# China Southern Airlines (600029.SHG)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/600029.SHG

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z. Financial observations: FY1997–FY2025.

Listing currency: CNY. Reporting currency: CNY.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: CNY 4.69 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 2 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- negative average operating margin

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 2

- Years with a net loss: 5

- Operating margin variation: 2.59×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.03×

- FY2017: 0.06×

- FY2018: 0.03×

- FY2019: 0.02×

- FY2020: -0.17×

- FY2021: -0.14×

- FY2022: -0.37×

- FY2023: -0.01×

- FY2024: -0.00×

- FY2025: 0.05×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: 0.4%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -5.1%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 0.9 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 9.3%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 8.4%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 11.4%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -2.7%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 2.1%

- FY2017: 4.0%

- FY2018: 1.7%

- FY2019: 1.0%

- FY2020: -5.1%

- FY2021: -4.6%

- FY2022: -10.8%

- FY2023: -0.7%

- FY2024: -0.3%

- FY2025: 3.1%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: CNY -122B

- Net income, five-year total: CNY -50B

- Return on incremental invested capital: 21.9%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -0.2 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 0.2 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: -1.1%

Chart: Owner earnings · five years; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: CNY -33B

- FY2022: CNY -54B

- FY2023: CNY -18B

- FY2024: CNY -17B

- FY2025: CNY -301M

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 2.1% vs -0.3%

- Per-share earnings: 0.51 to -0.09 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- acquired goodwill and intangibles (proxy) exceeds half of ten-year net income with low and deteriorating ROIC

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 6.0%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 2.0%

- Market cap gain: CNY 67B

- Cumulative retained earnings: CNY -55B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 6.0%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 2.0%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value change: CNY -0.60

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: CNY 0.51

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: CNY -0.09

- Average buyback yield: 7.7%

- Buyback history: 1 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: No

- Acquisition spending: CNY 11B

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: CNY -44B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 2.1%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -0.3%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: CNY 0.51

- FY2017: CNY 0.60

- FY2018: CNY 0.26

- FY2019: CNY 0.22

- FY2020: CNY -0.70

- FY2021: CNY -0.73

- FY2022: CNY -1.90

- FY2023: CNY -0.23

- FY2024: CNY -0.09

- FY2025: CNY 0.05

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -10.7%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.58×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 44.58×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.21×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -9.3%

- FY2017: -5.4%

- FY2018: -5.0%

- FY2019: -9.3%

- FY2020: -4.1%

- FY2021: -6.1%

- FY2022: -9.7%

- FY2023: -14.3%

- FY2024: -10.1%

- FY2025: -10.7%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 41% since Dec 2025 · sales +4.6%

Story as of 2026-10-16T10:00:04.935Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +4.6%; source https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/; observed 2026-10-16.

- FY2016: CNY 115B 

- FY2017: CNY 127B 

- FY2018: CNY 144B 

- FY2019: CNY 154B 

- FY2020: CNY 93B 

- FY2021: CNY 102B 

- FY2022: CNY 87B 

- FY2023: CNY 160B 

- FY2024: CNY 174B 

- FY2025: CNY 182B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 10.1%; source https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/; observed 2026-10-16.

- FY2016: 16.0% 

- FY2017: 12.3% 

- FY2018: 10.4% 

- FY2019: 12.1% 

- FY2023: 7.7% 

- FY2024: 8.4% 

- FY2025: 10.1% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in airlines; annual sales are CNY 182.3 billion.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2025: revenue 182256000000; grossProfit 18476000000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); 600029.SHG: China Southern Airlines Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides airline transport services in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Aviation Operations and Other. The company offers air passenger; freight; mail; airline catering; hotel and travel; leasing; and internet services. It also provides online services, including seat and check-in, change/refund, flight status, pre-paid luggage, transfer accommodation, and meal booking. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, China. China Southern Airlines Company Limited operates as a subsidiary of China Southern Air Holding Company Limited.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 7.7% to 10.1% during 2023–25; it earns 0.4% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 7.7%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 8.4%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 10.1%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.020979454440865505],[2017,0.039529506246040166],[2018,0.0167793268599261],[2019,0.009847117440313653],[2020,-0.05077119988166361],[2021,-0.04608392407025215],[2022,-0.10792609815393885],[2023,-0.007391465774427026],[2024,-0.0025895447563785306],[2025,0.03132684244190179]]; median 0.003628786341967561. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 10 of 10 years; bought back CNY 10.6 billion of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2016: growth capex 4702366353.391417; upkeep 14319633646.608583; owner earnings 3435366353.3914165. Growth capex / owner earnings = 1.3688107379724463.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2017: growth capex 613000000; upkeep 13233000000; owner earnings 5914000000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.10365235035508961.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2018: growth capex 9828000000; upkeep 14258000000; owner earnings 2983000000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 3.294669795507878.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2019: growth capex 6340000000; upkeep 9288000000; owner earnings 2651000000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 2.3915503583553375.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); Dividend observations: [[2016,785000000],[2017,4740000000],[2018,1009000000],[2019,613000000],[2020,6646000000],[2021,6354000000],[2022,6359000000],[2023,6444000000],[2024,5899000000],[2025,5811000000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); FY2025: cash repurchases 10588861108.349998 CNY.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 72% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); 600029.SHG SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 72.05 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 0.4 times annual sales; cash earnings are negative.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16T07:35:26.737Z); Closing price 4.69 CNY; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2025 annual sales per share 10.633372228704784; price multiple 0.4410642173645861. FY2025 cash earnings/share -0.017560521415270015. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (CNY per share)

- 2016-10: CNY 7.17 per share

- 2016-11: CNY 7.74 per share

- 2016-12: CNY 7.02 per share

- 2017-01: CNY 7.32 per share

- 2017-02: CNY 7.70 per share

- 2017-03: CNY 8.06 per share

- 2017-04: CNY 7.70 per share

- 2017-05: CNY 8.63 per share

- 2017-06: CNY 8.70 per share

- 2017-07: CNY 8.05 per share

- 2017-08: CNY 8.77 per share

- 2017-09: CNY 8.27 per share

- 2017-10: CNY 8.72 per share

- 2017-11: CNY 11.07 per share

- 2017-12: CNY 11.92 per share

- 2018-01: CNY 11.77 per share

- 2018-02: CNY 11.81 per share

- 2018-03: CNY 10.42 per share

- 2018-04: CNY 10.35 per share

- 2018-05: CNY 10.00 per share

- 2018-06: CNY 8.45 per share

- 2018-07: CNY 7.09 per share

- 2018-08: CNY 6.75 per share

- 2018-09: CNY 6.76 per share

- 2018-10: CNY 6.09 per share

- 2018-11: CNY 7.10 per share

- 2018-12: CNY 6.64 per share

- 2019-01: CNY 7.12 per share

- 2019-02: CNY 8.35 per share

- 2019-03: CNY 8.55 per share

- 2019-04: CNY 8.04 per share

- 2019-05: CNY 7.19 per share

- 2019-06: CNY 7.72 per share

- 2019-07: CNY 7.28 per share

- 2019-08: CNY 6.57 per share

- 2019-09: CNY 6.63 per share

- 2019-10: CNY 6.66 per share

- 2019-11: CNY 6.61 per share

- 2019-12: CNY 7.18 per share

- 2020-01: CNY 6.43 per share

- 2020-02: CNY 5.76 per share

- 2020-03: CNY 5.15 per share

- 2020-04: CNY 5.40 per share

- 2020-05: CNY 5.06 per share

- 2020-06: CNY 5.17 per share

- 2020-07: CNY 5.33 per share

- 2020-08: CNY 5.86 per share

- 2020-09: CNY 5.80 per share

- 2020-10: CNY 5.51 per share

- 2020-11: CNY 6.30 per share

- 2020-12: CNY 5.96 per share

- 2021-01: CNY 5.83 per share

- 2021-02: CNY 6.07 per share

- 2021-03: CNY 6.87 per share

- 2021-04: CNY 6.35 per share

- 2021-05: CNY 6.37 per share

- 2021-06: CNY 6.02 per share

- 2021-07: CNY 5.35 per share

- 2021-08: CNY 5.76 per share

- 2021-09: CNY 5.78 per share

- 2021-10: CNY 6.56 per share

- 2021-11: CNY 6.12 per share

- 2021-12: CNY 6.81 per share

- 2022-01: CNY 7.33 per share

- 2022-02: CNY 6.93 per share

- 2022-03: CNY 6.19 per share

- 2022-04: CNY 6.50 per share

- 2022-05: CNY 6.49 per share

- 2022-06: CNY 7.31 per share

- 2022-07: CNY 6.40 per share

- 2022-08: CNY 6.44 per share

- 2022-09: CNY 6.64 per share

- 2022-10: CNY 6.46 per share

- 2022-11: CNY 7.45 per share

- 2022-12: CNY 7.60 per share

- 2023-01: CNY 7.33 per share

- 2023-02: CNY 7.90 per share

- 2023-03: CNY 7.87 per share

- 2023-04: CNY 7.75 per share

- 2023-05: CNY 6.27 per share

- 2023-06: CNY 6.03 per share

- 2023-07: CNY 6.99 per share

- 2023-08: CNY 6.32 per share

- 2023-09: CNY 6.12 per share

- 2023-10: CNY 6.18 per share

- 2023-11: CNY 6.15 per share

- 2023-12: CNY 5.76 per share

- 2024-01: CNY 5.76 per share

- 2024-02: CNY 5.92 per share

- 2024-03: CNY 5.59 per share

- 2024-04: CNY 5.67 per share

- 2024-05: CNY 5.88 per share

- 2024-06: CNY 5.89 per share

- 2024-07: CNY 5.92 per share

- 2024-08: CNY 5.70 per share

- 2024-09: CNY 6.54 per share

- 2024-10: CNY 6.16 per share

- 2024-11: CNY 6.76 per share

- 2024-12: CNY 6.49 per share

- 2025-01: CNY 6.19 per share

- 2025-02: CNY 5.85 per share

- 2025-03: CNY 5.68 per share

- 2025-04: CNY 5.62 per share

- 2025-05: CNY 6.09 per share

- 2025-06: CNY 5.90 per share

- 2025-07: CNY 5.67 per share

- 2025-08: CNY 6.04 per share

- 2025-09: CNY 6.05 per share

- 2025-10: CNY 6.67 per share

- 2025-11: CNY 6.78 per share

- 2025-12: CNY 8.01 per share

- 2026-01: CNY 7.21 per share

- 2026-02: CNY 7.34 per share

- 2026-03: CNY 5.65 per share

- 2026-04: CNY 5.41 per share

- 2026-05: CNY 5.49 per share

- 2026-06: CNY 5.18 per share

- 2026-07: CNY 5.25 per share

- 2026-08: CNY 5.01 per share

- 2026-09: CNY 4.92 per share

- 2026-10: CNY 4.79 per share

## Annual estimated value (CNY per share)

- FY2016: low CNY 3.94 per share, central CNY 4.46 per share, high CNY 5.15 per share

- FY2017: low CNY 5.90 per share, central CNY 7.34 per share, high CNY 8.49 per share

- FY2018: low CNY 5.67 per share, central CNY 7.07 per share, high CNY 8.19 per share

- FY2019: low CNY 4.61 per share, central CNY 5.77 per share, high CNY 6.74 per share

- FY2020: low CNY 2.87 per share, central CNY 3.06 per share, high CNY 3.31 per share

- FY2021: low CNY 2.33 per share, central CNY 2.49 per share, high CNY 2.71 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.

## Reported holder observations