While the CRO industry is experiencing a collective recovery due to "high-priced demand for monkeys," with the sector rising over 40% year-to-date, the former industry benchmark Tigermed (300347) has gloomily exited the list of Shenzhen 100 index constituent stocks. Its stock price has plummeted more than 70% from its 2021 peak, erasing over 130 billion yuan in market capitalization. This stark contrast between the sector's upward trajectory and the company's downward spiral highlights the deep-seated crisis facing this leading Chinese clinical CRO.
The recent announcement of the Shenzhen 100 index constituent adjustment results revealed that Tigermed was removed from the list, exiting the group alongside companies like Tianshan Shares and JA Solar Technology. As a crucial barometer reflecting the trends of A-shares' core assets, the Shenzhen 100's adjustments are based on quantitative indicators including market capitalization, liquidity, and industry representation, serving as a "barometer" of a listed company's comprehensive strength.
Tigermed's removal this time is directly attributed to its severe deviation from the sector's recovery in stock performance. Against the backdrop of soaring crab-eating macaque prices and an overall CRO sector surge of over 40%, Tigermed's stock price has actually fallen more than 6% year-to-date. Over a longer horizon, its share price has dropped over 70% from the July 2021 peak, with its market capitalization shrinking from over 170 billion yuan to approximately 44.1 billion yuan.
The index adjustment is not merely an update of constituents but a market reassessment of its industry representativeness and leadership role. What Tigermed has lost is not just an index seat, but also capital market recognition of its benchmark status.
Although Tigermed still ranks first in the Chinese clinical CRO market with a 10.6% share and remains the only Chinese clinical outsourcing service provider to break into the global top ten, its profit structure reveals serious underlying risks.
In 2024, the company's revenue declined by 10.58%, and its net profit attributable to shareholders plummeted by nearly 80%. For the first three quarters of 2025, despite a 25.45% year-on-year increase in net profit, this "growth" was primarily propped up by non-operating income such as investment gains and changes in the fair value of financial assets. Specifically, investment income surged by 303% year-on-year, while gains from fair value changes skyrocketed over tenfold.
After deducting non-recurring gains and losses, Tigermed's net profit for the first three quarters of 2025 actually plunged by 63.46% to just 326 million yuan. Concurrently, the company's gross profit margin continued to decline, falling 9.72 percentage points year-on-year to 29.16% in the first three quarters, indicating a significant weakening of profitability in its core business segments.
The dual challenges Tigermed currently faces stem from both external factors like intensified industry competition and rising costs, and internal causes related to its own imbalanced profit model.
On one hand, the gross profit margin for clinical trial technical services plummeted from 38.4% to 22.8%, reflecting the dual pressures of pricing challenges and cost control within its core operations. On the other hand, high reliance on investment income renders its profit structure fragile and unsustainable.
Notably, General Manager Cao Xiaochun's减持套现 of over 21 million yuan in September 2025 further shook market confidence.
Although some institutions predict a potential recovery in revenue growth over the next three years, for Tigermed to genuinely escape its predicament, it must transition from an "investment-driven" model to a "core-business-driven" one. It needs to curb the declining gross profit margin trend, enhance the core competitiveness of its main business, and rebuild its foundation of trust among investors and within the industry.
From an industry benchmark to an index "castaway," Tigermed's volatile trajectory serves as a warning: even within a booming sector, a company that loses competitiveness in its main business and becomes overly reliant on non-recurring income cannot escape market repricing. As China's CRO industry landscape undergoes profound adjustments, whether Tigermed can rediscover the engine of its core business growth will determine its future ability to return to the center stage.
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