China International Capital Corporation published a research report stating that it maintains ANTA SPORTS (02020) with an "outperform the industry" rating, essentially maintaining the forecasts for 2024/25.

The EPS forecast remains unchanged at 4.16 yuan (after deduction) / 4.80 yuan, and introduces a 2026 EPS forecast of 5.35 yuan, with a Target Price of 104.02 Hong Kong dollars. The report believes that ANTA SPORTS' leading position and growth in the international sports brand market is not inferior to international peers, but its current valuation is lower than comparable international companies, indicating significant potential for future improvement.

After more than 30 years of development, ANTA SPORTS has evolved from the primary brand becoming the number one in the domestic sports brand market share, to multi-brand synergy surpassing Nike in overall domestic market share, and finally to a successful global layout. The firm reviewed the company's development history of bravely breaking through opportunities and actively responding to difficulties, finding the internal reasons for "why ANTA": through self-growth, ANTA has cultivated strategic clarity, strong execution, and high collaboration capabilities.

CICC's main points are as follows:

ANTA is the third largest sports shoe and apparel group globally, leading the international industry and being a leader in the Consumer sector in China. The company has a complete brand matrix, being the sporting goods group with the most star sports brands globally; its direct operation rate ranks second among international peers, with terminal retail efficiency being world-leading; marketing fully integrates Chinese sports spirit with international trends, highlighting brand image; the number of Technology patents ranks first among Chinese sports brands; profitability and turnover efficiency lead international industry leaders; and ESG performance is the best among Chinese sporting goods companies, demonstrating strong sustainable development capability.

The development history of ANTA includes many classic cases praised by the industry, such as turning crises into opportunities, with the ANTA brand becoming the first in the local market; starting with the acquisition of FILA to strengthen multi-brand Operation capacity; DTC transformation, building strong retail capabilities; successfully acquiring and transforming Amer Sports, initiating global development, etc.

Behind the above achievements is the strong enterprise capability formed by ANTA during its development, particularly reflected in strategic traction, management synergy, and other aspects. ANTA Group possesses an upward corporate value system, demonstrating boldness, adaptability to change, and constantly iterating development strategies that strengthen the core competitiveness of "brand + retail." With clear goals, everyone is responsible, collaborating efficiently; a customer-first and innovation-driven product development philosophy; digital empowerment to comprehensively reduce costs and increase efficiency; and a focus on talent development and team building.

Looking ahead, driven by internal and external forces, ANTA is expected to enter a new development period where the strong will become stronger. The company's Operation and overseas model are continuously innovated, reinforcing a high-quality development pattern. The report believes that the company is expected to seize advantageous business districts with Top stores in the domestic market, with room for profitability improvement; in overseas markets, there is the potential to continually strengthen store layouts, improve global Operation efficiency, and integrate resources, indicating broad growth space.