One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$104.19 our estimate vs market $19.96
Wall Street consensus: $21.25 (-79.6% lower than our fair-value estimate)
81% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Autohome Inc.
ATHM · NYQ · Communication Services · Internet Content & Information
Current price
$19.96
52-week range
$15.57 - $26.28
Market cap
$2.30B
Balance sheet
Healthy
1.17x Concerning
Net cash $2.72B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 11.1% last year.
- Reward Returns 3.7% on equity, ahead of 25% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 790.9% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 18.0% to 10.9% over 3 years.
What this company does
Autohome Inc.
Autohome Inc. is like an online hub in China where people go to research and buy cars, offering everything from car reviews and comparisons to tools for selling used cars. Their main income comes from advertising for car companies and dealers, as well as from fees for helping people buy cars or get loans and insurance through their platform. This matters because it shows how they connect car buyers and sellers, and how profitable their advertising and service offerings are.
How the company got here
Autohome Inc. was founded in 2004 and officially became Autohome Inc. in October 2011, having previously been known as Sequel Limited. It started as an online platform focused on providing information and tools for car buyers in China. Over the years, it has grown to become a leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, expanding its services beyond just content to include transaction facilitation and other automotive-related services. The company's growth has been driven by its ability to attract a large user base and provide valuable services to both consumers and automotive businesses. Autohome's journey reflects the rapid growth of the internet and the automotive market in China.
What it actually does
Autohome is essentially an online hub for everything related to cars in China. Think of it as a one-stop shop where people can research cars, compare models, find dealerships, and even facilitate transactions like buying or selling. It provides a wide range of content, from professional reviews to user-generated opinions, helping consumers make informed decisions. For car manufacturers and dealers, Autohome offers advertising and lead generation services, connecting them with potential buyers. The company operates through its websites and mobile apps, making its services accessible to a broad audience.
Media Services
This part of Autohome's business focuses on advertising for car makers and regional marketing campaigns. Automakers (the companies that build cars) pay Autohome to promote their vehicles and services to potential customers who visit the platform. This is similar to how a TV channel makes money by selling ad spots. These services help car brands reach a large audience of interested car buyers, driving awareness and potential sales. This segment is a significant contributor to Autohome's overall revenue, as advertising is a primary way online platforms monetize their user base.
Leads Generation Services
This business line is all about connecting car dealers with potential buyers. Dealers pay Autohome for services that help them find customers, such as subscriptions to list their inventory on the platform and advertising specifically for individual dealerships. Autohome essentially acts as a matchmaker, generating sales leads (information about people who are likely to buy a car) for dealers. This is a crucial service for dealerships, as it helps them fill their sales pipelines and increase their business. In 2025, this was Autohome's top-performing segment in terms of revenue.
Autohome Mall and Transaction Services
Autohome Mall is an online platform where consumers can complete car transactions. This includes facilitating the purchase of new and used cars, as well as offering services like auto financing and insurance. Autohome earns commissions for helping to arrange these financial products and for facilitating the sale of vehicles. This segment represents a move towards a more transaction-focused model, aiming to capture value from the entire car ownership lifecycle, from purchase to after-sales services.
What management is betting on now
Autohome's management is focused on several key strategies to drive future growth. They aim to increase user engagement by improving the content and user experience on their platforms, making it even more valuable for car buyers. They are also working to strengthen their offerings for automakers and dealers, providing them with better tools and data to improve their efficiency. A major priority is to expand their presence across the entire car ownership journey, moving beyond just the purchase phase to include more services for existing car owners. This includes leveraging technology and data to offer more personalized services and capitalize on new opportunities in the automotive ecosystem.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q4
$168.94M
FY2025 Q4
$110.31M
Revenue
$46.55M
Net income
$206.32M
Diluted EPS
0.42
Operating cash flow
$127.19M
Free cash flow
$110.31M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$41.92M
Net income
$230.31M
Diluted EPS
0.46
Operating cash flow
$188.12M
Free cash flow
$168.94M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $104.19 vs current price $19.96
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $21.25 (-79.6% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $104.19 a share — about 422.0% above today's price of $19.96, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Healthy
Net cash $2.7B - more cash than debt. Interest coverage 1.2x.
Net debt
$-2.72B
Interest coverage
1.17x
Autohome Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 1.2 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here and 1 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Healthy
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
ATHM
BASELINE
Autohome Inc.
Total debt $6.85M Interest coverage 1.17x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $185.14M Interest coverage 26.77x +2,196% vs ATHM Carries about 23.0x more debt cushion than ATHM.
Total debt $447.12M Interest coverage 1.98x +70% vs ATHM Carries about 1.7x more debt cushion than ATHM.
Total debt $558.00M Interest coverage -1.78x -100% vs ATHM This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with ATHM.
What you should know
The case for and against ATHM
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 11.1% last year.
-
Returns 3.7% on equity, ahead of 25% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 790.9% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 18.0% to 10.9% over 3 years.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.3% (peer median: 5.5%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
17.36x
Forward P/E
15.02x
P/B
0.69x
P/S
0.42x
EV/EBITDA
-28.52x
PEG ratio
9.34x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
74.0%
Operating margin
10.8%
Net margin
17.1%
ROE
3.7%
ROA
0.8%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.00x
Current ratio
6.75x
Quick ratio
6.51x
Total debt
$6.85M
Total cash
$2.72B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$1.11B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-55.0%
EPS TTM
1.15
EPS 5Y CAGR
-6.8%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.03B
Free CF TTM
$110.31M
FCF margin
9.9%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
9.2%
Payout ratio
216.6%
Last ex-div date
2026-07-02