Tencent Holdings Ltd. (700-HK, BUY)

1Q Miss and COVID Likely Delays Recovery, but Easing Regulations Should Support Investor Sentiment; Maintain BUY and Decreasing PT to HK$400

We are maintaining our BUY rating but decreasing PT to HK$400 (was HK$475) after Tencent reported 1Q earnings miss and implied continued macro challenges for 2Q. Domestic game revenue declined 1% y/y. Int'l game revenue grew 8% CC y/y (vs. +24% in 4Q, excluding onetime accounting adjustments), accounting for 24% (flat y/y) of total game revenue. Advertising revenue took the biggest hit from COVID lockdowns and declined 18% y/y (vs. -13% in 4Q). FinTech+Cloud growth also decelerated to +10% y/y (vs. +25% in 4Q). On the last earnings call, mgmt. indicated a recovery could happen in 2H. But given the prolonged lockdowns in some cities including Shanghai and the weakness in recent macro data, we think the recovery will be further relayed to 4Q. In 1Q, the company repurchased 8,864,400 shares for approximately HKD3,697 million.

Overall, while the operating environment will likely remain challenging in the near term, we believe that, with strong operating cash flow, Tencent is better positioned to take the opportunity to build around its long-term strategic areas such as int'l games, Video Accounts, and SaaS offerings. Moreover, while it will take time to see the benefits, the Chinese government is easing regulations for the digital economy, which should give investors more confidence in the sector