New stock outlook | Digiwin Co., Ltd. sprints into the "A+H" camp: Research and development drag on gross profit, can Athena AI unlock the growth ceiling?

After twelve years of hard work in A shares, Digiwin Co., Ltd. (300378.SZ), a veteran in the industrial software industry with over 40 years of history, has chosen to knock on the door of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange once again. On May 6, Digiwin Co., Ltd. officially submitted its listing prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, intending to list on the Hong Kong main board, with CMSC International as the exclusive sponsor. Formerly known as "Dingxin Computer," Digiwin Co., Ltd. was founded in Taiwan, China in 1982. The company is a provider of manufacturing industry digitalization solutions, including comprehensive digitalization software products, integrated software and hardware solutions, and digitalization technical service products. If successful in the hearing process, Digiwin Co., Ltd., which has been deeply cultivating the manufacturing industry digitalization track for over 40 years, will officially join the "A+H" share camp - competing in the Hong Kong stock market alongside KINGDEE INT'L, Zhejiang Supcon Technology Co., Ltd., JD INDUSTRIALS, and INSPUR DIGI ENT, among others. As of the close of trading on May 13, Digiwin Co., Ltd.'s A-share price was 42.79 yuan, with a total market value of approximately 11.62 billion yuan. However, it is worth noting that on the eve of this Hong Kong IPO, Digiwin Co., Ltd. also faces pressure from its largest shareholder, Foxconn Industrial Internet, reducing its holdings through intensive selling between January 8 and February 10, by cashing out about 351 million yuan, with an average selling price between 50 yuan and 67 yuan, reducing its stake to 20%. For Digiwin Co., Ltd. about to knock on the door of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the "voting with their feet" of the major shareholders may to some extent suppress the willingness of international long-term funds to participate and bring additional psychological discount to the IPO valuation. So, what is the investment value of this veteran industrial software player with over 40 years of history? Steady Growth "Slow Runner" or Potential "Sleeper" It is understood that Digiwin Co., Ltd. was one of the earliest domestic players to enter the field of manufacturing industry informatization, with its full value chain product matrix (research and development design-digital management-production control-IoT AIoT) covering the entire manufacturing process. After more than forty years of deep cultivation, the company is currently among the top tier in its track in China. According to Frost & Sullivan data, based on 2025 revenue, Digiwin Co., Ltd. is the largest domestic provider of manufacturing industry digitalization solutions in China, ranking fifth among all providers in the market, with a market share of 1.4%. It also ranks eighth among all providers in the Asian market for manufacturing industry digitalization solutions, and is the top-ranked provider headquartered in Asia, with a market share of 0.9%. Among these, the "Athena" digital native platform independently developed by Digiwin Co., Ltd. is the technological foundation of the company's manufacturing industry digitalization solutions, providing customers with reliable, flexible, and scalable technological support. Launched in 2022, the platform is centered around "digitally driven" and "knowledge encapsulation," deeply integrating large model capabilities such as Azure GPT, Tongyi Qianwen, and DeepSeek, to build an AI intelligent application matrix. It can be seen that in this long marathon of industrial software, Digiwin Co., Ltd. may not be the fastest runner, but the company may be one of the few "long-distance runners" who have been running for 40 years and are still accelerating continuously. Therefore, its fundamentals also highlight multiple characteristics such as steady growth and potential for future growth. According to the prospectus, in 2023 to 2025, the company achieved revenues of 2.28 billion yuan, 2.33 billion yuan, and 2.43 billion yuan respectively. The following two years saw year-on-year growth of 4.6% and 4.4%, maintaining growth in the single digits; achieving annual profits of 155 million yuan, 158 million yuan, and 174 million yuan respectively in the same years, with year-on-year growth of 1.9% and 10.12%, showing a steady growth trend. However, it is worth noting that compared to the steady revenue and net profit data, the company's gross profit margin has declined, from 61.5% in 2023 to 58.1% in 2025. Although still at a relatively high level, the downward trend is also evident. This may be related to the company's continued high-intensity research and development investment. According to the prospectus, in 2025, Digiwin Co., Ltd. invested a total of 344 million yuan in research and development, accounting for 14.15% of revenue. The company explicitly stated in the risk factors that "the company's continued growth depends on upgrading technology, expanding products and services, and successfully launching optimized versions to meet evolving customer needs, keep up with technological developments, and adapt to changes in relevant laws and regulations, which may require significant investment, and may continue to increase with technological development, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analysis, system integration, and network security." Based on this, it is clear that behind the single-digit growth curve of revenue and profits, Digiwin Co., Ltd. has not chosen to rely on its existing advantages and instead continues to invest significantly in research and development, including the ongoing investment in the Athena platform, as evidenced by the over 14% research and development intensity in 2025, a clear demonstration of gearing up for the AI era. Billion-dollar Market Scale vs. Fragmented Dilemma of "Big Market, Small Players" Looking through an industry perspective, Digiwin Co., Ltd. operates in a vast market with slowing growth, where AI+industrial software may become the core engine driving the structural upgrade of the industry as a whole. By 2025, the global market for digital manufacturing solutions is expected to reach $170.7 billion. Due to the early adoption of manufacturing digital solutions, Europe and North America maintain a leading position in the global market, benefiting from strong industry foundations, mature technology ecosystems, and high levels of enterprise digitization. In contrast, the Asian market is rising as the fastest-growing region, with increasing strategic importance, increasing from $28.8 billion in 2021 to $37 billion in 2025. The core driver of this explosive growth is the deep integration of AI technology, allowing manufacturing digital solutions to achieve a productivity leap through real-time perception and decision-making. Looking ahead, the market for digital manufacturing solutions in Asia is expected to further grow to $56.3 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% from 2025 to 2030. AI is becoming the key factor driving innovation in the global market for digital manufacturing solutions. According to IDC forecasts, the compound annual growth rate of the AI + industrial software sub-market in China from 2024 to 2029 is expected to be as high as 41.4%, far exceeding the overall growth rate of the core industrial software market (19.1%) in the same period. AI business is no longer just a "nice-to-have," but has become the core engine for the industry's overall structural upgrade. However, looking at the competitive landscape, although Digiwin Co., Ltd. has timely focused on the development dividends of AI + industrial software, the fragmented market share dilemma may still hinder its high-quality growth. Based on 2025 revenue, Digiwin Co., Ltd. is the largest domestic player in the Chinese market for manufacturing industry digitalization solutions, with a market share of only 1.4%; its market share in the Asian market is also only 0.9%, showing a fragmented ecosystem of "big market, small players." This fragmented landscape is primarily caused by three main factors: the industry-specific know-how barriers formed by the different production logics of different industries - for example, the differences in processes between the automobile and semiconductor industries make standardization of systems difficult; the regional segmentation effect that leads to regional small and medium-sized players controlling their respective territories; and customer stratification, with international giants like SAP, Oracle monopolizing the top of the pyramid, while domestic players like Kingdee and UFIDA fight in the middle and lower segments. Under the competitive landscape described above, the competitive pressure faced by Digiwin Co., Ltd. remains significant. This can also be seen from the company's slowing mainland China revenue growth rate. According to the 2025 financial report data disclosed by Digiwin Co., Ltd., in 2025, the company's revenue from mainland China was 1.148 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.42% year-on-year; while revenue from outside mainland China was 1.285 billion yuan, a significant increase of 11.35%, accounting for 52.8% of total revenue for the first time. To comprehensively enhance the company's competitive strength, Digiwin Co., Ltd. intends to focus the proceeds from its Hong Kong listing on upgrading the Athena digital platform, iterating core products, expanding overseas business, strategic investments, and supplementing operating funds in key areas. With the dual drive of technological foundations and market layout, the company aims to build a strong moat for long-term growth. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that Digiwin Co., Ltd. has reached a crossroads of "defense" and "offense" - defending against over-reliance on the A-share capital platform and attacking the rare window of opportunity for the revaluation logic of industrial software in the AI era. The funding needs for the upgrade of the Athena AI platform and overseas expansion make the Hong Kong financing option not just a choice for Digiwin Co., Ltd., but a necessity. At the same time, the certainty provided by the industrial background is being challenged by the narrative that has not yet fully materialized in the AI wave. Digiwin Co., Ltd. is faced with a fundamental test: in the process of the industry collectively climbing the ladder of intelligence, can it break free from the 1.4% market share and write a more imaginative growth story. Capital markets are always willing to pay a premium for high certainty, the question is, can Digiwin Co., Ltd. show the outside world that this certainty is gradually becoming a reality.