Beike (贝壳) Launches Its Largest Restructuring, Peng Yongdong: 'There Was No Choice'

Reorganization and why now

Beike (贝壳) (02423.HK), China's largest residential services platform, has launched the biggest organizational overhaul in its history, saying it will shift from a "property transaction platform" to a "residential services platform." It has been reported that CEO and co‑founder Peng Yongdong (彭永东) told staff in an all‑hands letter that "there was no choice" — the company must respond to changing consumer behaviour, AI-driven industry dynamics and a weakened property market. The changes create a centralized change‑management committee led by Peng and split key functions into five specialized management committees to speed decision‑making and tighten risk control.

What the restructuring does

The plan includes dissolving the old north/south regional model in favour of ten directly managed regions (including Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and others), regionalizing business units such as rentals, renovation and home services, and setting up a Beijing pilot with a new strategic committee and three chief customer officers. Product and R&D were separated into distinct streams; a new compliance line was created; and Beike Research Institute moved under public affairs. Reportedly, the aim is to move agents from "information brokers" to "trusted expert service providers" and to reorient the company around long‑term customer value rather than GTV scale.

Financial pressure behind the pivot

The overhaul is a direct reaction to a poor 2025 performance: revenue rose only 1.2% to RMB 94.6 billion while net profit plunged about 26.7% to RMB 2.99 billion and adjusted net profit fell roughly 30% to RMB 5.02 billion. Gross margin dropped to 21.4% and fourth‑quarter net profit suffered a near‑total collapse. Core transaction GTV fell to RMB 3.18 trillion. Meanwhile, lower‑margin rental and renovation businesses grew rapidly and made up 41% of revenue, but did not restore profitability; operating cash flow turned negative. The company has already cut headcount by about 12% to rein in costs.

The road ahead

Beike’s leadership frames the move as existential: stop chasing raw scale and rebuild around consumer decision‑support and recurring service relationships. For Western readers unfamiliar with China’s sectoral context, this is taking place amid a multi‑year property downturn and tighter scrutiny of leverage that have reshaped the market for platforms and brokers. Investors will watch short‑term metrics — cash flow, margin recovery, and cost savings — and in the medium term whether renovation and rental units can lift profit share. Can Beike rewire itself from a GTV‑driven growth machine into a sustainable community services operator? The company says the fight has begun; 2026 will be decisive.