Who has the strongest "earning ability" and who has the most cash! The 2025 listed real estate companies' cash flow secrets | Financial Report Review

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These figures prove that some companies can still develop healthy “blood-making” functions in the face of headwinds.

China Real Estate Reporter Li Ye | Beijing Report

Cash flow has always been the “lifeline” of a company.

In the 2025 financial report year, which real estate companies have maintained cash safety and used sufficient reserves to resist market turbulence? Which companies have broken through against the trend, maintaining stable profitability and “blood-making” ability? Which companies have fallen into profit decline and cash flow tension, facing unprecedented survival challenges?

China Real Estate Reporter has reviewed the annual reports of 78 listed real estate companies for 2025, compiling multi-dimensional lists such as net profit rankings, cash and equivalents balances, net cash flow from operating activities, and net cash ratio rankings, to objectively analyze the true operational status, cash flow circulation logic, and profit pain points of listed real estate companies, providing references for industry development.

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Nearly 60% of real estate companies see growth in operating cash

Overall, tight cash flow remains a common issue for real estate companies.

According to the cash and equivalents balance list, the total cash and cash equivalents of the TOP78 listed real estate companies at the end of 2025 is about 1,041.934 billion yuan, a 14.8% decrease from 1,222.939 billion yuan in 2024. The top 10 listed companies are Poly Developments, China Resources Land, China Overseas Land & Investment, China Merchants Shekou, C&D Properties, Vanke A, Greentown China, Yuexiu Properties, Binjiang Group, and China Jinmao, holding 119.7 billion, 115.4 billion, 103.4 billion, 84.96 billion, 82.45 billion, 61.52 billion, 59.16 billion, 32.52 billion, 30.5 billion, and 28.4 billion yuan respectively.

Many listed companies have expressed their emphasis on cash flow.

China Overseas Land & Investment Chairman and Executive Director Yan Jianguo said, “Over the past 20 years, our on-hand cash as a proportion of total assets has consistently remained above 10%.”

“Greentown China always prioritizes operational safety and financial security, maintaining a bottom line for cash flow,” said Liu Chengyun, Chairman of Greentown China, at the 2025 annual earnings conference.

Notably, 56 listed companies saw a decline in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2025, with the decline in more than 70% of these companies. The decline in five companies—*ST Zhongdi, Tibet Urban Investment, *ST Nanzhi, Jintou Urban Development, and Zhongliang Holdings—exceeded 70%. Only 22 companies saw an increase in cash and equivalents compared to the previous year, with *ST Rongkong and Shirong Zhaoye experiencing growth of over 100%.

Cash generated from sales is fundamental to survival for real estate companies. Cash flow from operating activities, generated through their own operations, is regarded as their “blood-making” ability. Since cash flow indicators are more difficult to manipulate than net profit, the net cash flow from operating activities is a more critical indicator for assessing a company’s true profitability.

CR Land, Longfor Group, China Huarong, China Overseas Land & Investment, Poly Developments, Yuexiu Properties, OCT A, C&D Properties, China Merchants Shekou, and Shoukai Holdings ranked in the top 10 for “blood-making capacity” in 2025, with net cash flows from operating activities of 38.79 billion, 21.88 billion, 19.89 billion, 16.73 billion, 15.19 billion, 13.94 billion, 12.5 billion, 11.59 billion, 9.69B, and 7.88B yuan respectively.

Among the 78 selected listed companies, 44 saw growth in net cash flow from operating activities in 2025. 32 companies, including Xinhui Huangpu, Fuxing Shares, Nanshan Holdings, *ST Rongkong, Shimao Group, China Wuyi, Kaisa Group, ST Sunshine City, Longfor Group, and Wantong Development, experienced over 100% growth in net cash flow from operating activities.

Among them, Fuxing Shares, Nanshan Holdings, Shimao Group, China Wuyi, and Kaisa Group turned from negative to positive in net cash flow from operating activities compared to the previous year.

However, 34 companies experienced a decline in net cash flow from operating activities in 2025, accounting for 42% of the list. Among these, 11 companies—Dalong Real Estate, Tianbao Infrastructure, Sanxiang Impression, Binjiang Group, *ST Jinke, Xiangjiang Holdings, Zhonghua Enterprise, Agile, Vanke A, and Lujin—saw declines exceeding 100%.

It is worth noting that among the 78 listed companies, 21 had negative net cash flow from operating activities in 2025. Of these, 11 companies had consecutive negative net cash flows for two years. According to regulatory requirements, real estate companies’ net cash flow from operating activities cannot be negative for three consecutive years.

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Who has higher operational quality?

In the context of overall industry contraction, the profitability of real estate companies is also less than ideal.

Among the 78 selected listed companies, 44 reported a loss attributable to the parent company in 2025, accounting for 56% of the total list. Among these, 10 companies—Jianfa, *ST Jinke, China Resources Land, Yuzhou Group, Shimao Group, China Overseas Land & Investment, Country Garden, Binjiang Group, China Jinmao, and China World Trade Center—each reported losses exceeding 10B yuan attributable to the parent company, with Vanke A suffering a loss of 88.56 billion yuan.

The top 10 companies by net profit attributable to the parent company in 2025 are Kaisa Group, *ST Jinke, China Resources Land, Yuzhou Group, Shimao Group, China Overseas Land & Investment, Country Garden, Binjiang Group, China Jinmao, and China World Trade Center, with profits of 52.55 billion, 29.32 billion, 25.42 billion, 24.93 billion, 14.47 billion, 12.69 billion, 3.26B, 2.12B, 1.25B, and 1.2B yuan respectively.

This list introduces the “net cash ratio” indicator, which compares net cash flow from operating activities with net profit, further measuring operational quality. When net cash flow from operating activities is equal to or higher than net profit, it indicates that the company’s net profit is earned through core business operations, with a higher likelihood of sustained growth. Generally, the closer the net cash ratio is to 1, the higher the proportion of net profit realized in cash, indicating better profitability quality.

Due to the capital-intensive nature of the real estate industry, the proportion of land acquisition investments in operating cash flows is relatively high, so a lower net cash ratio is normal. However, a significantly low net cash ratio compared to industry peers may also indicate certain operational risks.

Excluding companies with net profit attributable to the parent company in loss, among the listed companies, 19—Yuexiu Properties, Greentown China, Yubei Development, Yatong Shares, Xinhui Huangpu, Longfor Group, Guangyu Group, Poly Developments, Suning Global, *ST Rongkong, China Merchants Shekou, Chengtou Holdings, Hualian Holdings, Country Garden, New City Holdings, Midea Real Estate, CR Land, China Overseas Land & Investment, and China World Trade Center—have a net cash ratio greater than 1.

Yuexiu Properties leads the 2025 net cash ratio list with a ratio of 253.18. In 2025, Yatong Shares had a net profit attributable to the parent company of 55 million yuan and a net cash flow from operating activities of 13.94 billion yuan, demonstrating sufficient cash backing for its current profit. Greentown China and Yubei Development ranked second and third with net cash ratios of 79.15 and 74.84 respectively; others like Xinhui Huangpu, Longfor Group, Guangyu Group, Poly Developments, Suning Global, and *ST Rongkong follow in the top 10.

In this earnings season woven with coldness and resilience, the data not only depict the industry’s pain but also faintly outline the pre-dawn silhouette. Despite the overall shrinking cash pool, nearly 60% of real estate companies saw positive growth in operating cash flow, and 32 companies successfully turned from negative to positive—these figures prove that some companies can still forge healthy “blood-making” functions amid headwinds.