NetEase: Masked Margin Miss (Archive)

Favorable PC mix exposed a structural 360 bps margin headwind in core gaming.

NetEase: Masked Margin Miss (Archive)

This 5-Minute Pitch was originally published on Seeking Alpha before the launch of the Hunting Alphas website. It is shared here to showcase my previous work and track record. New 5-Minute Pitches published on this site will not be disseminated anywhere else.

Elevator Pitch

  • My most important takeaway from NetEase's Q4 FY22 earnings call yesterday is on the margin dynamics:
  • The headline ~300bps gross profit margin miss vs consensus is understandable as it is due to a one-time effect.
  • But a favorable mix effect toward PC games - which have materially higher margins than mobile games - failed to translate into higher margins.
  • Based on this, I deduce that NetEase is seeing a 360bps margin headwind in its core online gaming business. I expect this weakness to continue as the underlying drivers look weak.
  • Technical analysis supports my view, which is a 'Sell' stance on the stock.

Read the full article here.

Disclosures and Disclaimers

Past performance ≠ future results. Not investment advice. See full Disclaimer.