In "The Big Banks," Citigroup expects Tencent's adjusted EBIT for the third quarter to increase by 21% year-on-year

Citi published a research report, expecting Tencent (00700.HK) to perform steadily in the third quarter, with total revenue and adjusted EBIT expected to grow by 14% and 21% year-on-year, reaching RMB 190 billion and RMB 74.1 billion, respectively. The online gaming business is expected to grow by 18% year-on-year, and the strong performance of "Honor of Kings," "Peacekeeper Elite," "Delta Force," and "Clash Royale" may bring surprises.

The report indicates that online advertising revenue will benefit from upgrades in advertising technology and business transformation, with year-on-year growth expected to reach 20%. The enterprise services business is also expected to maintain over 20% year-on-year growth. The strong momentum is expected to continue into the fourth quarter of 2025, with resilient growth in online gaming, advertising, and cloud services. Tencent is the largest beneficiary of AI applications.

Based on the adjustment of the high-margin advertising revenue growth rate for 2025 to approximately 20%, the firm has raised its adjusted net profit forecasts for Tencent for the fiscal years 2025 and 2026 by 0.8%. It maintains a "highly confident outperform" rating