In "The Big Banks," Citigroup: Tencent's performance in games and advertising in the third quarter exceeded expectations, target price HKD 740

According to a report from Citigroup, Tencent (00700.HK) saw its total revenue and adjusted net profit grow by 15% and 18% year-on-year in the third quarter, reaching RMB 192.9 billion and RMB 70.6 billion, respectively, which is 1.5% and 4.5% higher than the bank's expectations. The performance of online games was particularly outstanding, rising 23% year-on-year, driven by the popularity of new titles such as "Delta Force" and "Valorant Mobile," as well as growth from evergreen games like "Honor of Kings," "Peacekeeper Elite," and "Clash of Clans." The growth rate of marketing services accelerated to 21% year-on-year, mainly driven by increased user engagement, higher ad load volumes, and AI targeting technology. The fintech and enterprise services business also rebounded, driven by cloud services and e-commerce transactions.

The bank expects revenue to continue to grow steadily, as the company has a rich game pipeline, more AI advertising tools, and growth in small store businesses. The company anticipates that the next-generation "Hunyuan" model will undergo significant upgrades and will continue to add AI features and Yuanbao services in WeChat. The bank maintains a "highly confident outperform" rating with a target price of HKD 740