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ZH
Earnings call · Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)

Zhihu Q2 FY26 earnings call ZH

Aug 26, 2026 Source

Executive summary

Zhihu Q2 FY26 — AI Integration and Core Business Stabilization

Zhihu reported a sequential improvement in Q2 FY26 revenue, driven by content and IP operations, while marketing services continued its structural recovery. The company is actively integrating AI across its community, content, and expert networks, exploring new applications and commercial scenarios. Management remains focused on stabilizing core businesses, prudently investing in AI-driven opportunities, and improving operating efficiency towards sustainable profitability.

Highlights

5

  • Total revenue increased 5.9% sequentially to RMB 619 million, with year-over-year decline narrowing.

  • Daily creation of high-quality content grew more than 16%.

  • Content and IP operations revenue increased 4.4% year-over-year and 5.9% sequentially, with IP licensing up 105% sequentially.

  • Adjusted net loss narrowed to RMB 10.25 million, reflecting improved cost management.

  • Number of clients for AI content asset offering increased 50% sequentially.

Concerns

5

  • Total revenue decreased 3.7% year-over-year to RMB 619 million.

  • Marketing Services revenue decreased 10.7% year-over-year to RMB 199 million, remaining in structural recovery.

  • Gross margin declined to 57% from 62.5% in Q2 2025, due to efforts to broaden paid offerings.

  • Adjusted net loss was RMB 10.25 million, compared to adjusted net income of RMB 91.3 million in Q2 2025.

  • Other revenues experienced a year-over-year decline due to strategic refinements of the vocational training business.

Segment performance

SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
Marketing Services
Continued focus on key verticals (technology, automotive, consumer electronics, home appliances, gaming), with gaming increasing 22% sequentially. Structural recovery ongoing, improving matching of professional content, user needs, and client demand.
RMB 199 million-10.7%4%—
Content and IP Operations
Continued improvement in membership content and product experience, expanding knowledge-based offerings. Expanding story IP from one-time licensing toward multi-format lifecycle development.
Average monthly subscriber numbers: 13.11 millionMember ARPU: stableIP licensing sequential growth: 105%IP licensing YoY growth: 6%
RMB 425.9 million4.4%5.9%—
Other Revenues
Revenue in Q2 2025 was RMB 86 million. The decrease year-over-year was primarily due to continued strategic refinements of the vocational training business. The current quarter's absolute revenue was not explicitly stated in a way that reconciles with the total revenue and other segment revenues.
——12.7%—

ZH operating KPIs by quarter

ZH operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI Mar 2026 Q1 FY26This call Jun 2026 Q2 FY26Change vs prior quarter
Paid subscribers
13.1M Average monthly subscribing members reached 13.1 million, up 7.9% sequentially with structural optimization. Source transcript
13.11M Average monthly subscriber numbers were 13.11 million, broadly stable while member ARPU also remains stable. Source transcript
+0.1%

Operating figures the company states on every call, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Product announcements

ProductTypeDetails
Zhihu Chida AIupdate
Community Agents AI chatbotroadmap

Risks & headwinds

Marketing services structural recovery Second half of the year

Marketing services revenue decreased 10.7% year-over-year to RMB 199 million.

Mitigation:Strengthening product R&D, especially performance advertising capabilities, and increasing value per unit of traffic rather than just driving traffic.

Impact of client budgets and industrial demand on marketing services Second half of the year

Marketing services may continue to be affected by changes in client budgets and industrial demand.

Mitigation:Focus on strengthening product R&D and performance advertising capabilities.

Project timing and industry standards affecting IP operations Second half of the year

Recent changes in industry standards and filing requirements may also affect the launch timing of certain projects.

Mitigation:Will be influenced by project timing; management remains disciplined and will not materially increase asset-heavy investments, flexibly choosing licensing, in-house, or commission production.

Fluctuating profitability from new AI investments Near-term

Initial validation does not mean these initiatives have become stable growth drivers. Ability may fluctuate due to the business timing and safe investments.

Mitigation:Continue to invest prudently, focusing on real demand, client value, capability reuse, and ROI. Long-term goals remain to improve revenue mix and return to sustainable profitability.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Marketing Services recovery

Next quarter
Current structural recovery
Target Stable or accelerating sequential growth

Why it matters

Marketing services revenue is a significant component, and its recovery is key to overall revenue growth.

[Interpreted] Looking into the second half, we do not think it's a -- like the sequential improvement seen in the second quarter and different businesses have different operating [indiscernible] and marketing services remain in a period of structural recovery like we mentioned before and may continue to be affected by changes in client budgets and industrial demand.

Q&A highlights

Seeking management's outlook on revenue and profit for the second half of the year, considering ongoing business adjustments and new AI investments, and potential quarterly fluctuations.

Management expects sequential improvement to continue but notes different business dynamics. Marketing services remain in structural recovery, affected by client budgets, while paid content is stable and IP operations are project-timing dependent. New AI initiatives are being validated and require near-term investments, leading to potential fluctuations. The focus is on core business stability, client value, and ROI for new initiatives, with a long-term goal of sustainable profitability.

“[Interpreted] Looking into the second half, we do not think it's a -- like the sequential improvement seen in the second quarter and different businesses have different operating [indiscernible] and marketing services remain in a period of structural recovery like we mentioned before and may continue to be affected by changes in client budgets and industrial demand.”

asked by Thomas Chong · answered by Yuan Zhou

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Core Business Performance

Total revenue was RMB 619 million, down 3.7% year-over-year but up 5.9% sequentially. Adjusted net loss was RMB 10.25 million. Average daily time spent was 39 minutes, and daily creation of high-quality content grew over 16%. Marketing Services revenue was RMB 199 million, down 10.7% year-over-year, but up 4% sequentially, with gaming increasing 22%. Content and IP operations revenue was RMB 425.9 million, up 4.4% year-over-year and 5.9% sequentially, with average monthly subscribers stable at 13.11 million. IP licensing increased 105% sequentially and 6% year-over-year. Other revenues decreased year-over-year due to vocational training refinements, but increased 12.7% sequentially.

AI Integration and Community Openness

Zhihu is integrating AI to expand the value of its community content, IP, and expert network. This involves making the community more open, enabling high-quality content to reach more users and developers through AI tools. Zhihu Chida is integrated with Zhihu Search for AI-powered content discovery, showing positive signals for user retention. The company is also exploring community agents AI chatbots for content discovery and interaction. Zhihu AI works now holds more than 2,600 AI projects, and its open data platform API has attracted over 17,600 professional developers.

AI in Marketing Services

Marketing services are evolving from traffic value to content asset value, with brands caring about professional information being accurately understood and cited by AI. Zhihu's AI content asset offering saw a 50% sequential increase in clients, demonstrating new commercial value, though it does not yet represent a stable or scalable revenue contribution. The focus is on client outcomes, demand, and product standardization.

AI and IP Operations

AI is lowering the cost and barriers for converting text to multimedia formats, allowing Zhihu's large base of original content to be developed more efficiently into comic dramas, short dramas, film, and television. High-quality IP from 2025 or earlier is being monetized, showing long-term value. Zhihu became a leading IP provider for native AI comic dramas on TikTok and ranked among the top 3 on Kuaishou in H1 2026. The company is exploring in-house and commission production, remaining disciplined on asset-heavy investments.

Expert Data Solutions

Zhihu is developing expert data solutions as a research-driven data lab, focused on improving frontier model capabilities. This involves identifying model capability gaps, designing training data, complex task environments, and benchmarks. The business model includes customized R&D projects and exploring productization of capabilities. Zhihu's expert network is crucial for defining professional tasks and evaluating results. The investment profile is shifting towards compute, model usage, and R&D infrastructure, aiming for reusable capabilities across clients and model iterations.

Strategic Priorities for H2

Zhihu will focus on two main priorities in the second half of the year: first, improving user experience, maintaining a stable membership base, enhancing IP development efficiency, and advancing the structural recovery of marketing services. Second, it will continue to validate AI-driven opportunities across its open community ecosystem, AI content assets, IP, and expert data solutions, with a focus on real demand, client value, capability reuse, and ROI.

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