CITIC Securities: The animation industry remains in a sustained boom; recommend selecting targets from two perspectives

CITIC Securities research reports indicate that the animation industry continues to experience high-quality growth and prosperity driven by the dual forces of the rise of independent apps and the iteration of large-scale model technology. On the platform side, independent platforms have achieved breakthroughs of tens of millions of users by replicating the successful short drama model, with extremely high user stickiness. On the technological side, advances in video large models such as Seedance 2.0 have significantly improved the quality of 3D and realistic animation dramas, shifting the market focus from low-quality filler content to high-quality IP development. In the global market, relying on increasingly mature overseas channels for short dramas, animation dramas have become a new growth point for Chinese content companies expanding abroad. It is recommended to select targets from two dimensions: 1) companies with strong reserves of quality content IP and animation drama content production capacity, as well as companies with full-chain layout of IP, production capacity, and distribution channels; 2) companies involved in content platforms, animation drama advertising and distribution, and other segments that realize commercial value through participation in the commercialization of animation dramas.