close of business on July 2, 2026. The aggregate amount of the dividends will be approximately RMB 0.5 billion and expected to be paid to holders of the company's ordinary shares and ADS on or around July 24, 2026 and July 31, 2026 respectively. So that concludes our financial summary. Now we are ready to open up the Q&A session. Operator, please open the line for the Q&A session. Thank you. Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from the line of Thomas Chong of Jefferies. Thomas Chong: [Foreign Language] My first question is about the industry trend. We have seen auto industry is a bit soft in Q1. Can management provide more color about your thoughts about the auto industry outlook? And my second question is about Autohome and Haier. Can management comment about the updates regarding the synergies? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you for your question. As you mentioned, in China, the auto market weakened in the first quarter this year. Retail sales of passenger vehicles declined 17% year-over-year, while NEV sales declined 21% year-over-year. It is the first quarter in history where NEV sales recorded a year-over-year decline in the past, the first time. And in April this year, retail sales for both passenger vehicles and NEVs both continued to fall further, declining 22% and 7% respectively compared to the same period in 2025. So this is the result of multiple pressures converging from government policy, industry conditions, as well as consumer demand. The faster government policy adjustment and the pulling forward of consumer demand, it's a core reason -- main reason behind the sales decline. As you know, the policy exempting the new energy vehicle from purchase tax expired at the end of December last year. So this policy expiration really caused consumers to bring forward their car purchases. So we saw NEV retail sales reach nearly 1.34 million units in December last year alone. So this is a record high in history. This also directly puts forward part of the demand that would otherwise have appeared in the first quarter this year. So since the beginning of 2026, as you know, the government subsidies have been scaled back. The policy-driven boost to demands weakened. At the same time, the overall consumer confidence still remains relatively cautious in Q1. So this further dampens consumers' willingness to purchase vehicles. In addition, the auto market in the first quarter last year was a period of cyclical recovery, so it creates a relatively high base for comparison. The combination of a tougher year-over-year comparison last year, and softer demand this year underscores the market pressures seen in the first quarter. So it formed the primary backdrop for the short-term decline in auto sales. So from an industry perspective, we can see the overcapacity in the auto sector further exacerbated the market pressure and reinforced consumers' wait and see attitude. So on one hand, dealer inventory still remain at high level. Since the beginning of this year, the Dealer Inventory Warning Index has stayed above the caution threshold for several months already. So it increased the pressure on dealers' cash flows. The dealers' losses spread further. So in order to recover capital, the dealers have increased their discounts. So this drives the prices lower. So in this way, it has strengthened our consumers' expectations that the auto prices will continue to fall down. It's further lessening the purchasing decision cycle and slowing the transaction conversion. So on the other hand, operating pressures on major OEMs also continue to spread. Among the top 10 OEMs in the first quarter this year, 9 of them reported year-over-year sales declines. We also observed that the profit margin for the China auto manufacturing industry fell to just 3.2% for 3 months this year. This is a record low in history, and it is further declining from 4.1% compared with last year. So this really reflects the widespread reality facing the whole industry. The OEMs are relying on pricing cuts to drive sales volumes, while both prices and volumes are simultaneously under great pressure. Another point is that, in the future export, exports -- auto exports will serve as a key stabilizing force for the auto industry. According to the data from CPCA, China Passenger Car Association, China exported a cumulative 1.83 million vehicles in the first quarter this year, which is a year-over-year growth of 61%. So AEV exports continue to account for a large percentage, still significantly a high share. So it remains as the core growth driver in overseas expansion. About the synergies and collaboration with Haier Group, the transaction has completed more than 6 months. So the current collaboration is still focused on synergies execution in the used car business and offline services scenario, et cetera. For CARtech, its used car business has been developing for so many years with a presence across multiple cities nationwide in China, and it has extensive experience in integrated online to offline operations and dealership store management, et cetera. So Haier Group, it also brings us expertise in consumer service systems and management models, which are all areas for collaboration and knowledge sharing for us. For example, our new retail business has already begun cooperation with CARtech in the used car segment, including the vehicle sourcing and vehicle inspection processes. CARtech's vehicle customization and the charging port -- charging station business have also created synergistic opportunities with that. So going forward in the future, we plan to continue deepening and expanding cooperation in the above areas. Thank you. Operator: We will now take our next question from Brian Gong of Citi. Brian Gong: [Interpreted] I have 2 questions. First is that, can management share the feedback from dealers during the contract renewal period this year? Should we expect continuous decline on sales lead business given dealers worsening conditions? And secondly, for new retail business, what is our strategies for expansion now? Does this business approaches the phase that we can scale up very quickly? And how should we view its growth potential ahead? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you for your question. At present, for the dealer membership renewal, this has been completed this year. And overall, the dealer customer coverage still remains at a stable level. Even though there is ongoing price wars in the auto market and there are shrinking margins at the retail level. So it's really bring a lot of high inventory pressure for most of the dealers. So for most of the dealers, they adopted a more conservative operating approach, and the loss-making coverage in the dealer segment has widened, and the profitability pressure still remains at a high level in the retail end for the dealers. Despite there is a pressure on the overall vehicle sales, for dealers, their demand for high-quality sales leads still continue to increase. Autohome still remains one of the most important customer acquisition channels for dealer customers. So on the membership services side, we are improving the traffic, matching accuracy and distribution efficiency through the data-driven reverse funnel model and the intelligent distribution model. So going forward, Autohome will continue to work closely, with the dealer customers to further explore solutions which can help them to break through the current operation challenges for the dealer customers. We aim to support dealerships in increasing the customer traffic and improving the conversion rate, while also trying to expand the integrated O2O business initiative. Our goal is to help dealer customers improve their revenues and profitability, while mitigating as much as possible the operational impact caused by the broader auto industry downturn. For our new retail business, we are still currently exploring to reach allowing local dealer customers to join our network, which is the Autohome Mall platform, and display dealer vehicle inventory and the final transaction pricing online. So this model is just quite similar to Taobao marketplace model. So through cooperation with such dealers, we are able to provide users with a seamless O2O online-to-offline one-stop vehicle purchasing experience, which can cover the entire process from the online vehicle selection, browsing, personalized configuration, to online deposit payment, and convenient offline vehicle delivery and pickup. And our target is to create an e-commerce, like auto transaction platform, which can deliver an efficient, user-friendly experience for our customers. At present, we are piloting this model, online car purchasing model in 2 cities, Xi'an and Shenzhen, so far so good. And once this model has been fully upgraded and validated, we will further expand it into other additional cities. Thank you. Operator: We will now take our next question from the line of Jing Yuan from CICC. Jing Yuan: [Foreign Language] I wonder, what's the company's future plan for shareholder returns going forward? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you for your question. As we said, we will continue to implement our commitment for shareholder returns. Today, our Board of Directors announced the interim cash dividend plan of RMB 500 million for the first half of this year, and we will continue to fulfill our commitment for the full year cash dividend of no less than RMB 1.5 billion. So regardless of the fluctuations in the auto industry, we will consistently place strong emphasis on the shareholder returns, and we will maintain continuity and stability in our dividend policy. For the share buyback, our new share buyback program was ratified in March by the Board. So until today, it's almost 3 months. So far, we have completed roughly 1/3 of the authorized share repurchase amount. And so it really reflects our determined attitude and execution. We have -- for Autohome, we have been consistently prioritized shareholder returns and we established our shareholder return framework, including the cash dividend plus the share buyback. So going forward, we will continue to adhere to our comprehensive shareholder return policy in the future. Operator: We will now take our next question from the line of Ritchie Sun of HSBC. Ritchie Sun: [Foreign language] I want to ask about the Autohome Mall business progress. Any metrics to share and the second half outlook? Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you for your question. For detailed numbers, it is still too early at the moment. For our Autohome Shopping Mall, our target is try to provide our users with more standardized new cars, certified used car products and multiple platform level safeguards. For example, for the new standard vehicles, we aggregate the bestselling models from major brands and offer exclusive benefits as well as other transparent final pricing. And so it can address key user pain points such as the difficulty in the price comparison and customer concerns about overpaying. And for the high-quality used cars, we can rely on our deep cooperation with CARtech to establish a unified inspection and warranty system. So for the online auto industry, the overall business model is still not very clear, but we firmly trust that this is the right direction for the whole industry. So from our point of view, we do expect that both the new car and the used car transaction business will become a new engine for Autohome's future growth. So this is our deep understanding for the future of the industry. Thank you. Operator: Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'll turn the call back to management for closing remarks. Yan Zeng: [Interpreted] Thank you everyone. Thank you very much for joining the call today. We appreciate your continued support and we look forward to updating you on our next quarter's conference call in a few months' time. And in the meantime, please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or comments. Thank you very much. Goodbye. Thank you. Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect your lines. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.] Before you buy stock in Autohome, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Autohome wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. 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As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Autohome (ATHM) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool