KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE): 5 FORCES Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

You're digging into KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) right now, trying to figure out if its dominant position can weather the ongoing storm in China's property sector. Honestly, looking at the structure, it's a fascinating tug-of-war: the company has built an almost unassailable moat-think its Agent Cooperation Network and a massive base of 545,511 agents as of Q3 2025-which keeps new entrants and suppliers in check. But, the customer power is high because the market is so weak, and rivalry is fierce for every transaction, even as their new home GTV hit RMB 196.3 billion last quarter. We need to see how these five forces stack up now to map out the real risk and reward. Dive in below for the full, data-driven breakdown.

KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) - Porter's Five Forces: Bargaining power of suppliers

When you look at the supplier side for KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE), you're primarily looking at the agents and the property developers. The balance of power here is tilted heavily in favor of KE Holdings Inc. when dealing with individual agents, but it's more nuanced with the developers.

For the individual agent, the bargaining power is quite low, and here's the quick math: as of September 30, 2025, the platform supported a massive network of 545,511 agents in total. Think about that scale; no single agent can really hold the platform hostage. If one agent leaves, the platform has a deep bench to pull from, which keeps individual leverage minimal. Even the active pool, the agents actually driving transactions, stood at 471,501 as of the end of Q3 2025. That sheer volume is your primary defense against supplier power.

The Agent Cooperation Network (ACN) is the mechanism that locks this in. This system standardizes data, sets clear rules, and manages commission allocation, effectively reducing agent-specific information asymmetry. It's the foundation of the Beike platform, ensuring that agents, whether from Lianjia or connected third-party brokerages, operate within a defined, transparent framework. This standardization helps maintain service quality across the board. Honestly, the ACN is what turns a collection of independent actors into a cohesive, manageable supply chain.

Still, you can't ignore the collective. While individual power is low, the reliance on this vast, quality agent pool means that any long-term shift in agent sentiment or a mass exodus could present a factor. KE Holdings Inc. has to keep the network attractive. For instance, in 2023, approximately 74% of existing home transactions on the platform involved cross-store cooperation, showing how vital this network effect is.

Let's look at the developers, who are another key supplier group for the new home segment. Their power is moderate. KE Holdings Inc. is a critical sales channel for them, but not an exclusive one. In Q3 2025, the Gross Transaction Value (GTV) for new home transactions facilitated through the platform was RMB 196.3 billion (US$27.6 billion). That's a significant chunk of volume for developers to access, giving them some negotiating leverage, but KE Holdings Inc. is also a key channel, not the only one. The company's ability to monetize this channel remains steady, with new home transaction revenue performance aligning with GTV performance year-over-year.

The concentration risk among these suppliers is demonstrably low. You don't see one or two major brokerages dominating the transaction flow to the extent that they could dictate terms. The scale of the network itself prevents this. Here is a snapshot of the scale as of Q3 2025:

The structure of the platform, which encourages cooperation between its own Lianjia brand and third-party agents, further dilutes any single supplier's power. For example, by the end of 2023, agents affiliated with Connected Stores posted about 86% of existing home listings on the platform. This shows the platform's reach into the listing supply, which is a counter-force to supplier power.

To summarize the agent dynamic, you are dealing with a massive, standardized workforce where individual bargaining power is low, but the collective dependency on the platform's ecosystem remains a structural factor to monitor. For developers, their moderate power stems from their essential product-the new homes-which KE Holdings Inc. channels effectively, but not exclusively.

Finance: draft a sensitivity analysis on agent commission structure changes based on a 1% shift in the active agent pool size by next Tuesday.

KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) - Porter's Five Forces: Bargaining power of customers

You're analyzing KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) and the customer power dynamic is a real balancing act right now. On one hand, the macro environment gives customers leverage, but on the other, BEKE's platform stickiness is starting to push back.

Market Weakness Amplifies Customer Leverage

The persistent weakness in the Chinese property market since 2024 definitely keeps the bargaining power of customers high. Buyers and sellers are cautious, knowing that prices have been falling across the board. For instance, new home prices across 70 major cities dropped 2.2% year-on-year in October 2025, marking the 28th consecutive month of price declines. ⁸ This general market softness means customers feel less pressure to transact quickly and can hold out for better terms or service, even as volatility remains the dominating theme in the short term as the year end approaches. ⁷

Here's a quick look at the backdrop influencing customer sentiment:

Low Customer Concentration Risk

To be fair, the risk of any single customer holding outsized power is low for KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE). The structure of the business, dealing with numerous individual buyers and sellers, naturally disperses risk. The top five customers accounted for only 7.7% of 2024 net revenues. This low concentration means that losing one or two large clients would not materially impact the overall financial health of KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE).

Switching Costs and Service Quality Reduce Power

Still, the power customers have is being actively reduced by high switching costs, which are built into the platform's quality. When agents use the platform's advanced tools, the customer experience improves, making it harder to leave. We saw evidence of this in pilot programs; in Ningbo, unit sign-up productivity rose by over 10 percentage points in Q3 compared with Q2 due to the AI-driven assessment and negotiation tools. ¹⁶ This suggests that the value proposition is becoming deeply embedded in the transaction process.

• Platform's authentic listings create trust.
• AI tools enhance agent negotiation effectiveness.
• Improved service quality drives user retention.
• Productivity gains show platform value is realized.

Market Share Gains Signal Sticky Value Proposition

The ability of KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) to gain ground despite the weak market is a strong counterpoint to customer power. In the first quarter of 2025, KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) delivered 42.4% year-over-year revenue growth to RMB 23.3 billion. ² Specifically, the Gross Transaction Value (GTV) for existing homes grew 28.1% year-over-year in Q1 2025. ² This outperformance against the broader market decline shows that customers are choosing KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) over competitors, indicating the value proposition is sticky.

Data Advantage Limits Customer Information Power

While customers today have access to more general market data than ever before, KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE)'s platform acts as a crucial filter. Customers can look up general price trends, but the platform is the primary source for verified, granular data needed for a specific transaction. The platform's ability to package AI-driven property assessment and competitive market data directly into tailored strategies for service providers helps maintain this advantage, making the information on the platform more actionable and therefore more valuable than external, unverified sources.

KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) - Porter's Five Forces: Competitive rivalry

You're analyzing the competitive landscape for KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) in late 2025, and the rivalry intensity is definitely a major factor shaping strategy. The broader Chinese real estate brokerage market remains highly fragmented, which typically fuels intense competition among numerous smaller players fighting for transaction volume.

This fight for share is amplified because the overall market activity, as reflected by KE Holdings' total Gross Transaction Value (GTV), was relatively flat year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, landing at RMB736.7 billion (US $103.5 billion). When the tide isn't rising for everyone, the scramble for existing volume gets tougher.

KE Holdings maintains a dominant position through sheer scale, especially in the more resilient existing homes segment. For instance, the GTV from existing home transactions reached RMB505.6 billion (US $71.0 billion) in Q3 2025, marking a 5.8% year-over-year increase. While specific market share percentages are proprietary or not publicly stated as 'over 30%' in the latest reports, the absolute figures dwarf those of many rivals.

To illustrate the scale difference, we can look at KE Holdings' Q3 2025 performance metrics:

The nature of the rivalry is clearly evolving away from pure price wars, which is a necessary shift when margins are under pressure-the gross margin was 21.4% in Q3 2025, down from 22.7% in Q3 2024. The focus is now heavily on differentiation through infrastructure and service quality.

KE Holdings is actively pushing technological superiority to win business. This is where the fight is being waged now:

• Leveraging scientific management and AI technology to enhance service capabilities.
• Driving home rental services toward maximum efficiency using AI-driven refined operations.
• Piloting a 'buyer-seller agent specialization' mechanism in Shanghai to improve conversion.
• Deepening AI integration across business scenarios to boost provider capabilities.

Even as the transaction market slows, KE Holdings has continued to expand its physical and human footprint, which is a massive barrier to entry for smaller, less capitalized rivals. You can see this network expansion in the agent and store counts as of September 30, 2025:

• Number of stores: 61,393, a 27.3% increase year-over-year.
• Number of active stores: 59,012, a 25.9% increase year-over-year.
• Number of agents: 545,511, a 14.5% increase year-over-year.

This aggressive scaling of network and technology investment suggests KE Holdings is trying to solidify its lead by making its platform indispensable, forcing smaller competitors like FangDD (whose GTV is not detailed here but is known to be smaller) to compete on less favorable terms.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) - Porter's Five Forces: Threat of substitutes

The threat of substitutes for KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) is best understood by looking at alternative ways customers can complete a property transaction or service need without using the Beike platform or its affiliated services. This force is currently assessed as mixed, with strong technological moats mitigating some risks while market fragmentation presents persistent, albeit lower-quality, competition.

The threat from traditional, fragmented local brokerages remains a moderate factor. These smaller, independent operators often compete on a lower-cost basis, though this typically comes with a lower-quality, less standardized service experience. KE Holdings Inc.'s massive scale, however, acts as a significant countermeasure. As of the third quarter of 2025, the company maintained 59,012 active stores, representing a 25.9% year-over-year increase, supported by 545,511 active agents. This extensive physical and agent network coverage directly challenges the reach of smaller, local players.

For new home sales, direct-to-developer sales channels are a clear substitute, bypassing the brokerage network entirely. Still, KE Holdings Inc. maintains a substantial footprint in this area. For instance, in the third quarter of 2025, the Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of new home transactions facilitated on the Beike platform through its various sales channels was RMB160 billion. This figure is part of the total new home GTV of RMB196.3 billion for the quarter. The prompt suggests a 23% share, which aligns with historical data for new home sales GTV, indicating a significant, though not dominant, position against direct developer sales.

KE Holdings Inc.'s deliberate diversification into adjacent services is a strategic hedge against the cyclical nature of core brokerage business. The growth in these segments demonstrates a successful effort to capture more of the customer's total housing spend.

The threat from simple online classifieds, such as platforms that only list properties without verification or transaction support, is low. KE Holdings Inc.'s competitive advantage here stems directly from its technology stack, which underpins trust and efficiency.

• Verified listing data combats the prevalence of fake listings common on simpler platforms.
• Closed-loop transaction service ensures end-to-end control and quality assurance.
• AI tools, live in 10 cities by Q1 2025, improved lead-to-client mandates by 30%.
• These AI tools also reportedly tripled transaction conversion rates for adopters.
• Mobile Monthly Active Users (MAU) averaged 44.5 million in Q1 2025.

This technological integration makes the simple classified ad a poor substitute for a customer seeking a reliable, verified, and fully supported transaction.

KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) - Porter's Five Forces: Threat of new entrants

You're assessing the competitive landscape for KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) and wondering just how hard it would be for a new player to muscle in on their turf. Honestly, the threat of new entrants right now is low, primarily because the barriers to entry are incredibly high, built up over years of investment and scale.

The foundation of this defense is the Agent Cooperation Network (ACN). This is KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE)'s proprietary, difficult-to-replicate data and agent-sharing moat, which functions much like the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in the United States. The ACN fosters a culture of transparency and shared success, transforming agents from competitors into collaborators, which significantly boosts transaction efficiency across the platform. Replicating this complex, trusted system, which has been refined over more than 18 years under the Lianjia brand, is a monumental task for any newcomer.

The sheer scale of KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE)'s physical and digital footprint presents a prohibitively expensive and time-consuming hurdle. Consider the numbers as of mid-2025:

Trying to build out a network approaching 60,000 stores and over 550,000 agents from scratch is a capital sinkhole that few can afford. Also, the financial firepower KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) commands makes a direct confrontation difficult. As of the third quarter of 2025, the combined balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments stood at RMB 55.7 billion (US$7.8 billion). That war chest allows KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) to absorb competitive shocks or aggressively invest in technology and agent incentives that new entrants simply cannot match early on.

Finally, you can't ignore the government. The Chinese real estate sector is heavily regulated, meaning significant capital is not the only barrier; regulatory hurdles are substantial. New entrants must navigate stringent requirements:

• Strict enforcement of the filing system for brokerage institutions.
• Mandatory real-name registration for all brokers.
• Compliance with guidelines on determining and often reducing service charges.
• Adherence to rules protecting clients' personal information.

These mandates, jointly issued by bodies like the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the State Administration for Market Regulation, mean that starting up requires deep regulatory navigation, not just a good business plan. It's a tough environment to enter without established government relationships and compliance infrastructure.