Benzinga | Oct 8, 2021 04:50PM EDT

How Analysts View Tencent Ahead Of Earnings?

* Jefferies maintains its buy rating on Tencent Holdings Ltd (OTC: TCEHY) and expects a 16% revenue growth in Q3, Bloomberg reports. Tencent will likely report earnings on November 10.

* Tencent was a critical victim of China's tech crackdown, with its shares down nearly 40% from a record high in January.

* Tencent's shares have already priced further clampdowns on online gaming and stand to benefit from the potential unlocking of gaming patents.

* Concerns regarding minors' gaming hours and the impact on ads from education-focused regulations are "priced in," analysts including Thomas Chong noted. Rising ad demand from the Winter Olympics in China could offset the lost revenue from some edutech firms.

* Tencent released its hotly anticipated League of Legends Mobile on October 8, almost a month after its initially scheduled release.

* The shorter-than-expected delay was "positive relief," Citigroup Inc analysts, including Alicia Yap, noted. While proceeds will unlikely add much grossing contribution in Q4, it could support domestic gaming revenue growth into 2022, Citi said.

* Related Content: NetEase Stock Plummets As China Limits Gaming Time For Minors

* Price Action: TCEHY shares closed higher by 0.88% at $63.19 on Friday.