Goldman Sachs: Maintaining Horizon Robot-W (09660) “Buy” Rating Target Price HK$13.12

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Goldman Sachs released a research report stating that maintaining the Horizon Robot-W (09660) “buy” rating, based on the company's 2030 forecast EBITDA, a 29.0 times discounted EV/EBITDA multiplier was used to arrive at a target price of HK$13.12 for 12 months, corresponding to an upward space of 196.8%. Goldman Sachs exchanged views with the founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics during the 2026 Asian Leaders Conference. Discussions focused on product roadmap and strategy, automotive industry trends and competition, and overseas market expansion.

Goldman Sachs's main views are as follows:

Management has a positive view on the upgrading of smart car configurations and the increase in NOA penetration rate in urban areas and high speed

The NOA penetration rate of new models has risen to 46.8% in the first half of 2026. Management pointed out that the company has a good position in the industry with comprehensive products covering ADAS to AD, integrated SoC platforms and self-developed software, and a continuously expanding ecosystem covering local car companies, joint venture brands and world-class suppliers. The bank takes a positive view of the company's customer expansion and the upgrading of its product portfolio to high-end driving solutions with higher bike value.

In terms of product roadmap, Horizon Robotics has launched Journey 2, 3, 5, and 6 series SoCs since 2020. Management pointed out that as urban NOA penetration rate increases in new models, the company continues to expand its market share through the Journey 6 platform, including the J6P and J6M solutions. The company also launched the HSD (Horizon SuperDrive) full-stack solution, covering chips and software, and recently launched HSD 2.0 to provide an enhanced driving experience.

Management also said that the company has comprehensive products including integrated cockpit and driving solutions, including Starry SoC and Kakaclaw, an automotive AI smart device, which can balance performance and efficiency. Among them, the Starry 6P has 650 TOPS computing power and is highly cost-effective. The company also continues to develop enhanced functionality and high-end products, such as the HSD 2.0 and Journey 7 platforms, to win over customers.

Competition in the industry intensifies at the same time, and the configuration of intelligent driving functions continues to be upgraded

In terms of industry competition, management pointed out that new models were launched at an accelerated pace in the first half of 2026, industry competition intensified at the same time, and intelligent driving function configurations continued to be upgraded. The company continues to iterate on processing architectures, tool chains, and software algorithms to meet customer requirements for new product launch times and cost performance, thus covering a wider range of models.

Regarding competition from car companies' self-developed chips, management pointed out that the company has scale advantages, mass production records, and accumulated experience in performance and latency. At the same time, it cooperates with many car companies to provide licenses and services for their self-developed platforms.

Management has a positive view of overseas growth opportunities

In terms of overseas markets, management has a positive view of the long-term growth in ADAS and AD demand in the overseas automobile market, as well as the incremental growth opportunities brought about by the company going overseas. Horizon Robotics has cooperated with many world-class suppliers such as Bosch, Denso, and CARIZON to obtain design targets, serve joint venture car company customers, and expand overseas markets. Management pointed out that the company's Journey 6 solution will be integrated into 7 new models of Volkswagen's joint venture in China and further expanded to more models in 2027; mass production of the company's J6B solution has also begun on GAC Toyota models, showing its adaptability and quality stability.