KE Holdings Inc - ADR

Strategic pivot to “efficiency-driven” growth (core message for 2026) - Management said 2025 strategy shifted from scale-driven to efficiency-driven to improve unit economics and cost structure; platform capability and AI-enabled decision support are positioned as the sustainable growth engine. - CEO emphasized the industry is moving from winning by agent/store headcount to winning by service capability + operational efficiency, with value creation for customers (certainty in decisions) as the long-term driver.

2025 FY financial/operating highlights: resilient fee mix + margin improvement, driven by cost discipline - Fee revenue relatively stable vs broader industry; non-housing transaction revenue hit 41% of total (record high). - Existing home “existing home GTV” structure improved: connected brands ~63% of existing home GTV; existing home platform service revenue “basically stable” YoY. - Cost and profitability: operating expenses ratio down 1.4pp YoY; existing home fixed labor costs declined for 4 consecutive quarters; new home contribution margin improved (+0.2pp YoY), plus home renovation/home rental profitability gains. - Shareholder returns: ~$921m share repurchases in 2025 (+29% YoY) and final cash dividend ~ $0.3b, making total shareholder return ~$1.22b (~+9% YoY)—management stated this equals about 170% of 2025 non-GAAP net profit (strong capital return profile).

Q4 2025: sharp YoY revenue/GTV decline from high base; margins pressured; one-off cost optimization hit earnings - GTV: RMB 724.1b, -36.7% YoY - Revenue: RMB 22.2b, -28.7% YoY - Gross margin: 21.4%, -1.6pp YoY - Bottom line: GAAP net income RMB 82m (-85.7% YoY); non-GAAP net income RMB 517m (-61.5% YoY) - CFO noted Q4 profitability was partially impacted by one-off expenses from cost optimization initiatives (important “bad” point that management tried to frame as transitional).