Citi: Expects Tencent's third-quarter performance to meet the bank's and market expectations, raising the target price to HKD 573

Citigroup released a report, expecting Tencent to announce its third-quarter performance in mid-November, which is expected to meet the bank's and market expectations, with a potential increase in gaming revenue. The bank believes that the focus of the performance conference call will be management's comments on the macro environment, reflected in its payment transaction activities and advertisers' advertising sentiment, especially during the Double 11 promotion period, as well as the performance of flagship games and new game pipelines. Citigroup conservatively predicts that the gap between Tencent's revenue and profit growth rates in the second half of the year will gradually narrow, further narrowing by 2025. In addition, the bank hopes to hear feedback on closer cooperation between Taobao and WeChat Pay, as well as the adoption and development of cloud services. The bank has raised its target price from HKD 535 to HKD 573. Maintaining a "buy" rating and core holding position due to its solid execution record and stable profit prospects