Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Autohome Inc (ATHM -0.04%) jumped 14% early Wednesday after the Chinese online auto sales specialist reported better-than-expected unaudited fourth quarter results.
So what: Quarterly revenue growth accelerated by 91.5% year over year to $119.1 million, exceeding Autohome's own guidance of $98.3 million. That translated to 103.6% growth in adjusted net income to $43.4 million, or $0.38 per diluted share. Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of just $0.27 per share on sales of $103.3 million.
Also of note, last month Autohome launched a mobile application for users to purchase car care and maintenance services through vendors approved by the company. This should represent another significant incremental opportunity to build revenue through aftermarket services.
Now what: Going forward, Autohome expects current-quarter revenue in the range of $92.4 million to $97.0 million, or a year-over-year increase of 67.5% to 76%. Analysts, on average, were only modeling fiscal first quarter sales of $83.7 million. In the end, it speaks volumes that Autohome's growth continued to accelerate, and investors are right to celebrate yet another impressive quarter. If Autohome can continue to capitalize on the enormous market opportunity China has to offer, today's pop might well be just the beginning for patient, long-term investors.
