BEKE vs Z: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
BEKE and Z are similarly sized, but Z trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (11.33x vs 15.11x): the market is paying up for BEKE's profile and pricing Z more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
BEKE vs Z: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | BEKE | Z | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 15.11 | 11.33 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 38.73 | 136.24 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | -0.26 | 1.95 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 45% of range | 7% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.00 | 1.77 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: Z is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how BEKE and Z affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. BEKE and Z share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined BEKE and Z exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does KE Holdings (BEKE) do?
KE Holdings Inc. runs Beike, an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in China. The core of it is the Agent Cooperation Network, a rule set and commission-splitting system that lets agents from different stores and different brands work the same listing and share the fee. Beike supplies the listing database (the "housing dictionary"), the software, the training and the settlement layer; the stores are a mix of company-owned Lianjia branches and franchised brands such as Deyou. At the end of the first quarter of 2026 the network counted ~60,383 stores and ~453,438 active agents. Revenue is reported in five lines: existing home transaction services, new home transaction services, home renovation and furnishing, home rental services, and emerging and other services.
What does Zillow Group (Z) do?
Zillow Group, Inc. operates the largest online real estate marketplace in the United States, drawing hundreds of millions of monthly visits across the Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy brands. Its business has three pillars. Residential (its For Sale core) connects home shoppers with agents, earning mostly through Premier Agent and Showcase. Rentals monetizes multifamily and single-family listings through advertising and lead generation. Mortgages, run through Zillow Home Loans, originates purchase loans and ties financing into search. Zillow is a marketplace and software company, not a homebuilder or iBuyer, so its revenue tracks how actively people transact rather than the value of homes it owns.
BEKE vs Z: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- BEKE drivers: Existing-home share gains against a falling new-home market; Margin repair through cost discipline.
- Z drivers: Housing super app and enhanced markets; Rentals as a growth engine.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The dominant risk is that China's property market keeps contracting: BEKE's revenue is a take rate applied to transaction volume, and volume has now fallen for several consecutive years. For Z, the dominant risk is housing cyclicality: with existing-home sales near multi-decade lows on elevated mortgage rates, Zillow's Residential and Mortgages revenue depend on a depressed transaction market, and a further slowdown or rate shock could stall growth.
BEKE or Z: which should you pick?
BEKE vs Z: the full fundamentals
BEKE. The gap between the ~40x trailing multiple and the ~17x forward multiple is the whole valuation debate in one number: trailing earnings were depressed by 2025 margin compression, and the forward figure assumes the margin repair visible in the first quarter of 2026 persists. Net of roughly US$7.8 billion in cash and short-term investments, the operating business is being valued at closer to ~$12 billion against a business still generating around US$13 billion of annual revenue. Figures are reported in renminbi and converted at prevailing rates, so USD comparisons across periods carry a currency effect.
Z. These characterizations are qualitative and tied to the asOf date; verify live figures before acting. Zillow is best understood as a growth marketplace stock, so investors tend to weigh revenue growth, segment mix (Rentals and Mortgages versus Residential), and EBITDA margins more than a headline P/E, which can be distorted while the company transitions from GAAP losses to profits. Because there is no dividend, the entire return case rests on growth and eventual free cash flow rather than income.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): BEKE shows market cap ~$19.5B, revenue (ttm) ~$13.1B (FY2025: ~RMB 94.6B), net income (ttm) ~$492M, q1 2026 net revenues ~RMB 18.9B, down ~19.0% YoY; Z shows revenue trend Growing at a strong double-digit pace year over year in early 2026, led by Rentals and Mortgages with a steady Residential base, profitability Reached full-year GAAP profitability, a milestone after years of accounting losses; still reinvesting heavily in Rentals and Mortgages, margins Adjusted EBITDA margin has been expanding into the mid-20s percent range as the model scales; watch the trajectory, not a single quarter, dividend None; Zillow pays no dividend and returns capital mainly through share repurchases, so total return depends on price appreciation.
The bottom line: BEKE vs Z
BEKE and Z are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined BEKE and Z exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how BEKE or Z fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in KE Holdings with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how BEKE fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between BEKE and Z?
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KE Holdings Inc. Zillow Group, Inc. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is BEKE or Z the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, BEKE or Z?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), BEKE trades at 15.11x and Z at 11.33x, so Z is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both BEKE and Z?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of BEKE vs Z?
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BEKE: The dominant risk is that China's property market keeps contracting: BEKE's revenue is a take rate applied to transaction volume, and volume has now fallen for several consecutive years. New-home transaction services carry developer counterparty risk, since Beike is paid commissions by developers whose own liquidity has been strained. Regulatory pressure on brokerage commission rates in China is an ongoing constraint on take rate, and Chinese authorities have previously pushed for lower fees. Structurally, BEKE is a Cayman holding company that controls its licensed China operations through variable interest entity contracts rather than direct equity, so ADS holders own an offshore shell with contractual claims, and Chinese regulatory action against the VIE structure or renewed US delisting pressure would hit the ADSs directly. A securities class action filed in the Southern District of New York in December 2021, following a short-seller report questioning Beike's store and agent counts, reached a proposed ~$4.95 million settlement with a fairness hearing scheduled for February 2026, so it is a resolved matter rather than an active case, but it is part of the disclosure history. Results are reported in Chinese renminbi, so a weaker RMB reduces the USD value of both earnings and the ADS. Z: The dominant risk is housing cyclicality: with existing-home sales near multi-decade lows on elevated mortgage rates, Zillow's Residential and Mortgages revenue depend on a depressed transaction market, and a further slowdown or rate shock could stall growth. Industry structure is a second risk: the NAR commission-lawsuit settlement changed how buyer-agent compensation is disclosed and negotiated, and further rule changes around listings and commissions could reshape how portals like Zillow make money. Competition is intensifying, most notably from CoStar's well-funded Homes.com push, plus News Corp's Realtor.com and Redfin (now owned by Rocket Companies), pressuring traffic and ad pricing. Zillow also faces regulatory and legal scrutiny, including antitrust attention to some listings arrangements. Finally, its full-year GAAP profitability is newer and less proven than at mature peers after a long history of losses and heavy reinvestment.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell BEKE or Z; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.