Ke Holdings Stock Earnings Reports

KE Holdings delivered notably improved profitability and operational efficiency in Q1 2026 despite year-over-year revenue and GTV declines driven by a high prior-year base. Non-GAAP operating profit rose to RMB 1.67 billion (up 45.1% YoY) and non-GAAP operating margin reached 8.8%, a seven-quarter high. Gross margin expanded to 24.1% and contribution margins improved across all core businesses (existing-home, new-home, renovation, and rental). The company continued disciplined cost control: operating expenses hit a near three-year low and R&D, S&M and G&A each declined YoY and sequentially. Cash balances (ex-customer deposits) remained strong (~RMB 65.6 billion) after ~USD 195–200 million of share repurchases in the quarter (cumulative ~USD 2.7 billion since program start). Management emphasized a multi-year strategic transformation: shifting from organizing listings to delivering decision support and housing advisory, driven by organizational changes (sending managers back to front lines), agent professionalization, productization of services, and AI-enabled tools. Key operational signs: existing-home transactions on the platform grew (12% YoY in Q1; March set monthly record), Lianjia per-capita transaction volume and commission rose materially, rental units under management exceeded 740,000 (up ~47% YoY) with improving margins, and pilots (e.g., Commit to Sell, community open days, AI front-line apps) are underway to improve price discovery, conversion and service consistency. Management expects continued focus on ROI-driven investments, pilots-first rollouts, prudent resource allocation, and further margin expansion over time as transformation and AI enablement scale.