Bank of China Limited (3988.HK) stock analysis

In our weekly check, Bank of China Limited is graded C (A to F). Of 25 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 16 pass, warnings: 1, red flags: 8.

About Bank of China Limited

Bank of China Limited is a Financial Services company (Banks - Diversified) based in China, listed on HKSE as 3988.HK.

What our checks show for 3988.HK

Red flags

• The net margin fell by 22.7 points over 5 years, to 20.4%: the company keeps less of each sale as profit.
• The gross margin fell by 69 points, to 51.1%: costs are rising faster than prices.
• Analysts expect revenue to shrink about 16% a year.
• The stock has fallen as much as 67% from a peak. Would you have held through that?
• Recovering from its deepest fall took about 6.2 years.
• Return on capital (ROCE) is only 1%.

Warning signs

• The share count grew by 11.6% in 2 years: each shareholder owns a smaller slice.

Strengths

• Operating cash flow is 3.79x net profit: the profit arrives as real cash.
• Analysts expect the net margin to improve by 15.4 points from today's 20.4%.
• Revenue grew 35.7% a year over the last 3 years.
• The company keeps 20.4% of its revenue as net profit.
• Free cash flow is 72.1% of revenue: cash for dividends, buybacks or growth.
• A large company: market value $322 billion.

Next earnings report: 2026-10-30

Similar companies

601288.SS · 0939.HK · 601398.SS · 1398.HK · JPM · 3328.HK

Questions

What grade does Bank of China Limited (3988.HK) have?

In our weekly check, Bank of China Limited is graded C (A to F). Of 25 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 16 pass, warnings: 1, red flags: 8. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of 3988.HK stock?

This week's biggest flags for Bank of China Limited: Margins falling, Gross margin falling, Weak revenue forecast. In total 9 of 25 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does Bank of China Limited do?

Bank of China Limited is a Financial Services company (Banks - Diversified) based in China, listed on HKSE as 3988.HK.

When does Bank of China Limited report earnings next?

The next earnings report is expected on 2026-10-30. We re-run the checks every week, so the grade can change after it.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-24

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