Kanzhun Limited (BZ) Earnings

Management highlights

### User Growth & Platform Engagement - 15 million newly verified job seekers were acquired between January and April 2026; full-year 2026 verified user acquisition is on track to exceed 14 million. - Trailing 12-month paid enterprise customers reached 7.1 million as of March 31, 2026, up 10.9% year-on-year and 4.4% quarter-on-quarter; paid user conversion increased sequentially. - Q1 2026 average monthly active users (MAU) was 169 million, up 5.7% year-on-year; March 2026 MAU exceeded 72 million, up 4.6% year-on-year, with the higher monthly figure driven by a later Chinese New Year shifting the peak recruitment season entirely into March 2026. - April 2026 MAU remained near March's elevated level, indicating sustained robust platform engagement post-peak season. ### Recruitment Demand Trends - Active software engineering job postings increased 10.9% year-on-year from January to April 2026, outpacing the 9.1% growth recorded by U.S. peer platforms; no large-scale reduction in tech roles was observed. - Fastest year-on-year revenue growth in Q1 came from enterprises with 1,000-10,000 employees, followed by enterprises with 500-1000 employees, marking a shift from last quarter when small and micro enterprises led growth. - Leading industry growth was recorded in manufacturing, electronics, telecommunications, semiconductors, transportation and logistics, urban services, and professional services. ### AI Strategic Positioning - Management's core observations after 3 years of AI exploration: (1) AI opportunities outweigh risks for Kanzhun's business model and market position, and the company's market leading position has strengthened; lower AI token costs enable widespread service deployment, and internal AI adoption accelerates young talent development and reduces corporate entropy; (2) standalone AI agents have not challenged Kanzhun's double-sided network model, and embedding AI into the existing ecosystem improves core platform metrics: AI has increased successful candidate-enterprise matching conversion by 50%, lifted user retention to its highest level since 2020, and increased average per-enterprise value by a double-digit percentage. - Four core AI strategic pillars: 1. Prioritize investment in AI-powered result-oriented closed-loop recruitment services; 20% of in-house recruiter candidate recommendations are already AI-driven, and combined human-AI productivity has increased 4x, exceeding industry average productivity; external AI-powered campus recruitment services grew over 50% year-on-year in Q1. 2. Maintain focused R&D investment on small vertical AI models for recruitment, citing lower operational costs, tailored long-term technical capabilities, internal team morale benefits, and superior efficiency for search and recommendation functions compared to general large models. 3. Continue heavy investment in AI applications, with evaluation tied directly to improvements to the double-sided recruitment ecosystem; teams that deliver user value via AI are rewarded for their work. 4. Expect AI-driven revenue growth to be a gradual, sustainable process; management prioritizes long-term steady growth over rapid near-term expansion. ### Shareholder Returns - Year-to-date 2026 share repurchases total over $200 million, equal to approximately 3% of total outstanding shares; cumulative repurchases since 2022 equal roughly 10% of total shares. - The company reaffirms its 3-year shareholder return commitment: annual allocations to buybacks and dividends will equal at least 50% of the prior year's adjusted net income.

Guidance

- Full-year 2026 verified user acquisition is on track to exceed 14 million, meeting management's expectations. - Revenue growth in Q2 2026 and full-year 2026 is expected to be stronger than Q1 2026's 7.6% year-on-year growth; full-year 2026 cash collection growth is expected to accelerate from 2025, reaching at least double-digit year-on-year growth. - Q2 2026 revenue is guided to be between RMB 2.38 billion and RMB 2.42 billion, representing 13.2% to 15.1% year-on-year growth. - Adjusted operating margin is expected to see a modest expansion in 2026 and the coming years, despite margin dilution from continued AI investment, long-term brand investment, and new business incubation. - Share-based compensation expenses are expected to remain around 9% of total revenue for the full year.

Segment performance

Kanzhun Limited reports a single core online recruitment business segment for Q1 2026. Total GAAP revenue reached RMB 2.07 billion (up 7.6% year-on-year; management notes 2026 Q1 had only 1 month of peak recruitment season versus 2 months in 2025 Q1). White collar-related recruitment revenue exceeded 40% of total revenue for the first half of the period (partial year data). Revenue from AI-related job roles grew over 100% year-on-year. AI-powered closed-loop recruitment services generated RMB 50 million in Q1 2026, representing a small share of total revenue with 50%+ year-on-year growth. Total GAAP operating costs and expenses decreased 3% year-on-year to RMB 1.4 billion. Cost of revenue decreased 4% to RMB 298 million, pushing gross margin up 1.8pp to 85.6%. Sales and marketing expenses increased 2% to RMB 502 million. R&D expenses remained stable at RMB 424 million, with adjusted R&D (excluding share-based compensation) up 5% to RMB 351 million driven by AI infrastructure investments. G&A expenses decreased 15% to RMB 282 million. Adjusted operating income (excluding share-based compensation) was RMB 810-815 million, up 17.8-18% year-on-year, with an adjusted operating margin of 39.4% (up 3.4pp year-on-year). Net income was RMB 1.1 billion, and adjusted net income (excluding share-based compensation and one-time investment gains) increased 12% to RMB 856 million, with an adjusted net margin of 41.4% (up 1.7pp year-on-year). Net cash from operating activities was RMB 1.2 billion, up 19% year-on-year.

Risks & headwinds

- Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from management projections. No specific material operational or financial risks were explicitly discussed in the call. Unaddressed market uncertainties include the potential long-term impact of AI on overall recruitment demand and the competitive response from industry peers.

Analyst Q&A

• Q: How has the delayed 2026 Chinese New Year affected growth, which industries are seeing the strongest improvement, what is the latest progress on AI closed-loop services, and will you accelerate blue-collar business expansion amid AI disruption? /

  A: Peak recruitment activity shifted entirely to March and April 2026, with MAU remaining elevated in April and overall recruitment market growth accelerating post-holiday. Total new job postings increased 10% year-on-year, with healthy supply-demand balance. AI-powered closed-loop services grew 50-100% across business lines in Q1, reaching RMB 50 million in total revenue (still small scale). Management has not observed large-scale AI-driven job displacement; software engineering job postings rose 10.9% year-on-year, and a full public report on AI's job market impact will be released in approximately 2 quarters.

• Q: Can AI lift average revenue per job listing for Kanzhun, similar to peer results, and how will AI change competition dynamics with lower-efficiency domestic peers? /

  A: Management's priority is first expanding the number of paid enterprise customers (now 7.1 million and growing) before raising prices. China has over 40 million total enterprises, more than half of which have never used online recruitment services, so growing penetration is the key near-term opportunity. AI supports Kanzhun's long-term strategic shift from selling advertising exposure to delivering result-based placement, which aligns with enterprise client needs. Management is not concerned about lower-efficiency peers overtaking Kanzhun via AI, as the company's existing double-sided network and AI strategy position it to capture value from technological improvement.

• Q: What is the 2026 outlook for operating margins, do you have updates to your shareholder return plan, and what is the progress of your Hong Kong and overseas expansion? /

  A: AI investment (including talent acquisition and computing power costs) will increase expenses in 2026, but management still expects a modest increase in adjusted operating margin, matching earlier guidance. Year-to-date 2026 buybacks have already exceeded the first quarter target, driven by attractive valuations and a desire to signal confidence to investors and employees; the company reaffirms its 50% minimum annual payout commitment for the 3-year plan. Hong Kong operations have reached ~60,000 daily active users (equivalent to 1 in 50 Hong Kong workers), with current priority on building an international core team and product-market fit rather than near-term revenue; no new overseas market expansion plans were announced.