The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR Stock price
Is The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR a Top Scorer Stock based on the Dividend, High-Growth-Investing or Leverman Strategy?
As a Free StocksGuide user, you can view scores for all 9,114 stocks worldwide.
StocksGuide Premium
StocksGuide Unlimited
Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = $53.00m | Revenue (TTM) = $9.47m
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = $81.27m | Revenue (TTM) = $9.47m
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF) | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF compares a company’s enterprise value with its free cash flow. The metric therefore shows the multiple of current free cash flow at which a company is valued. EV/FCF ex SBC additionally accounts for stock-based compensation (SBC). While SBC does not represent a direct cash outflow, issuing shares as compensation can dilute existing shareholders. Therefore, SBC is deducted from free cash flow in this adjusted version.
🧮 How is it calculated?
EV/FCF ex SBC = Enterprise Value ÷ (Free Cash Flow (TTM) − SBC)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV/FCF provides a valuation based on free cash flow and therefore complements earnings-based valuation metrics such as the P/E ratio. The ex SBC version additionally accounts for the economic impact of stock-based compensation and provides a more conservative view from a shareholder perspective.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF means that enterprise value is low relative to current free cash flow. The reasons should always be considered in the context of the company and its industry.
- A high EV/FCF means that enterprise value is high relative to current free cash flow. This can, for example, reflect high growth expectations or temporarily weak cash generation.
- When SBC is positive and adjusted free cash flow remains positive, EV/FCF ex SBC is generally higher than the standard EV/FCF.
- The metric is particularly useful for companies with relatively stable and predictable cash flows.
- If free cash flow is negative or very low, EV/FCF has limited usefulness and should not be interpreted like a standard valuation multiple.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 SBC | in % Revenue
📈 What is it?
SBC (Stock-Based Compensation) refers to equity-based compensation granted by a company to its employees and executives. The percentage shows SBC relative to revenue.
🧮 How is it calculated?
SBC as % of Revenue = (SBC ÷ Revenue) × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Stock-based compensation is a real cost factor for shareholders. It can increase the number of shares outstanding and therefore dilute existing shareholders. The percentage of revenue shows how heavily a company relies on equity-based compensation and how significant this form of compensation is relative to the size of the business.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A lower figure is generally positive: Stock-based compensation is relatively small compared with the company's revenue.
- A high figure can indicate greater reliance on stock-based compensation and a higher potential risk of dilution. However, it is also important to consider whether the company offsets dilution through share buybacks.
- The trend over time should also be considered. A high but declining percentage presents a different picture from a persistently high or increasing percentage.
- A single-digit SBC-to-revenue ratio is not unusual among many growth-oriented and technology companies.
📘 SBC as % of FCF
📈 What is it?
SBC (Stock-Based Compensation) refers to equity-based compensation granted by a company to its employees and executives. The percentage shows SBC relative to free cash flow (FCF).
🧮 How is it calculated?
SBC as % of FCF = (SBC ÷ Free Cash Flow) × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Stock-based compensation is a real cost factor for shareholders. It can increase the number of shares outstanding and therefore dilute existing shareholders. The percentage of free cash flow shows how significant SBC is relative to the cash generated by the company. Since SBC is non-cash compensation, it is typically not deducted as a cash outflow when calculating FCF.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A lower value is generally favorable. Stock-based compensation is relatively small compared with the company's cash generation.
- A high value means that SBC represents a significant portion of the company's reported free cash flow, even though SBC itself is non-cash.
- The higher the value, the more significant SBC can be as an economic cost to shareholders, particularly when it results in share dilution.
📘 SBC Growth 1Y
📈 What is it?
SBC Growth 1Y shows how much a company's stock-based compensation has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
SBC Growth shows whether stock-based compensation is becoming more or less significant for shareholders. If SBC increases significantly, it can lead to greater shareholder dilution over time. At the same time, SBC is a non-cash expense that reduces earnings on the income statement but is added back in the cash flow statement.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high positive value is generally negative, as rising SBC can increase the burden on shareholders, particularly through potential dilution.
- What matters is whether the development of SBC is sustainable over the long term. Some level of SBC is common among many growth and technology companies.
📘 Share Count Growth 1Y
📈 What is it?
Share Count Growth 1Y shows how much the number of shares outstanding has increased or decreased over a one-year period.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The number of shares determines how many shares the company's earnings and assets are distributed across. If the share count decreases, existing shareholders' relative ownership increases. If it increases, existing shareholders are diluted. The metric therefore makes dilution and share buybacks directly visible.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A negative value is generally positive, as the number of shares outstanding is decreasing.
- A positive value indicates dilution of existing shareholders.
- A declining share count is not automatically positive: It also matters at what price the shares are repurchased and how the buybacks are financed.
📘 Shareholder Yield
📈 What is it?
Shareholder Yield measures how much capital a company returns to shareholders or uses to reduce debt relative to its market capitalization. It goes beyond dividend yield by also including share buybacks and debt reduction.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Dividend yield only tells part of the story. Companies can also return capital through share buybacks, while reducing debt can strengthen the balance sheet. Shareholder Yield combines all three components into one metric, giving investors a broader view of how a company uses its capital.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A higher Shareholder Yield generally indicates more capital being returned to shareholders or used to reduce debt.
- The mix matters: dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction can affect shareholders in different ways.
- Share buybacks are most beneficial when shares are repurchased at attractive valuations.
- Investors should also consider whether dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction are sustainable over time.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF) | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow shows how much cash remains after a company has covered its operating and capital expenditures. FCF ex SBC additionally deducts stock-based compensation (SBC) to adjust the cash flow for the effect of non-cash SBC.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free Cash Flow ex SBC = Operating Cash Flow − SBC − Capital Expenditures (CAPEX)
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s actual financial strength – independent of reported accounting earnings. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction. FCF ex SBC also deducts stock-based compensation and shows how much cash generation remains after SBC.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow indicates that a company has strong financial strength – independent of reported earnings.
- It is often a solid basis for sustainable dividends and share buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be a warning sign, even if reported earnings remain stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net Margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free Cash Flow Margin | ex SBC
📈 What is it?
The Free Cash Flow Margin shows how much free cash flow a company generates relative to its revenue. In simplified terms, free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. The Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC additionally accounts for stock-based compensation (SBC). While SBC does not represent a direct cash outflow, issuing shares as compensation can dilute existing shareholders. Therefore, SBC is deducted from free cash flow in this adjusted metric.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC = (Free Cash Flow − SBC) ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
The Free Cash Flow Margin shows how efficiently a company converts its revenue into free cash flow. Strong free cash flow can provide financial flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or further investments. The ex SBC version additionally accounts for the economic impact of stock-based compensation and therefore provides a more conservative view of cash generation from a shareholder perspective.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high Free Cash Flow Margin shows that a company converts a high proportion of its revenue into free cash flow.
- This can provide greater financial flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, debt repayment, or investments.
- The Free Cash Flow Margin ex SBC additionally accounts for potential shareholder dilution from stock-based compensation.
- The long-term trend is particularly important. Declining margins can, for example, result from higher investments, changes in working capital, or weaker operating performance.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Revenue per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high revenue per employee indicates a scalable and margin-strong business model.
- A low figure may reflect labor-intensive operations or lower value-add.
- Especially helpful when comparing tech companies to industrial or service sectors.
The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR Events
Past Events
|
AUG
24
Q2 2026 Earnings Call
about 2 months ago
|
StocksGuide Free
The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR — Q2 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to The9 Limited Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Jojo Su, Investor Relations Specialist. Please go ahead, ma'am.
Thank you, operator. Good evening, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter 2022 (sic) [ 2026 ] earnings conference call. Joining me today are Mr. George Lai, CEO of The9 Limited; Mrs. Nora Lam, COO of the the9bit; and Mr. Gary Gao, COO of The9 Limited. During today's call, we will discuss our business outlook and make forward-looking statements. These comments are based on our predictions and expectations as of today. Actual events or results could differ materially from those mentioned in today's news release and in this discussion due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in our most recent filings with the SEC. In addition, a webcast replay of this conference call will be available on our website.
With that, I will now turn the call over to Mr. George Lai.
Thank you, Jojo, and good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I want to spend a few minutes on where The9 is heading. This quarter marks an important step in our repositioning, and I would like to explain the strategic logic behind it. For more than 2 decades, The9 has operated traditional online games at scale with deep experience in player engagement and monetization. Separately, over the past several years, we have developed operating experience in crypto, this including Bitcoin mining and digital asset treasury management.
We believe this combination of gaming and digital asset capabilities provides a differentiated foundation for building a functional currency, a functional token economy around AI-generated content or AIGC and user-generated content or UGC in gaming. We are now repositioning The9 to bring these capabilities together through our proprietary AI-powered gaming creation platform, the9bit. AI is significantly reducing the time, cost and technical expertise required to create games, enabling individual creators and small teams to turn ideas into playable content much more efficiently.
Rather than building a large in-house studio, the9bit provides the tools and infrastructure that allow creators and players to build the ecosystem themselves with AI supporting the development process. the9bit brings together 3 mutually reinforcing elements. AI lowers the cost and technology barriers to game creation, UGC broadens the pool of potential creators. And the9bit token is designed to align incentives among players, creators and contributors by enabling them to participate in the value they help create.
Turning to our results. We reported net income of USD 32 million this quarter, an increase of more than 39% from the previous quarter. We are delivering the strongest half year net income in our history since the 2004 IPO, amounted to USD 55 million. The increase was driven primarily by the fair value recognition of 9BIT tokens received under our cooperation with 9BIT Foundation, an independent crypto foundation established in Panama. Currently, the daily trading volume of the9bit tokens on different crypto exchanges is around USD 10 million.
On the operating side, the9bit surpassed 8 million registered users. Currently, majority of our games on our platform are casual games relying on advertising revenue. So our revenue scale is still small. The good news is within 1 to 2 months, the9bit will start to support in-game purchase mid-core games. We expect game creators to utilize our AI native operating system to create in-game purchase games on the9bit. We will help game creators to resolve the payment channel issues, including Fiat and crypto. Therefore, we expect a strong revenue growth of the9bit platform in the second half of this year.
I would also like to address our direction beyond the9bit. Stabilizing and scaling the ecosystem remains our priority, and that is where we expect to direct most of our attention and capital. At the same time, where we can see a clear strategic fit, we will selectively pursue other AI-driven opportunities. Our investee NYB, an AI-driven drug discovery company, is pursuing its own listing by combining with a SPAC company, RFAI. At an Extraordinary General Meeting held on August 19, 2026, shareholders of RFAI voted to approve NYB's proposed business combination.
The share price of RFAI increased from around USD 9 to USD 58 over the past week. Since the agreed exchange ratio is approximately 15x, if RFAI share price stays at the same level, NYB share cap is expected to be around USD 7.7 billion. The9 is expected to hold approximately 15% to 16% of the combined company after closing. We expect this will contribute significant investment income on our P&L. We recognize that both the AI technology and the market will continue to evolve. Nevertheless, we believe AI is reshaping how games are made.
AI-assisted UGCs will disrupt the traditional online gaming industry. The next global blockbuster game will be created by several teenagers in several months using AI rather than developed by traditional big game development companies. We have well-designed token economy that aligns all participants to contribute to the ecosystem, paving the way for the9bit long-term success. With that, I will turn the call over to Nora, COO of the9bit, to discuss the platform and community in more detail. Nora?
Thank you, George. The core idea behind the9bit is straightforward. Our users create the games through our AI game development tools, which we call it AIGD. A user can begin with a simple prompt and turn an idea into a working playable game without traditional coding expertise. This is a fundamental shift behind our business model. Rather than operating solely as the studio that publishes its own titles, we are building a platform that puts game creation tools directly in the hands of our community. This strategy is aligned with a rapidly developing market. Third-party estimates vary, but they generally project strong growth in the global UGC platform market.
The global user-generated content platform market was valued at $12.3 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $55 billion by 2033, a combined (sic) [ compound ] annual growth rate of 23.9%. UGC gaming is an important part of that opportunity, particularly on platforms that enable creators to participate in the value they generate. What differentiates the9bit is its AI native approach. AIGD is designed to reduce the technical barriers that have historically limited participation in UGC platforms, which we believe can help us broaden and deepen the creator community over time.
We are beginning to see evidence of that potential. The platform has more than 8 million registered users, and since its launch in August 2025, our community has created more than 110,000 games. These figures reflect the scale of initial adoption and the level of creator activities on the platform. The community is also beginning to generate commercial value beyond the platform. We have signed 41 brand partners with another 127 potential partners in the pipeline as we develop an offline to online partnership model designed to connect brand activities with the9bit community.
The9bit token is the core utility token of the9bit ecosystem. Creators use the9bit to generate games through AIGD, access premium tools such as AI Pro, purchase Booster Cards and other promotional tools and use additional platform features. Token also circulates through creator and participation rewards. In this way, the 9BIT token is intended to function as a consumable utility within the platform rather than solely as an asset held for trading. Since the 9BIT token initial listing in December 2025 and approximately USD 0.003, its quoted market price has increased to around USD 0.05 as of today, August 24, 2026.
Digital asset prices can be volatile. However, a token price is not how we measure the operating performance of the9bit. We focus instead on the development of utility-driven demand and on operating indicators such as users, games created, creator activities, engagement and commercial adoption. In short, our community is not only using the9bit. It is helping to build it. The 9BIT token is designed to enable participants to share in its value they create and to support continued activities across the ecosystem. We believe this alignment can contribute to a more durable platform, and it remains a key area of investment for us. With that, I will turn the call over to the operator for the Q&A section.
[Operator Instructions]
And our first question comes from the line of Yidan Fu of Piacente Financial Communications.
2. Question Answer
Congratulations on the strong second quarter results. My question is about The9's overall strategy as you have discussed about The9's repositioning around the9bit. What is the strategic rationale for this move? And how does it relate to the business The9 has historically operated?
Okay. Thanks for the question. The rationale starts with the capabilities we have built over time. After more than 2 decades of operating traditional online games, we have developed substantial experience in player engagement, retention, monetization and managing large user communities. Separately, our Bitcoin mining and digital asset treasury have given us practical experience in managing digital assets and participating in the broader crypto ecosystem. As generative AI began to reduce the time, cost, technical barriers involved in creating games, we saw an opportunity to bring these capabilities together through the9bit, an AI native creator platform supported by a token economy designed for day-to-day utility.
AI lowers the barriers to content creation, UGC broadens the potential creator base and 9BIT token is designed to align interests of creators, players and other contributors. Our historical businesses are, therefore, not separate from this strategy. They provide the operating foundation for it. We are scaling the9bit step by step rather than relying on large acquisition or significant increase in headcount. We evaluate progress based on the health of the community, creator activity, platform utility and commercial adoption rather than any single headline metric. Looking ahead, the9bit will continue to receive most of our attention and capital while we remain selective about opportunities beyond the platform that clearly complement our core strategy. Thank you.
And our next question comes from independent investor, Dylan Wang.
I have 2 questions on the9bit. First, how do players and the creators earn and use the9bit? And how does that activity support utility-driven token demand? And second, why has Southeast Asia been the initial focus? And how do you think about the potential expansion into markets such as the U.S. and Europe?
Thank you very much for your question. Let me just take those one at a time. So for the9bit token, the token is designed to be earned and used through actual participation in the9bit ecosystem. Creators and players can earn the9bit token by engaging in eligible platform activities, such as creating or playing games and reaching certain participation milestones. This allows tokens to flow into the community through platform usage rather than solely through external trading. On the spending side, the9bit token serve as the core utility token of the platform.
Creators use it to generate games through AIGD, access premium tools such as AI Pro, purchase Booster Cards and other promotional features and use additional platform functions. These use cases are designed to link token demand directly to creation, engagement and content promotion. As more creators join the platform, more games are generated and more users seek to promote their content. The 9BIT token is put to work and circulates within the ecosystem. This structure also supports recurring engagement.
Participants have opportunity to earn tokens by remaining active, while creators need token to continue developing, enhancing and promoting the game. As a result, the model is designed to give both creators and players an ongoing reason to participate rather than simply signing up once. Over time, we believe the combination of earned rewards and utility-based spending can help align the investors of creators, players and other contributors while supporting a more active and sustainable ecosystem for the9bit.
Turning to your second question on geography. Southeast Asia was a logical starting point for the9bit because the region has a young mobile-first population with a high level of familiarity with digital asset and play-to-earn models. These characteristics provided a favorable environment for us to introduce the platform, build our initial users and creator community and observe how participants engage with its AI game creation tools and token-based ecosystem. The region has also enabled us to test and refine our offline to online brand partnership model.
Through campaigns with partners such as Tealive and Highlands Coffee, we are exploring how offline consumers' activities can be connected with the9bit online creator and players community. This gives brand partners new ways to engage consumers while helping us increase platform participation, strengthen community engagement and developing additional commercial use case beyond the platform itself. As we expand our partnership network, the experience and operating knowledge gained from these campaigns should help us further refine the model.
Markets such as the United States and Europe also offer significant long-term potential, given their large gaming markets, established creator communities and broad adoption of AI and mobile products. At the same time, these markets are more competitive and customer acquisition costs can be higher. We, therefore, intend to evaluate any expansion deliberately rather than applying the Southeast Asia model without adjustment. Our approach will need to reflect local market conditions, consumer expectations and preferred partnership format.
In this sense, Southeast Asia is serving as an initial proof of concept for both community development and commercial partnerships. The objective is to validate the model, learn from actual users and partner activities and build a repeatable operating playbook that can be adapted to additional regions over time. Thank you.
And our next question comes from independent investor, Miles Chen.
This is Miles. Could you share us more about what AI models does the9bit use as foundation models become increasingly powerful and widely available to other companies, what differentiates the9bit technology and the platform? And what do you see as a sustainable competitive advantage over time?
Okay. This is Gary Gao, COO of The9 Limited. Thank you very much for the question. We actually use multiple foundation models, not relying on any single one. Different models have different strengths. So our platform intelligently orchestrate different capabilities across the production pipeline. From our perspective, the more important thing is not which individual model we use. It's how we turn rapidly evolving AI capabilities into scalable commercial production. That's really where we see the9bit's competitive advantage. Yes, we are building an AI native operating system for interactive entertainment, not simply another AI application.
A user can start with an idea in natural language or a picture. Our system turns it into a structured production blueprint. And our orchestration engine coordinates hundreds or thousands of specialized production tests across the broader R&D and production life cycle. We have also developed an intuitive AI native game editing layer. So once the game is generated, users can directly modify gaming parameters, gameplay elements or visual assets within the same environment.
We can also iterate using natural language. For example, just simply saying keep everything else unchanged, but change the visual style from Cyberpunk to Minecraft. The system can apply those changes while preserving the rest of the game. So we are not simply generating individual AI outputs. We are building an end-to-end production system that makes game creation, editing and integration much more natural. I think one of the most important advantage is that the system gets better through production itself. Every project creates structured production intelligence that continuously improves our orchestration, task routine, automation and workflows.
So as usage scales, we expect the platform to become more intelligent, more efficient and increasingly difficult to replicate. The foundation models will continue to become more powerful and accessible. We don't see that as a threat to our model agnostic approach. In fact, it allow us to benefit from innovation across the broader AI ecosystem while continuing to strengthen our production operating system. And we don't believe the long-term value will come from owning a particular model. We believe it will come from building the systems, workflows and intelligence layer that continuously transform evolving AI capabilities into commercial outcomes. So ultimately, we firmly believe the9bit will become the platform with the most games in the world. Thank you.
[Operator Instructions]
And the next question comes from independent investor, Vivian Lu.
This is Vivian. I have 2 questions. And the first one is that following RFAI shareholders' approval of the proposed business combination with NYB, can you give us an update on the expected time line for the NYB's NASDAQ listing? And the second question is that from the The9's perspective, what does this milestone mean for the company's investment in NYB? And how should investors think about its potential contribution to the shareholder value?
Thank you for your question. This is George. Let me answer your questions. So in terms of the time line, now we all lack is NASDAQ approval. So we believe that it should be pretty soon. And talking about the NYB. So this vote, what has happened is an encouraging step forward for NYB and an important procedural milestone on its path to NASDAQ. From The9's perspective, the approval is meaningful in 3 aspects. First, it reinforced the value of what we hold. As I said earlier, if our RFAI share price stays at the same level, NYB share cap is expected to be around USD 7.7 billion. And with The9's expected to hold approximately 15% to 16% of the combined NASDAQ listed company after closing. This progress just strengthened the underlying value of our equity stake and supports our expectation that NYB will be a significant contributor to The9's investment income going forward.
Second, it validates our investment thesis. Beyond the9bit, we have been selective about where we expand into AI-driven opportunities and NYB was one of the earliest of those investments. What we saw in NYB was an AI native drug discovery company built around its proprietary platform and a library of more than 1 million natural compounds, supported by a strong partner network that includes collaboration with NVIDIA, HP and Equinix. Those are characteristics that remain the basis of our confidence in business. What is bought as a clearer path and timetable to the NASDAQ listing.
Third, and looking further out, it adds to the broader AI ecosystem we are building around The9. Our intention is to be present in areas where AI is creating long-term potential and being involved early gives us both visibility into how those markets develop and the option to participate further over time.
[Operator Instructions]
We will now take our next question from the line of Anna Kong from eCart Services Sendirian Berhad.
I've been following The9 Limited for quite some time, and I'm particularly interested in the company's vision direction in AI and gaming. I also came across the9bit, and I think the concept of using AI to allow users to create and play games is quite interesting. So one question I have is around the leadership of the project. Because from what I understand, the CEO of the9bit has had his reputation questioned within the industry before and there doesn't seem to be a very clear public track record that investors can refer to. So as an investor in The9 Limited, how does the company view this concern around the CEO's reputation? And how can investors get comfortable with the leadership and execution of the9bit?
Thank you very much for your question. First of all, I would like to highlight that the9bit is just part -- I mean, it's part of one of many companies under The9. So for your questions, I would happily discuss with you. Since this is The9 Limited earnings call. So this is not -- this may not be the most appropriate place to discuss this matter. But as the Co-Founder and COO of the9bit, you can find my detail on my Twitter page. So I would hope that you can send me an e-mail or PM, and I will address your concern accordingly. Thank you.
All right. Thank you. And with that, we conclude the question-and-answer session. At this time, I will turn the conference back to Jojo for any additional or closing comments.
Thank you once again for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please contact our IR team directly. Thank you.
Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect your lines.
Financial data from The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 9.47 9.47 |
22%
22%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 8.31 8.31 |
39%
39%
88%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 1.16 1.16 |
178%
178%
12%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 37 37 |
48%
48%
388%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | 2.40 2.40 |
2,082%
2,082%
25%
|
|
| EBITDA | -36 -36 |
-
-385%
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | 1.56 1.56 |
-
16%
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | -38 -38 |
44%
44%
-401%
|
|
| Net Profit | 6.58 6.58 |
131%
131%
69%
|
|
In millions USD.
Don't miss a Thing! We will send you all news about The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR directly to your mailbox free of charge.
If you wish, we will send you an e-mail every morning with news on stocks of your portfolios.
The9 Ltd. Sponsored ADR Stock News
Company Profile
The9 Ltd. engages in developing and operating online and mobile games. It also offers blockchain-related services. The company was founded by Jun Zhu on December 22, 1999 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
StocksGuide Premium
| Head office | Cayman Islands |
| CEO | Mr. Zhu |
| Employees | 44 |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Website | www.the9.com |
