Summary of share buybacks and dividends from 35 China concept stocks - Alibaba ranks 7th in return rate, Tencent ranks 9th

During the rapid development of the internet and mobile internet over the past two decades, Chinese concept stocks (中概股) rarely engaged in buybacks or dividends, and investors didn't seem particularly concerned about these aspects, focusing more on the growth potential of these stocks.

In recent years, as the user 红利 (红利 = dividend) of the internet and mobile internet has peaked, the growth of some Chinese concept stocks has slowed, entering a stable development phase, while others have begun to decline. This shift has reduced the need for many companies to invest cash in their businesses. Coupled with the significant 暴跌 (暴跌 = plunge) in valuations of Chinese concept stocks in recent years, many have started using cash for buybacks and dividends to manage their cash reserves and 回报股东 (回报股东 = reward shareholders). Meanwhile, investor preferences have gradually shifted, with greater emphasis on shareholder returns.

To explore this, I reviewed nearly 100 annual reports of Chinese concept stocks and compiled data on shareholder returns for 35 companies. This article shares the buyback and dividend data for these 35 companies in 2023 as an example.

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Definitions

1. This article primarily 统计 (统计 = statistics) the 回报金额 (回报金额 = return amount) and 回报率 (回报率 = return rate) generated by 35 Chinese concept stocks through buybacks and dividends in 2023. This return rate is unrelated to stock price fluctuations or company quality.

2. Shareholder return amount = annual buyback amount + annual dividend amount. Dividends are counted in the year they are 除息 (除息 = ex-dividend) or distributed.

3. Shareholder return rate =股本减少比例 (股本减少比例 = share reduction ratio) + 分红率 (分红率 = dividend yield). The share reduction ratio = buyback ratio -增发股份比例 (增发股份比例 = share issuance ratio).

4. Dividend yield calculation standard:

Based on the stock price at the beginning of 2023, the total annual dividend per share is divided by the initial price. For example, if a stock was bought at $10 at the start of 2023 and received $2 in dividends by year-end, the dividend yield for that year would be 20%.

5. The 35 companies include those listed in the U.S. and Hong Kong. For Hong Kong-listed companies, stock prices, dividends per share, and total dividends are all converted to USD for consistency in 图表 (图表 = charts).

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Dividend Rankings

Unit: Dividend per share (USD), total dividend amount (billion USD), stock price (USD).

Among the 35 Chinese concept stocks 统计 (统计 = analyzed), 16 paid dividends in 2023, totaling $254 billion.

In terms of dividend amount, three companies paid over $10 billion: Tencent ($189 billion, including the distribution of Meituan shares), Alibaba ($25 billion), and NetEase ($11.3 billion).

In terms of dividend yield, four companies had yields exceeding 5%: NetDragon (11.5%), Momo (8%), Lexin (6.1%), and Autohome (5.6%).

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Buyback Rankings

Unit: Billion USD, billion shares.

Among the 35 Chinese concept stocks, 25 conducted buybacks in 2023, totaling $233 billion.

Top 5 by total buyback amount in 2023:

Alibaba ($124.5 billion), Tencent ($59.2 billion), KE Holdings ($7.1 billion), Vipshop ($7.1 billion), NetEase ($6.9 billion).

Top 5 by 股本注销比例 (股本注销比例 = share cancellation ratio) in 2023:

Qudian (13.7%), JOYY (13.1%), Vipshop (8.3%), Waterdrop (7.8%), Alibaba (6.1%).

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Share Issuance Rankings

Note: Share issuance consists of two parts:融资增发 (融资增发 = fundraising issuance, including convertible bonds) and 员工股份激励 (员工股份激励 = employee stock incentives).

Top 5 by share issuance ratio in 2023:

Nio (21.0%), XPeng (9.4%), Bilibili (4.45%), Pinduoduo (4.3%), Weibo (3.6%).

Bottom 5 by share issuance ratio in 2023:

Sohu (0.02%), Lufax (0.03%), NetDragon (0.07%), Qudian (0.1%), Didi (0.14%).

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Share Capital Change Rankings

Top 5 by share reduction ratio:

Qudian (13.6%), JOYY (12.6%), Vipshop (7.4%), Waterdrop (5.3%), Alibaba (5.15%).

Top 5 by share increase ratio:

Nio (+21%), XPeng (+9.4%), Bilibili (+4.45%), Pinduoduo (+4.3%), Weibo (+3.6%).

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Shareholder Return Rankings

Note: Amount in billion USD.

Among the 35 Chinese concept stocks, 29 engaged in buybacks or paid dividends in 2023, totaling $487 billion.

Top 5 by shareholder return amount:

Tencent ($248.4 billion), Alibaba ($149.5 billion), NetEase ($18.2 billion), JD.com ($13.4 billion), Vipshop ($9.3 billion).

Top 5 by shareholder return rate:

JOYY (16.45%), Qudian (13.6%), NetDragon (13.3%), Vipshop (10.6%), Momo (8.5%).

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Final Notes

Due to limited time and scope, this analysis covers only 35 Chinese concept stocks. If there are omissions or other companies with strong shareholder returns, please feel free to 补充 (补充 = supplement). Thank you.$TENCENT(00700.HK) $BABA-W(09988.HK) $PDD(PDD.US)