HAITONG INT'L: First gives Boss Zhipin-W (02076) a "outperform" rating, leading domestic online recruitment market.

HAITONG INT'L released a research report stating that it is covering Boss Zhipin-W (02076) for the first time, giving it an "outperform" rating compared to the market, with a target price of 105 Hong Kong dollars. The report is optimistic about Boss Zhipin's unique business model in the Chinese online recruitment field, believing that its GAI technology will further consolidate its leading position. As the leader in the domestic online recruitment market, the company occupies the minds of both recruiters and job seekers with its direct chat and intelligent matching. In 2022, it will launch the "Hai Luo Plan" to create a closed-loop recruitment system for blue-collar workers and continue to penetrate the blue-collar market. According to QuestMobile, Boss Zhipin's DAU market share has reached 43%, which is twice that of the second-ranked company. Additionally, the report believes that AI will further consolidate its leading position. Key points of HAITONG INT'L: - The company's number of new users continues to grow, and the ARPU of KA and SME customers is steadily increasing. - As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company's average MAU was 63.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 10% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.3%; at the end of the third quarter of 2026, the total number of paid enterprise users in the past 12 months increased by 13.3% year-on-year and 4.6% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 6.8 million; at the same time, the number of paid users in the third quarter increased rapidly, and the ARPU of the company's KA and SME customers is steadily increasing. The company's goal for the number of new certified users in 2026 is over 35 million. - Improvement in industry supply and demand - The company appeared for the first time in nearly three years with the average daily active users of enterprise users exceeding the growth rate of job seekers quarter-on-quarter, indicating a turning point in the company's performance. The growth of blue-collar business income continues to outperform the overall platform level. In terms of white-collar business, the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises has significantly increased, with the company stating that the growth rate of new white-collar job postings has exceeded the level of the same period in 2023; based on this, the report expects this trend to continue in the fourth quarter. - The company continues to improve operational efficiency, and it is expected that the profit margin of 2025 will improve year-on-year - The company continues to improve operational efficiency, with an estimated N-GAAP cost and operating expenses decrease of 152 million RMB in the third quarter, excluding impairment losses, and the non-GAAP operating profit margin increased to 42%; considering year-end bonus incentives, the report expects the company to continue to implement cautious cost control and efficiency improvement measures. The profit margin in the fourth quarter is expected to be roughly the same as that in the third quarter, and there is hope for a year-on-year improvement in the profit margin for the whole of 2025. - Smooth progress in AI business development - 1) AI to C: The AI job assistant has been fully launched, and the average user interaction has significantly increased quarter-on-quarter; continuous optimization of AI simulated interviews has led to a steady increase in user activity and conversion rates. 2) AI to B: The AI communication assistant has been integrated into existing business product tools, helping to increase the average two-way conversion rate by 7%; "AI Quick Recruitment" is currently in the stage of phased promotion. 3) Exploration of AI hosting services and AI batch recruitment solutions: The company is prudently exploring diversified AI hosting services and AI batch recruitment solutions for high-end white-collar, gold-collar, and blue-collar workers (such as catering and manufacturing industries), with related businesses gradually yielding benefits. Risk warning - Intensified competition, macroeconomic weakness.