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    CMCM
    Earnings call· Mar 2026(Q1 FY26)

    Cheetah Mobile Q1 FY26 earnings call CMCM

    Jun 10, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    Cheetah Mobile Q1 FY26 — robotics revenue +176% as AI/robotics pivot reaches early commercialization

    Cheetah's shift from an internet company into an AI-agent and robotics enabler reached early commercialization, with its two growth engines becoming a rising share of an otherwise flat top line. Management frames the wider loss as externally driven by overseas ad-platform policy changes rather than weakening demand, leaning on a still-profitable internet-services base and a large cash cushion to fund a pivot toward a robotics- and AI-infra-weighted revenue mix in H2. Q&A was entirely strategic — robotics-industry structure, not the P&L.

    Highlights

    5
    • Robotics and others revenue grew 175.9% YoY to RMB 51.2M, reaching ~19.8% of total revenue and now a separately reported segment

    • Robotics and others adjusted operating loss narrowed 57.1% YoY on improving operating efficiency and commercial execution

    • Cloud & AI infrastructure services revenue grew (CEO cited 68% YoY / CFO cited 58.3% YoY), contributing ~18% of total revenue

    • Internet value-added services grew 8.2% YoY to 72.8% of Internet segment revenue; Internet services delivered ~RMB 15.2M adjusted operating profit

    • Strong balance sheet: ~USD 186M cash and equivalents plus over USD 100M in long-term investments to fund AI/robotics

    Concerns

    4
    • Total operating loss widened YoY to RMB 28.3M from RMB 26.5M

    • Advertising agency revenue (within Global Enterprise Services) fell on overseas ad-platform policy changes — management's stated primary driver of the wider loss

    • Online advertising weakness drove a decline in Internet service revenue

    • Robotics and others segment remains loss-making despite the 57.1% narrowing

    Guidance & targets

    4
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Robotics and others revenue growth
    Continued growth both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter
    high materiality
    Medium
    Robotics and others revenue growth
    Strong growth in 2026
    high materiality
    Medium
    Combined revenue contribution of robotics + cloud/AI infrastructure businesses
    Exceed more than 50% of total revenue in the second half of 2026
    high materiality
    Medium
    Cloud & AI infrastructure services revenue growth
    Revenue growth expected to continue
    medium materiality
    Medium

    Segment performance

    3
    SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
    Robotics and others
    Newly separated reportable segment starting Q1 2026; targets commercial scenarios (reception, guide/tour, intelligent service) plus new smart personal mobility. Management expects strong 2026 growth and further YoY+QoQ growth in Q2.
    Share of total revenue: 19.8%Smart personal mobility (smart wheelchair) mass production started May 2026
    RMB 51.2M+175.9%Adjusted operating loss narrowed 57.1% YoY (still loss-making)
    Internet Services
    Remained profitable and cash-generative, providing the financial foundation for AI/robotics investment; revenue quality improving as value-added services grow while online advertising stays weak.
    Internet value-added services growth: +8.2% YoYInternet value-added services share of segment revenue: 72.8%
    Declined (online advertising weakness)Adjusted operating profit ~RMB 15.2M
    Global Enterprise Services
    Cloud/AI-infrastructure sub-business grew strongly on AI-related cloud and token-management demand (via Google Cloud and AWS), while the advertising-agency sub-business fell due to overseas platform policy changes — management's stated primary driver of the wider operating loss. INTERNAL INCONSISTENCY: CEO cited 68% YoY cloud/AI growth, CFO cited 58.3% — both captured.
    Cloud & AI infrastructure services growth: +68% YoY (CEO) / +58.3% YoY (CFO)Cloud & AI infrastructure share of total revenue: ~18%Advertising agency revenue: declined on overseas ad-platform policy changes
    Adjusted operating profit ~RMB 13.8M

    Operational metrics

    3
    Adjusted operating loss (total)
    RMB 28.3MWidened from RMB 26.5M in Q1 FY25
    Q1 FY26

    Company-level operating loss; widening YoY was the quarter's key negative. Management stresses the underlying Internet and GES segments stayed profitable on an adjusted basis.

    Combined revenue contribution of robotics + cloud/AI infrastructure businesses
    38%Targeted to exceed 50% in H2 FY26
    Q1 FY26

    The two 'fast-growing' engines (ASR rendered 'less-growing') as a share of Q1 revenue; the forward >50% target is captured in guidance.

    Cash and long-term investments position
    ~USD 186M cash + over USD 100M long-term investments
    As of March 31, 2026

    Balance-sheet liquidity framed as providing flexibility to fund disciplined AI/robotics investment; management explicitly ties the ~USD 186M to supporting AI agents and robotics.

    Industry KPIs

    3
    MetricValueDetails
    Revenue growthRMB 259M total revenue; relatively stable YoYRMB
    Ai product adoption monetizationToken usage increased more than 20x, exceeding ~400M in Maytokens (units ASR-garbled as 'EUR 400 million')
    Headcount internal ai productivityAll employees using AI; more product launches on materially reduced R&D spend

    Product announcements

    2
    ProductTypeDetails
    Smart personal mobility (smart wheelchair)launch
    AI cloud / enterprise AI product (referenced as 'Ed Cloud' / 'Open Cloud')update

    Deals & partnerships

    2
    Google Cloud and AWSpartnership

    Cheetah works with Google Cloud and AWS to help enterprises serving international markets access AI models and use multi-cloud environments more efficiently. ASR rendered AWS as 'AS'.

    Leading mobility-products manufacturer and China's leading mobility-scooter manufacturer (unnamed)customer contract

    During Q2, Cheetah started initial product shipments of its smart personal mobility product to these partners, with encouraging early market feedback. Specific names not stated in transcript.

    Risks & headwinds

    4
    Advertising-agency revenue decline from overseas ad-platform policy changesNear-term

    Not separately quantified; cited as the primary driver of the YoY operating-loss widening (RMB 28.3M vs RMB 26.5M)

    Mitigation: Management frames it as external (policy-driven) rather than demand-driven; relies on Internet-services profit/cash and growth engines (robotics, cloud/AI infra)

    Online advertising weakness in Internet servicesOngoing

    Not quantified; caused Internet service revenue decline (segment still ~RMB 15.2M adjusted operating profit)

    Mitigation: Shift toward higher-quality internet value-added services (+8.2% YoY, 72.8% of segment revenue) improving predictability

    Robotics and others segment still loss-makingImproving through 2026

    Adjusted operating loss narrowed 57.1% YoY but remains a loss

    Mitigation: Continued operating-efficiency and commercial-execution gains; strong customer demand and expected strong 2026 revenue growth

    Model-layer commoditization / competitionLong-term

    Unquantified; China-US model gap ~half a year and not widening

    Mitigation: Strategy focuses on application layer and proprietary scenario/deployment data rather than competing at the model layer

    Q&A highlights

    5

    Given years of deploying commercial service robots, what is the foundational capability enabling broader robot rollout amid insufficient training data?

    Fu agreed data scarcity is the industry's core problem; unlike LLMs built on decades of internet data, robotics lacks high-quality real-world data, and simulation/data-migration struggle with the physical world's complexity. Cheetah's edge is data accumulated from years of real deployments — voice interaction across noisy multi-person environments and low-cost indoor obstacle avoidance — enabling its new smart wheelchair (mass production May, strong early Europe sales) to achieve cheap, reliable assisted driving. He argued value accrues to the application layer, not the model layer, where gaps are narrow.

    We recently launched a smart be chain, which we just mentioned, we started mass production in May. And now it seems that in overseas markets, especially in Europe, the sales momentum is quite good.

    asked by Thomas Tang · answered by Sheng Fu

    3 min read6 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Strategic transition to AI agents and robotics

    Management characterized 2026 as an important transition year, moving from a traditional internet company into a company enabling AI-agent applications and robotics, and shifting from capability-building into early-stage commercialization. The stated focus is turning AI capabilities into practical products that deliver customer ROI. Starting this quarter, robotics and others is broken out as a separate reportable segment; historical results previously bundled under 'AI and others' were recast into robotics and others plus Global Enterprise Services. The two growth engines (robotics + cloud/AI infrastructure) reached 38% of Q1 revenue and are targeted to exceed 50% in H2 2026.

    02

    Robotics segment performance and commercial focus

    Robotics and others revenue rose 175.9% YoY to RMB 51.2M (~19.8% of total), with adjusted operating loss narrowing 57.1% YoY on better operating efficiency and commercial execution. The robotics business targets commercial scenarios with real demand — reception, guide/tour, and intelligent service applications — plus a new smart personal mobility (smart wheelchair) product extending the platform into consumer/healthcare use. Initial shipments began in Q2 to a leading mobility-products manufacturer and China's leading mobility-scooter manufacturer, with encouraging early feedback, especially strong sales momentum in Europe.

    03

    Cloud, AI infrastructure and token consumption

    Within Global Enterprise Services, cloud and AI infrastructure services grew (68% YoY per CEO / 58.3% per CFO), contributing ~18% of total revenue, driven by rising demand for AI-related cloud and token-management services. The company works with Google Cloud and AWS to help enterprises access AI models across multi-cloud environments. Token usage has increased more than 20x since January 2022, exceeding roughly 400 million (units ASR-garbled) in May, and management expects continued growth. An 'Ed Cloud'/'Open Cloud'-type product was referenced as early-stage.

    04

    Internet services as profit and cash engine

    The legacy Internet services business remained profitable and cash-generative, delivering ~RMB 15.2M adjusted operating profit and providing the financial foundation for AI/robotics investment. Within the segment, internet value-added services grew 8.2% YoY and represented 72.8% of segment revenue, making Internet-service revenue increasingly predictable even as online advertising stayed weak.

    05

    Profitability, advertising headwind and balance sheet

    Total revenue was roughly flat YoY at RMB 259M. Operating loss widened to RMB 28.3M from RMB 26.5M a year earlier, mainly reflecting lower profitability at Internet and Global Enterprise Services following declines in online advertising and advertising-agency services, plus continued AI/robotics investment. Management attributed the advertising-agency decline to overseas ad-platform policy changes — an external factor, not weaker customer demand. Global Enterprise Services still earned ~RMB 13.8M adjusted operating profit. The company held ~USD 186M cash and equivalents plus over USD 100M in long-term investments, framed as sufficient flexibility for a disciplined AI/robotics investment approach.

    06

    Management's view on robotics-industry structure (Q&A)

    The CEO argued the durable competitive barrier is not the model layer (where China-US gaps are ~half a year and not widening) but real-scenario operating capability and client networks that generate proprietary deployment data. He expects no highly versatile/humanoid robot within 2-5 years, favoring specialized vertical mobile robots that grow by accumulating scenario data. Home robots should be pragmatic — mobility (A-to-B) plus companionship/elder-assistance — because physical-world reliability and picking success rates below 100% impose meaningful cost. Enterprise-AI differentiation, he said, comes from deep user/industry understanding and reorganizing the enterprise around AI, evidenced by more product launches on lower R&D spend.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.