Business Overview
KE Holdings Inc.operates as a leading integrated online and offline platform facilitating housing transactions and services within China. The Company pioneers infrastructure and standards designed to optimize how service providers and customers navigate the real estate market. Beike’s service portfolio encompasses existing and new home sales, home rentals, home renovation and furnishing, alongside other emerging services. A core component of the Beike platform is its ownership and operation of Lianjia, China’s prominent real estate brokerage brand, which has accumulated over 24 years of operating experience since its inception in 2001. The Company believes the proven track record of Lianjia continues to pave the way for Beike’s sustainable growth.
Key Financial Performance Highlights
Fiscal Year 2025 Highlights
Gross Transaction Value (GTV): Total GTV for 2025 stood at RMB3,183.3 billion (US$455.2 billion), representing a year-over-year decrease of 5.0%.
Net Revenues: Despite the GTV decline, net revenues increased by 1.2% year-over-year to reach RMB94.6 billion (US$13.5 billion).
Profitability: Net income for the fiscal year was RMB2,991 million (US$428 million), a 26.7% decline from 2024. Adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure, was RMB5,017 million (US$717 million), down 30.4% year-over-year.
Income from Operations: Operating income decreased to RMB2,111 million (US$302 million) in 2025, compared to RMB3,765 million in 2024.
Fourth Quarter (Q4) 2025 Highlights
Gross Transaction Value (GTV): Q4 2025 GTV experienced a sharp decline of 36.7% year-over-year, settling at RMB724.1 billion (US$103.6 billion).
Net Revenues: Total net revenues for the quarter were RMB22.2 billion (US$3.2 billion), reflecting a 28.7% decrease year-over-year.
Profitability: Q4 2025 net income fell to RMB82 million (US$12 million), compared to RMB577 million in Q4 2024. Adjusted net income for the quarter was RMB517 million (US$74 million), a 61.5% decrease year-over-year.
Loss from Operations: The Company reported a loss from operations of RMB147 million (US$21 million) in Q4 2025, compared to an income from operations of RMB1,011 million in the same period of 2024.
Capital Allocation and Liquidity
Liquidity Position: As of December 31, 2025, the combined balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments amounted to RMB55.5 billion (US$7.9 billion).
Share Repurchase: The Company continued its proactive capital allocation, repurchasing shares with an aggregate consideration of approximately US$921 million in 2025, an increase of roughly 29% year-over-yearCumulatively, under the current program, Beike has purchased approximately 159.3 million ADSs for roughly US$2,546.5 million.
Dividends: The Board approved a final cash dividend of US$0.092 per ordinary share (US$0.276 per ADS), totaling approximately US$0.3 billion, funded by balance sheet cash surplus.
Total Shareholder Return: Total shareholder return for 2025 was approximately US$1.2 billion, an increase of over 9% year-over-year.
Segment-Wise Performance
Existing Home Transaction Services
FY 2025: GTV decreased by 4.2% year-over-year to RMB2,151.5 billion (US$307.7 billion.Segment net revenues declined 11.3% to RMB25.0 billion (US$3.6 billion). The steeper decline in revenues relative to GTV was driven by a higher contribution from transactions served by connected agents, recorded on a net basis, while Lianjia-served GTV, recorded on a gross basis, decreased by 12.7%.
Q4 2025: GTV fell 35.3% to RMB482.0 billion (US$68.9 billion).Net revenues declined 39.0% to RMB5.4 billion (US$0.8 billion), primarily due to a high base effect in Q4 2024.
New Home Transaction Services
FY 2025: GTV decreased by 8.2% to RMB890.9 billion (US$127.4 billion)[cite: 7]. Net revenues declined 9.1% to RMB30.6 billion (US$4.4 billion).
Q4 2025: GTV dropped 41.7% to RMB207.0 billion (US$29.6 billion), Consequently, net revenues decreased by 44.5% to RMB7.3 billion (US$1.0 billion), again attributed to a tough year-over-year comparison against a high base in Q4 2024.
Home Renovation and Furnishing
FY 2025: Net revenues grew 4.4% to RMB15.4 billion (US$2.2 billion).
Q4 2025: Net revenues decreased by 12.0% to RMB3.6 billion (US$0.5 billion) as management proactively optimized the channel mix and moderated the pace of certain non-brokerage channels.
Home Rental Services
FY 2025: Demonstrating robust growth, net revenues surged 52.8% to RMB21.9 billion (US$3.1 billion). This was largely driven by an expansion in rental units under the Carefree Rent model.
Q4 2025: Net revenues increased by 18.1% to RMB5.4 billion (US$0.8 billion). The growth was partially offset by a shift in revenue recognition resulting from an increasing proportion of a new product offering within Carefree Rent, where revenue is recognized based on net service fees rather than gross rents.
Cost Structure and Profitability Metrics
Cost of Revenues
FY 2025: Total cost of revenues increased by 5.5% to RMB74.4 billion (US$10.6 billion). The rise was notably impacted by a 47.0% surge in the cost of home rental services (to RMB20.0 billion), tracking the segment’s revenue growth.
Q4 2025: Total cost of revenues decreased by 27.2% to RMB17.4 billion (US$2.5 billion). Commission-split costs (for connected agents) decreased 46.6% to RMB4.6 billion, while internal commission and compensation costs dropped 39.8% to RMB3.9 billion, both directly correlating with the diminished GTV in the quarter.
Operating Expenses
The Company executed cost optimization initiatives, visible in the Q4 expense structure:
General and Administrative Expenses: Decreased 23.9% in Q4 2025 to RMB2.3 billion, driven by optimizations, reduced provisions for credit losses, and lower share-based compensation.
Sales and Marketing Expenses: Decreased 17.7% in Q4 2025 to RMB1.9 billion due to lower personnel costs and reduced promotional spend.
Research and Development Expenses: Remained relatively flat in Q4 2025 at RMB715 million , though full-year R&D increased 13.0% to RMB2.6 billion due to higher personnel costs.
Margin Profiles
Gross Margin: Full-year gross margin contracted from 24.6% in 2024 to 21.4% in 2025. Q4 gross margin also fell to 21.4% from 23.0% in Q4 2024. This compression was primarily driven by a reduced revenue contribution from the historically higher-margin existing and new home transaction services.
Operating Margin: The Q4 2025 operating margin dropped to negative 0.7% (from 3.2% in Q4 2024). This was influenced by the lower gross profit margin and one-off expenses associated with cost optimization initiatives in Q4.
Operational Metrics and Key Drivers
Store Count: The total number of stores reached 61,139 as of December 31, 2025, marking an 18.5% increase year-over-year. Active stores grew 17.5% year-over-year to 58,376.
Agent Count: The platform hosted 523,009 agents as of December 31, 2025, a 4.6% increase compared to 2024. However, the number of active agents remained relatively flat year-over-year at 445,632.
Platform Engagement: Mobile Monthly Active Users (MAU) averaged 43.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, slightly up from 43.2 million in the same period of 2024.
Management Commentary and Strategic Updates
Operational Strategy & Technology Integration
Stanley Yongdong Peng, Chairman and CEO, highlighted a strategic evolution in 2025 tailored to shifting residential service demands, focusing heavily on customer value and efficiency-driven growth. The Company has aggressively deployed data and AI capabilities within its core transaction services to reshape business models and enhance platform operational efficiency. Looking toward 2026, management emphasized that navigating market cycles depends on creating value rather than merely scaling. Beike intends to build “systematic service capabilities that span the residential lifecycle” and will rely on AI to reconstruct its competitive moats, amplify agent productivity, and elevate the consumer experience. Furthermore, in the renovation and rental segments, management noted successfully bringing both lines into a healthier phase by focusing on profitability quality and replicable operating models.
Financial Discipline & Shareholder Value
Tao Xu, CFO, remarked on the execution of efficiency-enhancing initiatives that optimized unit economics and cost structures in 2025, fortifying the Company’s resilience against challenging market environments. He highlighted that the contribution margin for existing home transaction services improved sequentially in Q4 2025, and profitability in home renovation and rental services progressed—achieving a narrowing of loss and full-year operating profitability, respectively. Xu reaffirmed Beike’s strict financial discipline, stating that while supporting long-term strategic investments, the Company will continue optimizing capital allocation to sustain long-term shareholder value through dividends and repurchases.
Notable Risks and Challenges Explicitly Mentioned
Market Environment: The management explicitly noted operating in a “challenging market environment” during 2025.
Base Effect Hurdles: The substantial year-over-year declines in Q4 2025 GTV and net revenues for both existing and new home transactions were primarily attributed to the difficult comparison against a “high base effect” established in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Margin Pressures: Shifts in the revenue mix—specifically, lower proportional contributions from historically high-margin core transaction segments combined with rising fixed compensation costs for Lianjia agents—have actively pressured gross margins downwards. Furthermore, Q4 2025 was impacted by one-off expenses related to cost-cutting.
Macro and Structural Risks: The Company disclosed inherent ongoing risks including broader general economic and business conditions globally and in China, fierce industry competition, vulnerability to cyber-attacks, relevant government policies, and the essential dependence on the integrity of the brokerage brands, stores, and agents utilizing the Beike platform.
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