A Table Showing JAC Motors' Valuation Reset

I compared the revenue and profit in JAC Motors' interim report, then looked at the stock price trends before and after the "Zunje" concept emerged. I actually ran through it myself. The conclusion isn't complex; ordinary people don't need to build valuation models right away—start with a tracking sheet.

I worked on electric drive and battery management projects at BYD, and recently used an electric drive system for about two months. An electric drive is the system that converts battery power into wheel rotation. When looking at automakers, I'm in the habit of breaking stories down into costs. I've also been trying out domain controllers recently; just started a few days ago. Simply put, it's a collection of several controllers in the car. But the feeling is clear: high-end cars can't just make screens bigger or pile on sensors. If budgets for electric drives, battery management, and domain controllers aren't generous, cuts will happen during implementation.

Looking at JAC is the same. Don't ask if Zunje can boost the stock first; ask where the money comes from and where it goes.

First, open your spreadsheet software and create a new worksheet. Keep column names simple: Item, First Half, Same Period Last Year, Change, My Judgment. Build the empty table first; don't let formulas scare you off initially.

Search for "JAC Motors" on financial websites or market data apps, click into the company page, and look for "Periodic Reports" or "Interim Report." The interim report is the mid-year financial report. Open the latest PDF and press Ctrl+F or Command+F. Search for "Operating Revenue" first, and fill in 22.13 billion yuan and a year-on-year growth of 14.3% into the table. Then search for "Net Profit Attributable to Parent Company," filling in a loss of 750 million yuan, compared to a loss of 770 million yuan in the same period last year. When checking against the interim report standards, if the report directly discloses "Net Profit Margin Attributable to Parent Company," use the disclosed value; if not, calculate it yourself by dividing net profit attributable to the parent by operating revenue. -750 million divided by 22.13 billion is approximately -3.4%. Don't casually write -1.3%.

Let me explain these terms again. Operating revenue is the money the company received from selling cars etc. in the first half; it doesn't equal profit. Net profit attributable to the parent company is the profit distributed to listed shareholders; total company revenue doesn't equal this. Net profit margin attributable to the parent is the ratio of net profit attributable to the parent to operating revenue. Here, roughly -3.4%, means that for every 100 yuan of revenue, there's an accounting loss of about 3.4 yuan.

At the end of Day 1, what you should see is that revenue went up, losses narrowed slightly, but they still haven't made money. This is where people trip up. Many see 14.3% revenue growth and judge "fundamentals are improving." Actually, revenue growth doesn't equal making money. If expenses, R&D, sales, and manufacturing costs haven't improved simultaneously, the larger the revenue, the more obvious the cash flow pressure might be. A table can at least prevent this misjudgment.

On Day 2, don't rush to calculate valuations. On Day 3, create a timeline. Open your market data app, search for "JAC Motors," and click into the K-line chart. A K-line chart is a stock price trend chart; weekly K-lines draw one week's prices as a single line. Switch the cycle to "Weekly K" or "Monthly K," and drag the time range back to early 2024. You should see a price curve. Public materials mention that the stock price started rising from its lowest point of 10.3 yuan in early 2024. Mark this point.

Then write a line next to it: In mid-2024, JAC announced the launch of the high-end brand Zunje under HarmonyOS Smart Mobility together with Huawei. This position is the entry point for understanding "valuation returning to the Zunje origin." Valuation looks at how much the market is willing to pay now for future earning potential, not just how much cash is on the balance sheet. The so-called "Zunje origin" refers to the position where the market repriced JAC when expectations for the high-end partnership were just ignited.

Put the stock price rise interval alongside the interim report profits, and you'll see an intuitive result: price moved first, profits haven't caught up yet. This is another trap. Don't simply understand "valuation returning to origin" as the stock price falling. It may mean the market has discovered that expectations propped up by the high-end brand concept need to be re-verified by deliveries, gross margins, expenses, and cash flow.

Beginners also often confuse units. Financial reports commonly use "hundred million yuan," market apps use "yuan/share," and news might write "market cap." Don't directly compare 10.3 yuan with 22.13 billion yuan; they aren't the same thing. Fill only numbers in the table; keep judgments in your head. This is the price level, this is the revenue scale, this is the profit result.

After a week, don't throw the table away. Turn it into a template and update it monthly or quarterly. Column names can expand to Date, Stock Price Level, Revenue, Net Profit Attributable to Parent, High-End Model Progress, One-Sentence Judgment.

The "High-End Model Progress" column can be left blank initially. If the interim report doesn't break out revenue brought by Zunje separately, just write "To Be Checked." Don't force-fit numbers. Look for clues in the company's monthly production and sales bulletins, launch events, and dealer-side information. The judgment rules are simple. Revenue up, losses narrowing, stable high-end model deliveries suggest expectations might start turning into profit. Revenue up, losses still large, expenses also high suggests valuation is still mostly relying on the story. Revenue flat, losses expanding, stock price near the origin suggests the market is likely waiting for cost realization.

My feeling after running through this is that the table isn't fancy, but it prevents you from being led around by headlines. Engineers looking at solutions don't just see "very smart"; they check if it runs stably in the lab and real road conditions. Looking at automaker valuations is the same: don't just see "high-end brand"; check if vehicle costs can be covered by revenue, and if R&D and sales expenses have somewhere to go.

In the coming period, the market's view of JAC will become increasingly unsatisfied with just "does Zunje have traffic?" Whether the valuation holds depends on whether the per-unit revenue and gross margin brought by Zunje can cover hard costs like channels, R&D, and manufacturing. If it can't cover them, the valuation returning to origin is a normal correction. If it can, the origin might become the next step up.

After learning this, the next step is to take the same table, swap JAC Motors for a new energy automaker you often watch, and fill in revenue and profit again. No need for complex models; just put revenue, profit, and expenses into the table, and you can tell if it's still a story or actual profit.