Zhihu Inc. operates an online content community in the People’s Republic of China. The company also offers technology, business support, and consulting ...
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Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Zhihu, Inc. Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. Today's conference is being recorded and webcasted. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Jamie Leung of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am. Unknown Executive: Thank you, Sharon. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Zhihu's Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. Joining me today from our senior management team are Mr. Zhou Yuan, Founder, Chairman and Executive Officer; Mr. Wang Han, Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Zhang Ronghua, Chief Operating Officer. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, actual results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding included in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable law. Additionally, today's discussion will include both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures for comparison purposes only. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please refer to our earnings release issued earlier today. A replay of this conference call will be available on our IR website at ir.zhihu.com. And today, Mr. Zhou Yuan will deliver prepared remarks in Chinese and followed by English translation. Please go ahead, sir. Yuan Zhou: [Interpreted] Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining Zhihu's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Today, I will cover 3 areas: our core business performance in the second quarter, how AI is expanding the value of our community content, IP and expert network and our priorities for. Let me start with our core businesses. Overall, our core business remained stable, while some areas continue to adjust and recover. In the second quarter, total revenue were RMB 690 million, down 3.7% year-over-year and up 5.9% sequentially with a year-over-year decline narrowing further. Adjusted net loss was RMB 10.25 million, reflecting changes in the revenue mix and phased business investments. Our CFO will discuss the financial details shortly. Community engagement among core users remained stable. Average daily time spent was about 39 minutes, broadly unchanged. Daily creation of high-quality content grew more than 16%. As AIGC makes content creation easier, authentic experiences, clear sourcing and professional judgment are becoming more valuable. These remain the foundation of Zhihu and our long-term value. Turning to Marketing Services. Revenue were RMB 199 million, down 10.7% year-over-year and up 4% sequentially. We …
Est. EPS $-0.07 · Revenue $632.34M · 1 analysts
Est. EPS $-0.03 · Revenue $557.89M · 1 analysts
| Metric | Latest | YoYYoY means Year-over-Year. It compares the latest annual value with the previous annual value to show long-term trend strength. | QoQQoQ means Quarter-over-Quarter. It compares the latest quarter with the immediately previous quarter to show short-term momentum changes. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The total money that came through the front door from selling things, before paying a single bill. Think of it as the grand total of every credit card swipe from customers. (YoY compares this year to last year's performance, while QoQ compares the current three months to the previous three). |
| Name | Title | Gender | Year Born | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Yee Wa Lau | Company Secretary | Female | 1973 | Active |
Dachuan Sha | Chief Investment Officer | Male | 1986 | Active |
Han Wang | Chief Financial Officer | Male | 1992 | Active |
Yuan Zhou | Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer | Male | 1981 | Active |
Est. EPS $-1.05 · Revenue $2.65B · 2 analysts
Est. EPS $-0.31 · Revenue $2.71B · 3 analysts
EPS ¥-0.48 · Revenue ¥688.17M
EPS ¥-0.11 · Revenue ¥647.63M
EPS ¥-2.37 · Revenue ¥2.67B
EPS ¥-0.57 · Revenue ¥658.93M
EPS ¥0.87 · Revenue ¥710.04M
EPS ¥-0.12 · Revenue ¥728.27M
| $2.7B |
| -26.7% |
| +6.3% |
| Net IncomeThe absolute bottom line. If the company paid every single supplier, employee, banker, and tax collector, this is the actual money left in their pocket at the end of the day. | $-187.6M | -7.7% | -341.5% |
| Gross MarginThe basic markup. If they sell a $100 pair of sneakers, this percentage tells you how much of that price tag is profit right after paying for the rubber and shoelaces, but before paying for things like store rent or TV commercials. | +59.9% | -1.1% | -4.3% |
| Operating MarginThe 'day job' efficiency score. Out of every dollar a customer spends, this shows how many cents the company keeps after making the product AND paying for all the everyday corporate overhead (like salaries, marketing, and keeping the lights on). | -13.9% | -3.7% | -14.0% |
| Net MarginThe final take-home percentage. When you strip away every conceivable cost, tax, and interest payment, this is the exact number of cents the company truly gets to keep from every dollar in sales. | -7.0% | -47.0% | -315.5% |
| Free Cash FlowThe holy grail of corporate cash. It's the spendable, physical money left over after the business pays for its daily operations AND buys the big, expensive upgrades (like new factories or servers) it needs to survive. This is the 'free' money they can use to pay dividends or buy back stock. | $-424.4M | -50.0% | — |
| FCF MarginThe ultimate cash conversion rate. It shows how good the company is at turning regular sales directly into cold, hard, spendable cash. A high percentage means the business is an absolute cash-printing machine. | -15.9% | -104.7% | — |
| Debt / EquityThe financial risk gauge. It compares how much of the company's empire was built using borrowed money (loans) versus the owners' own money (shareholders). A high number means they are heavily leveraged and playing a riskier game; a low number means they are playing it safe. | 1.9% | +309.0% | +374.7% |
| Current RatioThe 12-month survival check. It simply compares the cash they have right now (plus things they can quickly turn into cash) against the immediate bills they absolutely must pay this year. A score above 1 means they have enough in the wallet to cover the upcoming bills without panicking. | 3.73x | +3.7% | -1.3% |
| Total AssetsThe absolute size of the company's empire. It bundles together absolutely everything of value they own—from the cash in the register and the inventory in the warehouse, to the software patents in the vault and the factories on the ground. | $5.2B | -9.4% | -1.2% |
| Metric | Annual (A vs E) | Annual Surprise | Quarter (A vs E) | Quarter Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS Surprise | -2.37 vs -0.03 | -6992.1% | -0.48 vs -0.08 | -500.6% |
| Revenue Surprise | $2.7B vs $2.7B | -2.3% | $688.2M vs $710.0M | -3.1% |
| Date | Executive | Title | Security | Side | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2026 | Zhou Yuan | director, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Class A ordinary shares | A | 371,436 | — |
| Jul 28, 2026 | Zhou Yuan | director, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Class B ordinary shares | D | 371,436 | — |
| Jun 5, 2026 | Chen Derek | director | Restricted Share Unit | A | 135,468 | — |
| Jun 5, 2026 | Cheng Li-Lan | director | Class A ordinary shares | A | 360 | $2.85 |
| Jun 3, 2026 | Chen Qu | director: | — | — | 0 | — |
