Share count
1.5Bpeak FY2025
← All companies ← CMCL Manual CMDB → ← CLPS Software COUR →
CMCM, Cheetah Mobile Inc.
Revenue is Internet Business (53%) and AI and Others (47%).
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
Revenue · FY2025
CN¥1.2B
+42.6% YoY · −6% 5-yr CAGR
Vital signs · TTM, with 5-yr average
Revenue CN¥1.2B 5-yr avg CN¥859M
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What it is
- A software business, earning high margins on code once it is written.
- Situation
- Unprofitable. No sustained operating profit across the record; an earnings multiple has nothing to rest on. What the record does show is revenue, the gross-margin trajectory, and the burn against the cash on hand.
- What moves the needle
- Operating margin has run around −29% through the cycle on a 67% gross margin, the operating line in the red even at its best — so the lever is whether the spending below the gross line can come down enough to clear a profit: revenue growth against the cost curve, and the cash runway until it does. The cash cycle has run negative through the cycle (a median of −10 days): the operation is paid before it pays, so working capital releases cash as the business grows rather than tying it up. Read this kind of business on retention and the cost of growth. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on pricing power & competition, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has rarely cleared the cost of capital (median −15%, above 15% in 2 of 10 years). The steadier read is owner earnings: roughly 10% of revenue reaches owners as cash, though it swings, and customers and suppliers fund the business through negative working capital. This is price-taker territory, where the balance sheet and the cycle matter more than any multiple; the rest is in the 10-K.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
Where the money comes from
read the 20-F →Revenue spreads across 2 segments, the largest Internet Business at 53%.
Revenue by reportable segment, FY2025
- Internet Business53%CN¥615M
- AI and Others47%CN¥535M
By geographyChina39%Europe28%Rest of World13%Japan12%United States9%
From the segment footnote of the company's own 20-F. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of segment operating profit, before unallocated corporate costs.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2016–2025
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2016’16 | 2017’17 | 2018’18 | 2019’19 | 2020’20 | 2021’21 | 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | TTMTTMDec 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||||||
| CN¥4.6B | CN¥5.0B | CN¥5.0B | CN¥3.6B | CN¥1.6B | CN¥785M | CN¥884M | CN¥670M | CN¥807M | CN¥1.2B | CN¥1.2B | RevenueRevenue |
| 66% | 64% | 69% | 65% | 69% | 67% | 71% | 65% | 68% | 72% | 72% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| (CN¥12M) | CN¥447M | CN¥467M | (CN¥1.1B) | (CN¥531M) | (CN¥230M) | (CN¥226M) | (CN¥210M) | (CN¥437M) | (CN¥179M) | (CN¥179M) | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| −0.3% | 9.0% | 9.4% | −31.0% | −34.2% | −29.3% | −25.5% | −31.3% | −54.2% | −15.6% | −15.6% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| (CN¥57M) | CN¥1.4B | CN¥1.2B | (CN¥374M) | CN¥411M | (CN¥353M) | (CN¥521M) | (CN¥594M) | (CN¥602M) | (CN¥235M) | (CN¥235M) | Net incomeNet inc. |
| — | 4% | 9% | — | 19% | — | — | — | — | — | — | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | |||||||||||
| CN¥394M | CN¥626M | CN¥346M | (CN¥240M) | (CN¥46M) | CN¥103M | (CN¥424M) | CN¥550M | (CN¥238M) | (CN¥172M) | (CN¥172M) | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| CN¥46M | CN¥45M | CN¥40M | CN¥37M | CN¥52M | CN¥46M | CN¥49M | CN¥28M | CN¥22M | CN¥11M | CN¥11M | DepreciationDeprec. |
| CN¥404M | (CN¥795M) | (CN¥847M) | CN¥97M | (CN¥509M) | CN¥410M | CN¥47M | CN¥1.1B | CN¥341M | CN¥51M | CN¥51M | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| CN¥74M | CN¥19M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | CN¥19M | CapexCapex |
| 1.6% | 0.4% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.7% | Capex / revenueCapex/rev |
| CN¥319M | CN¥606M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | (CN¥192M) | Owner earningsOwner earn. |
| 7.0% | 12.2% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | −16.7% | Owner earnings marginOE mgn |
| CN¥319M | CN¥606M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | (CN¥192M) | Free cash flowFCF |
| 7.0% | 12.2% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | −16.7% | Free cash flow marginFCF mgn |
| CN¥179M | — | CN¥222M | CN¥175K | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | BuybacksBuybacks |
| -1% | 22% | 16% | -22% | -18% | -11% | -12% | -38% | -511% | -140% | -56% | ROICROIC |
| -2% | 32% | 21% | -8% | 11% | -11% | -17% | -24% | -32% | -15% | -15% | Return on equityROE |
| Balance sheet | |||||||||||
| CN¥1.8B | CN¥3.7B | CN¥3.7B | CN¥2.4B | CN¥1.7B | CN¥1.8B | CN¥1.7B | CN¥2.0B | CN¥1.8B | CN¥1.5B | CN¥1.5B | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| CN¥601M | CN¥621M | CN¥655M | CN¥469M | CN¥226M | CN¥170M | CN¥284M | CN¥401M | CN¥474M | CN¥468M | CN¥468M | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| CN¥999K | CN¥27M | CN¥12M | CN¥31M | CN¥24M | CN¥15M | CN¥17M | CN¥41M | CN¥47M | CN¥54M | CN¥54M | InventoryInvent. |
| CN¥195M | CN¥165M | CN¥171M | CN¥88M | CN¥106M | CN¥135M | CN¥133M | CN¥170M | CN¥220M | CN¥212M | CN¥212M | Accounts payablePayables |
| CN¥407M | CN¥483M | CN¥496M | CN¥413M | CN¥144M | CN¥51M | CN¥167M | CN¥271M | CN¥301M | CN¥310M | CN¥310M | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| CN¥3.2B | CN¥5.4B | CN¥5.6B | CN¥4.0B | CN¥2.9B | CN¥2.6B | CN¥3.1B | CN¥3.5B | CN¥3.8B | CN¥3.2B | CN¥3.2B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| CN¥2.1B | CN¥2.2B | CN¥1.8B | CN¥1.7B | CN¥1.6B | CN¥1.4B | CN¥1.8B | CN¥2.7B | CN¥3.1B | CN¥2.5B | CN¥2.5B | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| 1.5× | 2.5× | 3.0× | 2.3× | 1.9× | 1.9× | 1.8× | 1.3× | 1.2× | 1.3× | 1.3× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| CN¥944M | CN¥634M | CN¥618M | — | — | — | — | CN¥577M | CN¥424M | CN¥460M | CN¥460M | GoodwillGoodwill |
| CN¥5.5B | CN¥7.4B | CN¥8.3B | CN¥7.0B | CN¥5.6B | CN¥5.0B | CN¥5.1B | CN¥5.6B | CN¥5.5B | CN¥4.7B | CN¥4.7B | Total assetsAssets |
| CN¥3.0B | CN¥4.3B | CN¥5.5B | CN¥4.9B | CN¥3.7B | CN¥3.3B | CN¥3.0B | CN¥2.5B | CN¥1.9B | CN¥1.6B | CN¥1.6B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| Per share | |||||||||||
| 1.39B | 1.43B | 1.44B | 1.37B | 1.42B | 1.43B | 1.44B | 1.47B | 1.50B | 1.53B | 0K | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| CN¥3.29 | CN¥3.49 | CN¥3.46 | CN¥2.62 | CN¥1.09 | CN¥0.55 | CN¥0.61 | CN¥0.45 | CN¥0.54 | CN¥0.75 | — | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| CN¥-0.04 | CN¥0.97 | CN¥0.80 | CN¥-0.27 | CN¥0.29 | CN¥-0.25 | CN¥-0.36 | CN¥-0.40 | CN¥-0.40 | CN¥-0.15 | — | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| CN¥2.17 | CN¥3.01 | CN¥3.80 | CN¥3.60 | CN¥2.64 | CN¥2.29 | CN¥2.10 | CN¥1.67 | CN¥1.26 | CN¥1.05 | — | Book value / shareBVPS |
Per-share growththe realized rate an owner's share compounded
| 9-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | −15.1%/yr | −7.2%/yr |
| Owner earnings / share | +84.7%/yr (1-yr) | +84.7%/yr (1-yr) |
| Capital spending / share | −74.6%/yr (1-yr) | −74.6%/yr (1-yr) |
| Book value / share | −7.8%/yr | −16.8%/yr |
The record, charted
FY2016–2025Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
ROIC
−140%low FY2024
Gross margin
72%low FY2017
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
FY2016FY2023
Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.
In fiscal 2017 the business reported CN¥1.4B of profit but CN¥606M of owner earnings: CN¥769M less than the profit line, taken out by capital spending and the timing of cash.
| FY2017 | FY2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Reported net income | CN¥1.4B | (CN¥57M) |
| Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back | +CN¥45M | +CN¥46M |
| Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items | −CN¥795M | +CN¥404M |
| Cash from operations | CN¥626M | CN¥394M |
| Capital expenditurecash put back in to keep running and to grow | −CN¥19M | −CN¥74M |
| Owner earnings | CN¥606M | CN¥319M |
| Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue | 12% | 7% |
Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the capital it must spend to hold its position .
Much of fiscal 2017's profit didn't arrive as operating cash; it sits in “working capital & other” above. That can be a real inventory or timing swing, or profit that doesn't run through operating cash at all: a heavy tax year, equity-method earnings, or investment income booked through investing. For a year like this, owner earnings understates the cash earned; the full cash-flow statement carries the rest.
Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
FY2025 20-F · source on SEC EDGAR →
Will it survive?
- No meaningful interest burdenLittle or no interest expense reported
What this means
Little or no interest expense reported, the business isn't leaning on lenders to operate.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? +CN¥1.4BNet cashCash CN¥1.5B + ST investments CN¥10M − debt CN¥151M
What this means
Cash and short-term investments exceed every dollar of debt by CN¥1.4B, on net the company owes nothing, and can act from strength when others can't. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Negative, funded by othersDSO 149 + DIO 62 − DPO 244 days
What this means
Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. A negative cycle is a quiet moat: suppliers and customers fund the operation (Buffett's “float”), the company grows on other people's money.
Is it a good business?
- Below average through the cycle10-yr median, range -511%–22%; -56% latest = NOPAT (CN¥142M) ÷ invested capital CN¥253MIndustry peers: median -1%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 10 years (it ran -56% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Consumes cashOwner earnings (CN¥192M) = operating cash (CN¥172M) − maintenance capex CN¥19MIndustry peers: median 18%
What this means
What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's -17% of revenue this year.
- Are earnings backed by cash? (CN¥172M)Loss, and burning cashNet income (CN¥235M) · cash from operations (CN¥172M)
What this means
The company reported a net loss, so a conversion ratio isn't meaningful. What matters then is whether operations still threw off cash, here, they did not.
How is the cash used?
- No surplus to allocate
What this means
The business didn't generate positive Owner Earnings this year, so any distributions came from the balance sheet or borrowing, not from operations.
- Investing or harvesting? 1.69×ExpandingCapex CN¥19M ÷ depreciation CN¥11M
What this means
Descriptive, not a grade. Above ~1× means investing faster than assets wear out (growth, or, sustained for years, today's earnings carrying less depreciation than tomorrow's will). Below means spending less than it's wearing out (efficiency, or a melting asset base). The ratio won't tell you which; the filings will.
Graham’s defensive tests · 1 of 5 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size —Revenue ≥ $2B (a dollar floor) · CN¥1.2B
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's floor is a dollar figure — about $2B of revenue as a conservative modern stand-in. This company reports in its home currency and we carry no exchange rate, so we show the figure and leave the size bar for you to apply rather than convert it with a number we don't have.
- Strong liquidity MissCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 1.27×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt PassDebt ≤ working capital · CN¥151M vs CN¥684M WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Earnings stability MissA profit every year (10-yr record) · 7 loss years
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record MissUninterrupted dividends · none paid
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. He wanted twenty years; the filings show about ten, and a single suspension breaks the streak. Non-payers, many fine modern compounders, fall outside his defensive net by design.
- Earnings growth MissEarnings +33% over the record · −158%
What this means
At least a third more earnings than a decade ago, averaging three years at each end. Net income (not per-share), so stock splits don't distort it, buybacks and dilution show up in the share-count line instead.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are CN¥-0.31/share (latest year CN¥-0.15), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is CN¥1.05/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2016–2025
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 3 of 10
What this means
Lost money in 7 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.
- Operating margin 6% → −34% (3-yr avg ends)
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin slipped — about 6% early to −34% lately, median −29% — competition or costs are biting in.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Owner earnings growth +0%/yr
What this means
Owner earnings grew about 0% a year over the record.
- Worst year 2024 · −54.2% op. margin
What this means
Operations went underwater in 2024, understand why before trusting the good years.
- Share count +1.1%/yr
What this means
The share count is rising, dilution works against you on a per-share basis.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Elevated contestabilityThe product is software or information, the very thing capable AI now produces more cheaply, so the moat is more contestable than the record alone implies.
In its own filing Named as a competitive risk
Its FY2025 10-K names artificial intelligence as a competitive threat.
“Meanwhile, in the dynamic landscape of today's market, venturing into new business or strengthening our existing business lines, such as robotic products and AI-powered business applications, presents us with a complex array of risks and uncertainties that are integral to competing in rapidly evolving industries.…”
AI has collapsed the cost of building a capable substitute for the very thing this business sells. When a credible alternative can be assembled for a fraction of the incumbent's price, it is pricing power that erodes first, not revenue tomorrow. The live question is whether the moat survives that, not whether it held in the past. Whether that question is answerable at all is yours to decide, against your own circle of competence.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Dec 31, 2025Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
Current assetsCN¥3.2B
- Cash & short-term investmentsCN¥1.5B
- ReceivablesCN¥468M
- InventoryCN¥54M
- Other current assetsCN¥1.2B
Current liabilitiesCN¥2.5B
- Accounts payableCN¥212M
- Other current liabilitiesCN¥2.3B
Current ratio1.27×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio1.25×stricter: inventory excluded
Cash ratio0.59×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capitalCN¥684Mthe cushion left after near-term bills
Cash runway7.9 yrsthe business is consuming cash; this is how long the cash on hand lasts at that rate
Deeper floors
Tangible book valueCN¥1.1Bequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Net current asset valueCN¥508MGraham's net-net: current assets less all liabilities
Debt incl. operating leasesCN¥161MCN¥9M of it operating leases
Deferred revenueCN¥292Mcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float
From the company's latest filing.
Inverting the record
Invert: instead of why Cheetah Mobile Inc. is a good business, the question is what would make owning it a mistake, and whether those marks are in the record. Disconfirming tests across 2016–2025.
1 of the 4 tests turned up something to look into; the other 3 came back clean.
- Look hereIs it less profitable than it was?−33.7% vs 6.0%
The operating margin averaged 6.0% early in the record and −33.7% across the last three years, and the latest year has not recovered. Ask the filing whether that is a structural drift or a cyclical trough — price, mix, cost, or a competitor — and whether it is permanent.
And these came back clean
- Did debt outgrow the business?
- Did reported profit become cash?
- Did receivables and inventory outpace sales?
Each test is read from the filings and is noisy alone; a flag can mark a cyclical trough or a year of heavy investment as easily as a problem. The filing says which.
Peers, Software
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KVYOKlaviyo Inc. Series A | $1.2B | 75% | -11.6% | -44% | 17% |
| GWREGuidewire Software | $1.2B | 55% | -2.8% | -1% | 16% |
| CVLTCommvault Systems | $1.2B | 83% | 0.3% | -1% | 18% |
| BOXBox, Inc. | $1.2B | 73% | -4.0% | — | 18% |
| CFLTConfluent Inc. | $1.2B | 68% | -65.5% | -24% | -28% |
| CMCMCheetah Mobile Inc. | CN¥1.2B | 67% | -27.4% | -15% | -17% |
| BLKBBlackbaud Inc. | $1.1B | 54% | 4.1% | 3% | 20% |
| MANHManhattan Associates | $1.1B | 55% | 23.3% | 214% | 25% |
| Group median | — | 68% | -3.4% | -1% | 17% |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFEnter the home-market price, not the US ADR quote. Cheetah Mobile Inc. reports in CNY, and every figure here (owner earnings, book value, the share count) is on that CNY, ordinary-share basis. Enter the price on the same basis: the local-exchange quote per ordinary share in CNY. A US ADR price in dollars bundles the ADR-to-ordinary ratio and the exchange rate, so it will not reconcile with these figures and would throw the multiple off.
Type today's close and see the owner-earnings growth you'd have to believe to justify it, beside what Cheetah Mobile Inc. has delivered.
Cheetah Mobile Inc.’s latest year shows negative owner earnings, below the record’s own through-cycle owner earnings. So the tool opens on the through-cycle base, the cash it would earn at rest; clear the toggle below to read the latest year exactly as reported.
CN¥
Base
—
The assumptions
9.0% = the 4.55% 10-year Treasury (Jul 15, 2026) + 4.45 points of equity premium. The rate you require is yours to set.
Enter a price above to run it.
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Implied by the price—
Owner-earnings growth · since FY2016+90%/yr
Owner-earnings growth · ’16→’17+0%/yr
Owner-earnings yield—
What a growth belief costs, in multiples
The growth each return requires, at your price
P/E (3-yr earnings ’23–’25)—
P/B—
Graham’s price gate—
Graham capped the multiple at 15×; Buffett and Munger let that rule go: a wonderful business can deserve 50× if the thesis holds. The gate marks the bargain-hunter's floor.
Against a high-grade bond: Graham’s yardstick bond yield%
Prefilled with the 10-year Treasury (4.55%, as of Jul 15, 2026). Edit it for today’s exact figure, or a AAA corporate yield.
Graham measured a stock against the bond you could own instead, the heart of his margin of safety. Enter a price above to weigh the owner-earnings yield against this bond.
Owner-earnings yield—
High-grade bond yield—
Margin over the bond—
Owner earnings (CN¥192M) on 1533M shares outstanding (a weighted average, the only count this filer tags); net cash CN¥1.4B. The base opens on the through-cycle figure (the latest year sits off the record’s own median, and Graham’s averaging cuts both ways); clear Normalize to use the year as filed. Net of stock comp treats option pay as the expense it is. The dials set the multiple a growth belief justifies; the price, and every dollar on this page, is yours.
Cite: Owner Scorecard, "Cheetah Mobile Inc. (CMCM), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/CMCM, data as of 2026-07-09.
Manual order: ← CMCL its page in the Manual CMDB →
Industry order: ← CLPS the Software chapter COUR →