Analysis: The Analogy Between Didi's 'Focus on Big Orders' and Value Investing

Didi drivers’ strategy of refusing small orders and concentrating resources to wait for high-yield big orders is essentially a ‘subtraction’ business strategy, whose core is highly consistent with the stock selection/holding philosophy of value investing:

1. Select High-Quality Opportunities
   : Drivers take vehicle, service quality and location advantages as their ‘circle of competence’ before deciding to accept orders; value investors also only select companies with competitive advantages and stable cash flow, doing ‘subtraction’ among massive targets to retain only a few high-quality enterprises [2].
2. Wait for the Right Timing
   : Drivers would rather stay idle before the appearance of big orders that guarantee return rates to avoid consuming energy on small orders; value investing also emphasizes taking action only when valuations are reasonable or even undervalued, and patience in waiting for opportunities is its core discipline [2].
3. Avoid Frequent Stock Switching/Transaction Costs
   : Rejecting small orders is equivalent to rejecting frequent route changes or short-term speculation, allowing drivers to maintain efficiency; value investing advocates long-term holding, reducing taxes and fees and transaction costs, and preventing impulsive decisions from damaging compound interest [2].
4. Concentrated Allocation and Capability Matching
   : Drivers form concentrated resource allocation through geographic, temporal and service capabilities; similarly, investors should concentrate allocation in industries and companies they understand, not cast a wide net, and avoid overconfident non-circle-of-competence investments [2].

At the end of 2025, U.S. major indices have seen increased volatility: over the past 30 trading days, the S&P 500 had a slight correction (-0.71%), the Nasdaq fell 2.85%, while the traditional value-oriented Dow Jones and small-cap Russell 2000 rose against the trend (+1.67% and +2.60% respectively), indicating that capital tends to seek stable returns and ‘value’ attributes during periods of uncertain prospects [0]. Meanwhile, sector performance is clearly differentiated: tech and consumer cyclical sectors fell more than 2%, while defensive sectors like food and beverages rose slightly, reflecting the market’s current preference for ‘low volatility + certainty’ assets [0]. In this context, Didi drivers’ ‘focus on big orders’—i.e., only taking action in scenarios with certain returns and controllable risks—aligns perfectly with the current market’s demand for defensive and certain returns.

1. Obvious Advantages
   : Amid current macro uncertainties (tech bubble expectations, uncertain interest rate path), concentrating on a few high-quality opportunities and reducing transaction frequency helps reduce losses from wrong directions; at the same time, this strategy facilitates staying within the circle of competence, avoiding being kidnapped by market noise, thus achieving the goal of ‘using leverage to selectively seek alpha’.
2. Execution Difficulties
   : It requires solid circle-of-competence awareness and time cost tolerance; without sufficient patience to wait for ‘high-quality big orders’, one may face lower returns due to missing out or compromising too early. Secondly, long-term concentration also exposes positions to concentrated event risks (such as specific corporate governance issues), requiring supporting risk control mechanisms.
3. Aligns with Industry Trends
   : Taking Didi itself as an example— the company has seen substantial profit improvement and is considering returning to the Hong Kong public market, which shows that strategic adjustments after focusing on core businesses and simplifying operations can lead to profit ‘recovery’ and capital market recognition [1]. This further confirms that adhering to the ‘subtraction’ strategy during volatile cycles is expected to receive active market feedback.

• Translate the ‘focus on big orders’ concept into investment practice: lock in a few large targets with deep understanding, growth potential and moats, patiently wait for valuation windows, and avoid frequent trading.
• The current market favors certainty and defensiveness, so the quality and patience emphasized by the ‘subtraction’ strategy are more effective in resisting volatility than ‘casting a wide net’.
• However, it needs to be supplemented by strict risk control (such as phased position building/stop-loss mechanisms) and dynamic review of the circle of competence to find a reasonable balance between ‘concentration’ and ‘diversification’.

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[0] Jinling API Data (U.S. Major Indices and Sector Performance from 2025-11-05 to 2025-12-17)
[1] Bloomberg - “Didi Global’s Profit Surges 67% Ahead of Possible Hong Kong IPO” (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-26/didi-global-s-profit-surges-67-ahead-of-possible-hong-kong-ipo)
[2] Investopedia - “Investors Chase Tech, But Buffett Chooses a Different Strategy” (https://www.investopedia.com/investors-chase-tech-but-buffett-chooses-a-different-strategy-here-s-why-11856557)