CAOCAO INC (02643), a heavyweight player in the ride-hailing sector, delivered an impressive performance report two months after completing its Hong Kong IPO. According to CAOCAO INC's interim results for 2025, the company achieved revenue of 9.456 billion yuan in the first half, representing a 53.5% year-on-year increase. Gross profit reached 796 million yuan with a corresponding gross margin of 8.4%, up 1.4 percentage points year-on-year. Losses during the period narrowed by 39.8% year-on-year, demonstrating comprehensive optimization of core financial metrics.

Behind these impressive financial results lies CAOCAO INC's core business performance entering a golden phase. Data shows that CAOCAO INC's service coverage extended to 163 cities nationwide during the first half, with entry into 27 new cities during the reporting period. Total order volume reached 380 million orders, growing 49% year-on-year.

Moreover, CAOCAO INC's financial report has previewed the company's future growth engine. In February this year, CAOCAO INC announced the launch of its "CAOCAO Smart Travel" autonomous driving platform and initiated Robotaxi service pilots in Suzhou and Hangzhou. By the end of June, the company had completed over 15,000 kilometers of autonomous driving testing in Suzhou and Hangzhou combined. Additionally, the company is collaborating with Geely and business partners to develop autonomous driving technology and customized vehicles pre-installed with proprietary autonomous driving components and related applications.

Zheshang Securities commented that CAOCAO INC's "customized vehicles + intelligent driving + mobility platform" Robotaxi trinity ecosystem has taken preliminary shape. Currently, supporting policies for Robotaxi are continuously being implemented, and China's Robotaxi commercialization pace is set to accelerate. Positioned within this landscape, CAOCAO INC possesses first-mover advantages, technological advantages, and ecosystem advantages, potentially benefiting first from industry developments.

From an investment perspective, CAOCAO INC, with its comprehensively optimized financial indicators and unlimited growth potential, represents a rare target that combines growth certainty with high elasticity, making its investment value self-evident.

**Comprehensive Financial Optimization**

As a shared mobility platform under Geely Group, CAOCAO INC holds unique value in the ride-hailing sector: unlike peers who commonly use entry-level private vehicles as ride-hailing operational vehicles, CAOCAO INC controls the largest customized vehicle fleet in China's shared mobility market.

CAOCAO INC's customized vehicle strategy builds competitive barriers, effectively enhancing driver and passenger experience. This is reflected in operational data showing average monthly active users grew 57.4% year-on-year in the first half, average monthly active drivers increased 53.5% year-on-year, and AOV (average order value) rose to 28.9 yuan.

In terms of soft power, CAOCAO INC has been rated "Best Service Reputation" among mainstream ride-hailing platforms for seven consecutive quarters.

During the same period CAOCAO INC earned this positive reputation, the company's financial data also witnessed comprehensive and sustained optimization. Data shows that from 2022-2024, CAOCAO INC's revenue was 7.6 billion, 10.7 billion, and 14.7 billion yuan respectively, with net losses attributable to shareholders of 2.0 billion, 1.9 billion, and 1.3 billion yuan, corresponding to net profit margins of -26%, -18%, and -9%.

Combined with the latest interim report, data trends indicate that as ride-hailing service order volumes increase year by year, CAOCAO INC's business scale is rapidly expanding while the company increasingly approaches the value inflection point of turning profitable.

Regarding when CAOCAO INC will provide a profitability timeline, Shenwan Hongyuan analysts predict the company will approach breakeven next year and achieve substantial profitability in 2027. The firm believes CAOCAO INC's current losses are a phased characteristic of the customized vehicle model, with the company's finances already showing improvement signs. With scaled operations of customized vehicles and subsidy reductions in new cities, the company's path to profitability is clear.

This institutional perspective appears highly referential. In the first half of this year, CAOCAO INC's net cash flow from operating activities grew 164.6% year-on-year, with losses continuing to narrow. Considering that the Maple 80V and CAOCAO 60 customized vehicle models have TCO 33% and 40% lower than typical pure electric vehicles respectively, CAOCAO INC's profitability will inevitably undergo a "qualitative change" after completing full customization of its self-operated fleet.

**Strategic Robotaxi Layout Offers Imaginative Long-term Prospects**

The interim report confirms CAOCAO INC is rapidly advancing on the correct path of sustained financial optimization. Simultaneously, looking from present to future, considering Robotaxi's stronger cost-effectiveness advantages and significant penetration rate improvement potential, CAOCAO INC's early strategic layout in this area makes its long-term growth prospects noteworthy.

According to Frost & Sullivan's June 2024 projections, China's Robotaxi commercial operations are expected to launch in 2026, when Robotaxi per-kilometer costs will approach those of manned ride-hailing services. Subsequently, as autonomous driving technology matures and application scales expand, Robotaxi travel cost advantages will continuously strengthen. By 2035, Robotaxi travel costs are projected to optimize to 0.9 yuan/kilometer, 64% lower than manned ride-hailing services.

Currently, policy tailwinds are already emerging. Earlier this month, the "Management Measures for Road Testing and Demonstration Application of Autonomous Vehicles (2025 Revised Edition)" was officially implemented, allowing L4-level autonomous vehicles to conduct full-domain commercial passenger and cargo operations in five pilot cities including Shanghai for the first time, and removing the mandatory requirement for "safety personnel on-board supervision." This marks a new phase for China's autonomous driving technology transitioning from closed testing grounds to large-scale commercial deployment.

According to the "Shanghai Advanced Autonomous Driving Leading Zone 'Speed Intelligence' Action Plan" released last month, the document proposes that by 2027, Shanghai will achieve over 6 million L4-level autonomous driving passenger trips, with over 5,000 kilometers of open roads, L2 and L3 models accounting for over 90% of automobile production, and L4-level achieving mass production.

Robotaxi industry explosive growth is imminent, and CAOCAO INC's "leading position" in this new track makes its potential performance elasticity particularly noteworthy. According to Shenwan Hongyuan's calculations, CAOCAO INC's Robotaxi per-vehicle gross profit is expected to turn positive in 2028, reaching 72,000 yuan/year by 2030 with a corresponding 42% gross margin. Per-vehicle net profit is expected to turn positive in 2029, potentially reaching 45,000 yuan/year by 2030.

The firm's analysts further note that Robotaxi's higher long-term profit margins compared to traditional ride-hailing stem from cost reductions from intelligent driving systems replacing manual operations. After reducing payments to drivers (accounting for 73% of the company's 2024 revenue), profit margins will substantially improve.

Based on these calculations, Shenwan Hongyuan believes CAOCAO INC's Robotaxi business combines high growth potential with option-like characteristics.

With compelling fundamentals, CAOCAO INC was recently included in the Hang Seng Composite Index, with changes taking effect from September 8th. For CAOCAO INC, whose stock price has surged since listing, this represents another positive development.

From an investment perspective, as CAOCAO INC continues delivering on growth expectations, the company has strong potential to attract more investors based on its quality fundamentals and outstanding growth prospects.