One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$9.96 our estimate vs market $3.53
Wall Street consensus: $6.05 (-39.2% lower than our fair-value estimate)
65% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
DiDi Global Inc.
DIDIY · PNK · Technology · Software - Application
Current price
$3.53
52-week range
$3.30 - $6.99
Market cap
$15.91B
Balance sheet
Healthy
-18.54x Concerning
Net cash $4.22B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
2 Risks
2 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 32.7% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 3/10 years.
- Risk Return on equity was -2.7% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 0.3% (peer median: 1.3%).
What this company does
DiDi Global Inc.
DiDi Global is a major ride-sharing company, often called the "Uber of China," that makes most of its money by taking a cut from every ride booked through its app. The company is also expanding into other services like food delivery, bike sharing, and financial services in China and other countries. Because it is the dominant player in China, its success is heavily tied to its large market share (its portion of total sales in the ride-sharing industry) and its ability to navigate Chinese government regulations.
How the company got here
DiDi was founded in Beijing in 2012 by Cheng Wei, starting as an app to hail taxis. The company grew rapidly by merging with a major rival and then acquiring Uber's China operations in 2016, which established its dominance in the Chinese market. A key turning point was its international expansion, beginning with the acquisition of Brazil's leading ride-hailing company in 2018. After a brief and tumultuous period as a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, DiDi faced a cybersecurity investigation in China and was delisted in 2022. The company's apps were restored in early 2023, allowing it to resume signing up new users in its home market.
What it actually does
DiDi is a technology company that operates a mobile app connecting people who need a ride with drivers. Think of it like a massive online taxi service, but with a much wider variety of options. Beyond just hailing a car, DiDi's platform also offers services like food delivery, bike and e-bike rentals, and even financial services in some areas. The company provides flexible work opportunities for drivers and delivery partners, using technology to manage transportation and local services.
China Mobility
This is DiDi's original and largest business, making up the vast majority of its revenue. It includes all of its ride-hailing services within China, such as requesting a taxi, hiring a private car, or using a chauffeur (a professional driver for your own car). This segment is the company's core profit engine, where customers pay for each ride they take through the app. The scale of its operations in China, with a huge number of users and drivers, is its biggest advantage.
International
This segment covers DiDi's operations outside of China, primarily in Latin America and other Asia-Pacific countries. It offers similar ride-hailing services to its China business, but has also expanded into food delivery and financial services in these markets. While smaller than the China segment, this is a major area of growth for the company. Customers in countries like Brazil and Mexico use the DiDi app to book rides and order food, paying for each service provided.
Other Initiatives
This is DiDi's division for newer and more experimental businesses that complement its main transportation services. It includes services like bike and e-bike sharing, intra-city freight (moving goods within a city), and financial services. This segment also housed the company's efforts in developing autonomous driving (self-driving cars), though it has since sold that unit. These are smaller bets on future sources of revenue, with customers paying for specific services like renting a bike or financing a car purchase.
What management is betting on now
Management is heavily focused on expanding its International business, particularly in Latin America, using the profits from its stable China operations to fund this growth. The strategy involves aggressively investing to gain market share in services like food delivery, even if it means lower short-term profitability (the ability to make more money than it spends). The company is also investing in technologies like artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and the user experience. Another key focus is developing an ecosystem around electric vehicles, including partnerships for battery swapping, to support its large network of drivers.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2022 Q4
$-1.76B
FY2023 Q4
$746.19M
Revenue
$27.10B
Net income
$69.51M
Diluted EPS
-0.06
Operating cash flow
$1.08B
Free cash flow
$746.19M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$20.41B
Net income
$-3.45B
Diluted EPS
-2.96
Operating cash flow
$-1.39B
Free cash flow
$-1.76B
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $9.96 vs current price $3.53
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $6.05 (-39.2% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $9.96 a share — about 182.1% above today's price of $3.53, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Healthy
Net cash $4.2B - more cash than debt. Interest coverage -18.5x.
Net debt
$-4.22B
Interest coverage
-18.54x
DiDi Global Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.0 times over. which is weaker 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
DIDIY
BASELINE
DiDi Global Inc.
Total debt $2.57B Interest coverage -18.54x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $12.42B Interest coverage 12.65x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while DIDIY does not.
Total debt $1.95B Interest coverage 3.13x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while DIDIY does not.
Total debt $1.29B Interest coverage -9.08x Neither company has much profit cushion over interest right now.
Total debt $3.29B Interest coverage 362.50x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while DIDIY does not.
Total debt $34.00M Interest coverage 8.74x This peer still has a real interest-payment cushion, while DIDIY does not.
What you should know
The case for and against DIDIY
2 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 32.7% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 3/10 years.
Risks
-
Return on equity was -2.7% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.3% (peer median: 1.3%).
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)
—
Forward P/E
14.57x
P/B
1.25x
P/S
0.07x
EV/EBITDA
3.15x
PEG ratio
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Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
15.6%
Operating margin
-1.2%
Net margin
-1.1%
ROE
-2.7%
ROA
-2.5%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.20x
Current ratio
1.23x
Quick ratio
0.79x
Total debt
$2.57B
Total cash
$6.79B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$27.10B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-0.3%
EPS TTM
0.00
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.08B
Free CF TTM
$951.89M
FCF margin
3.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
—
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
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