Zhihu Inc. Q4 FY2025 earnings call

1. In 2025, Jehu achieved its first full-year non-GAAP profit, with adjusted net income reaching RMB 37.9 million, a significant turnaround from the adjusted net loss of RMB 96.3 million in 2024. 2. In the fourth quarter, the average daily time spent per user on the platform increased to over 41 minutes. 3. The company accelerated the integration of AI, strengthening its competitive edge in the AI era. 4. It optimized its business structure, and marketing services revenue saw a double-digit sequential increase in the fourth quarter. 5. High-quality content on the platform saw a surge, with the data creation of high-quality content increasing by over 20% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. 6. Leveraged AI to upgrade community governance and the content mechanism, improving efficiency. 7. Professional creators remained the backbone, with daily active high-tier creators growing by double digits year-over-year. 8. IP monetization revenue grew more than five-fold year-over-year in the first quarter and doubled for the full year.

In the fourth quarter, marketing services revenue reached RMB 234.8 million, an increase of 24% sequentially. Paid membership revenue was RMB 333.5 million, with an average of 12.2 million monthly paid members. Other revenues were RMB 75.2 million. Marketing services contributed significantly to the revenue recovery, paid membership had its own revenue and member base, and other revenues were affected by the strategic adjustment of the vocational training business.

1. In 2026, Jehu will leverage its unique advantages to expand AI-driven commercialization, including building industry-leading expert data solutions and deploying AI productivity tools to accelerate the IP monetization of the Yanyan Stories franchise. 2. It will prioritize disciplined operations while accelerating the integration of AI across the community and commercial models. 3. It will sharpen its strategic focus and optimize resource allocation, aiming to drive continuous recovery and sustainable long-term growth in marketing services. 4. It will explore new AI-powered monetization avenues, focusing on initiatives with visible ROI potential and a strong fit with its core strengths.

Q: About financial prospects and the balance between investment and cash flow revenue.

A: 2025 demonstrated that Jehu can achieve profitability. However, given the AI era, it will focus on investing in AI opportunities and will be disciplined in selecting new initiatives with visible ROI potential.

Q: Strategy in commercialization and core priorities for 2026.

A: The strategy is centered on two tracks. In the core community business, it will continue to use AI to improve efficiency and maintain stable revenue. Meanwhile, it will leverage its unique assets to develop new AI businesses, such as AI-enabled short-form drama and comic adaptation, and AI-related data services.

Q: Impact of AI on the Zhihu community and product upgrade plans.

A: AI has helped both core users and new users, improving content consumption and the creator experience. In terms of product upgrades, it will continue to invest in the experience gains from AI and upgrade the GDAS core capability from AI search to an agent-based experience