Zhihu Inc. Reports Unaudited Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Zhihu (NYSE: ZH) reported its Q4 and FY 2024 financial results, marking a significant turnaround with its first profitable quarter. In Q4 2024, the company achieved:
- Total revenues of RMB859.2M (US$117.7M), down from RMB1,138.3M in Q4 2023
- Gross margin expansion to 62.9% from 59.1% YoY
- Net income of RMB86.4M (US$11.8M) vs net loss of RMB103.1M in Q4 2023
- 81.4M monthly active users and 14.1M monthly subscribing members
For FY 2024:
- Total revenues were RMB3,598.9M (US$493.0M), compared to RMB4,198.9M in 2023
- Gross margin improved to 60.6% from 54.7%
- Net loss narrowed by 79.9% to RMB169.0M
The company has been actively repurchasing shares, with 31.1M Class A ordinary shares bought back for US$66.5M under its existing program, and completed an additional tender offer of approximately HK$300M.
Positive
- First-time achievement of positive operating profit and net income in Q4 2024
- Significant gross margin expansion to 62.9% in Q4 2024 from 59.1% YoY
- Operating expenses decreased by 37.9% in Q4 2024
- Net loss narrowed by 79.9% in FY 2024
- Active share repurchase program execution showing confidence in company value
Negative
- Total revenues declined 24.5% YoY in Q4 2024
- Annual revenue decreased 14.3% to RMB3,598.9M in FY 2024
- Decline in marketing services revenue due to service offering refinement
- Decrease in paid membership revenue due to lower average revenue per subscriber
- Continued net loss of RMB169.0M for full year 2024
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, ZH gained 0.87%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights
- Total revenues were
RMB859.2 million (US ) in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with$117.7 million RMB1,138.3 million in the same period of 2023. - Gross margin expanded to
62.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 from59.1% in the same period of 2023. - Net income was
RMB86.4 million (US ) in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with a net loss of$11.8 million RMB103.1 million in the same period of 2023. - Adjusted net income (non-GAAP)[1] was
RMB97.1 million (US ) in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with an adjusted net loss of$13.3 million RMB91.3 million in the same period of 2023. - Average monthly active users (MAUs)[2] were 81.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
- Average monthly subscribing members[3] were 14.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Fiscal Year 2024 Highlights
- Total revenues were
RMB3,598.9 million (US ) in 2024, compared with$493.0 million RMB4,198.9 million in 2023. - Gross margin expanded to
60.6% in 2024 from54.7% in 2023. - Net loss was
RMB169.0 million (US ) in 2024, narrowed by$23.1 million 79.9% from 2023. - Adjusted net loss (non-GAAP)[1] was
RMB96.3 million (US ) in 2024, narrowed by$13.2 million 85.4% from 2023.
"The year of 2024 marked a significant turnaround for Zhihu, driven by the successful execution of the strategic roadmap we laid out at the beginning of the year and culminating in a profitable fourth quarter," said Mr. Yuan Zhou, chairman and chief executive officer of Zhihu. "We optimized our ecosystem to foster greater vibrancy and trust across our community, consistently improving user metrics and deepening creator engagement throughout the year. We have consistently invested in AI applications, leveraging our premium content and strong network of trusted experts. By further integrating AI into our diverse community scenarios, we are unlocking new possibilities to redefine user interactions in the AI era while sharpening our own competitive edge."
Mr. Han Wang, chief financial officer of Zhihu, added, "The fourth quarter of 2024 marked a milestone for Zhihu as we achieved a major inflection point with positive operating profit and net income on both GAAP and non-GAAP basis for the first time—a testament to our strategic focus and successful execution. Improved operating efficiency and disciplined cost management drove significant margin expansion during the quarter, with gross profit margin expanding by 3.8 percentage points year-over-year to
Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results
Total revenues were
Marketing services revenue was
Paid membership revenue was
Vocational training revenue was
Other revenues were
Cost of revenues decreased by
Gross profit was
Total operating expenses decreased by
Selling and marketing expenses decreased by
Research and development expenses decreased by
General and administrative expenses decreased by
Income from operations was
Adjusted income from operations (non-GAAP)[1] was
Net income was
Adjusted net income (non-GAAP)[1] was
Diluted net income per American depositary share ("ADS") [4] was
Cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, restricted cash and short-term investments
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, restricted cash and short-term investments of
Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results
Total revenues were
Marketing services revenue was
Paid membership revenue was
Vocational training revenue was
Other revenues were
Cost of revenues decreased by
Gross profit was
Total operating expenses decreased by
Selling and marketing expenses decreased by
Research and development expenses decreased by
General and administrative expenses decreased by
Loss from operations narrowed by
Adjusted loss from operations (non-GAAP)[1] narrowed by
Net loss narrowed by
Adjusted net loss (non-GAAP)[1] narrowed by
Diluted net loss per ADS[4] was
Share Repurchase Programs
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had repurchased 31.1 million Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs) for a total price of
In addition, as previously announced, the Company conducted an all cash tender offer and repurchased a total of 33,016,016 Class A ordinary shares tendered (including 19,877,118 Class A ordinary shares in the form of 6,625,706 ADSs) for a total consideration of approximately
[1] Adjusted income/(loss) from operations and adjusted net income/(loss) are non-GAAP financial measures. For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the section "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and the table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release. |
[2] MAUs refers to the sum of the number of mobile devices that launch our mobile apps at least once in a given month, or mobile MAUs, and the number of logged-in users who visit our PC or mobile website at least once in a given month, after eliminating duplicates. |
[3] Monthly subscribing members refers to the number of members who subscribed for our membership packages in a specified month. Average monthly subscribing members for a period is calculated by dividing the sum of monthly subscribing members for each month during the specified period by the number of months in such period. |
[4] On May 10, 2024, we effected a change in the ratio of our ADSs to Class A ordinary shares from two ADSs representing one Class A ordinary share to a new ratio of one ADS representing three Class A ordinary shares. Basic and diluted net loss per ADS have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect this ADS ratio change for all periods presented. |
Conference Call
The Company's management will host an earnings conference call at 7:00 a.m.
All participants wishing to join the conference call must pre-register online using the link provided below. Once the pre-registration has been completed, each participant will receive a set of dial-in numbers and a unique access PIN which can be used to join the conference call.
Registration Link: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI822b4edc673942e382e2354f17702df3
Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.zhihu.com.
About Zhihu Inc.
Zhihu Inc. (NYSE: ZH; HKEX: 2390) is a leading online content community in
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In evaluating the business, the Company considers and uses non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted income/(loss) from operations and adjusted net income/(loss), to supplement the review and assessment of its operating performance. The Company defines non-GAAP financial measures by excluding the impact of share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and the tax effects of the non-GAAP adjustments, which are non-cash expenses. The Company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures facilitate comparisons of operating performance from period to period and company to company by adjusting for potential impacts of items, which the Company's management considers to be indicative of its operating performance. The Company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating the Company's consolidated results of operations in the same manner as they help the Company's management.
The non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under
Exchange Rate Information
This announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi amounts into
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Zhihu Inc.
Email: ir@zhihu.com
Christensen Advisory
Roger Hu
Tel: +86-10-5900-1548
Email: zhihu@christensencomms.com
ZHIHU INC. | |||||||||||||
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS | |||||||||||||
(All amounts in thousands, except share, ADS, per share data and per ADS data) | |||||||||||||
For the Three Months Ended | For the Year Ended | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2024 | |||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||
Revenues: | |||||||||||||
Marketing services | 465,153 | 256,631 | 315,940 | 43,284 | 1,652,992 | 1,247,092 | 170,851 | ||||||
Paid membership | 455,906 | 459,387 | 420,215 | 57,569 | 1,826,557 | 1,761,978 | 241,390 | ||||||
Vocational training | 169,272 | 105,058 | 83,984 | 11,506 | 565,585 | 468,111 | 64,131 | ||||||
Others | 47,966 | 23,944 | 39,073 | 5,353 | 153,755 | 121,724 | 16,676 | ||||||
Total revenues | 1,138,297 | 845,020 | 859,212 | 117,712 | 4,198,889 | 3,598,905 | 493,048 | ||||||
Cost of revenues | (465,197) | (304,879) | (318,547) | (43,641) | (1,903,041) | (1,418,076) | (194,276) | ||||||
Gross profit | 673,100 | 540,141 | 540,665 | 74,071 | 2,295,848 | 2,180,829 | 298,772 | ||||||
Selling and marketing expenses | (527,604) | (388,049) | (316,198) | (43,319) | (2,048,090) | (1,599,186) | (219,088) | ||||||
Research and development | (232,585) | (179,261) | (146,613) | (20,086) | (901,452) | (732,553) | (100,359) | ||||||
General and administrative | (91,069) | (57,161) | (65,988) | (9,040) | (418,531) | (330,173) | (45,234) | ||||||
Total operating expenses | (851,258) | (624,471) | (528,799) | (72,445) | (3,368,073) | (2,661,912) | (364,681) | ||||||
(Loss)/Income from operations | (178,158) | (84,330) | 11,866 | 1,626 | (1,072,225) | (481,083) | (65,909) | ||||||
Other income/(expenses): | |||||||||||||
Investment income | 12,279 | 13,679 | 13,049 | 1,788 | 41,695 | 65,441 | 8,965 | ||||||
Interest income | 38,828 | 31,136 | 26,311 | 3,605 | 158,671 | 114,964 | 15,750 | ||||||
Fair value change of financial | 14,780 | 6,887 | 30,698 | 4,206 | (5,170) | 78,405 | 10,741 | ||||||
Exchange (losses)/gains | (937) | (1,097) | 1,701 | 233 | 97 | 1,013 | 139 | ||||||
Others, net | 15,032 | 23,799 | 113 | 15 | 49,236 | 42,902 | 5,878 | ||||||
(Loss)/Income before income | (98,176) | (9,926) | 83,738 | 11,473 | (827,696) | (178,358) | (24,436) | ||||||
Income tax (expenses)/benefits | (4,929) | 949 | 2,663 | 365 | (11,832) | 9,391 | 1,287 | ||||||
Net (loss)/income | (103,105) | (8,977) | 86,401 | 11,838 | (839,528) | (168,967) | (23,149) | ||||||
Net income attributable to | (666) | (1,514) | (127) | (17) | (4,113) | (2,835) | (388) | ||||||
Net (loss)/income attributable | (103,771) | (10,491) | 86,274 | 11,821 | (843,641) | (171,802) | (23,537) | ||||||
Net (loss)/income per share | |||||||||||||
Basic | (0.36) | (0.04) | 0.34 | 0.05 | (2.82) | (0.63) | (0.09) | ||||||
Diluted | (0.36) | (0.04) | 0.33 | 0.05 | (2.82) | (0.63) | (0.09) | ||||||
Net (loss)/income per ADS | |||||||||||||
Basic | (1.07) | (0.11) | 1.01 | 0.14 | (8.46) | (1.88) | (0.26) | ||||||
Diluted | (1.07) | (0.11) | 1.00 | 0.14 | (8.46) | (1.88) | (0.26) | ||||||
Weighted average number of | |||||||||||||
Basic | 291,056,615 | 277,309,431 | 256,257,971 | 256,257,971 | 299,132,894 | 273,560,865 | 273,560,865 | ||||||
Diluted | 291,056,615 | 277,309,431 | 259,990,323 | 259,990,323 | 299,132,894 | 273,560,865 | 273,560,865 | ||||||
ZHIHU INC. | |||||||||||||
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (CONTINUED) | |||||||||||||
(All amounts in thousands, except share, ADS, per share data and per ADS data) | |||||||||||||
For the Three Months Ended | For the Year Ended | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2024 | |||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||
Share-based compensation | |||||||||||||
Cost of revenues | 1,575 | 1,016 | (314) | (43) | 9,751 | 3,949 | 542 | ||||||
Selling and marketing | (7,001) | 547 | 269 | 37 | 13,882 | (1,975) | (271) | ||||||
Research and development | (57) | 6,233 | (6,436) | (882) | 49,847 | 7,916 | 1,084 | ||||||
General and administrative | 12,983 | (14,767) | 14,261 | 1,954 | 91,176 | 49,372 | 6,764 | ||||||
ZHIHU INC. | |||||
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | |||||
(All amounts in thousands) | |||||
As of December 31, 2023 | As of December 31, 2024 | ||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | |||
ASSETS | |||||
Current assets: | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents | 2,106,639 | 3,999,160 | 547,883 | ||
Term deposits | 1,586,469 | 320,088 | 43,852 | ||
Short-term investments | 1,769,822 | 538,816 | 73,817 | ||
Restricted cash | - | 900 | 123 | ||
Trade receivables | 664,615 | 420,636 | 57,627 | ||
Amounts due from related parties | 18,319 | 41,588 | 5,698 | ||
Prepayments and other current assets | 232,016 | 163,446 | 22,392 | ||
Total current assets | 6,377,880 | 5,484,634 | 751,392 | ||
Non-current assets: | |||||
Property and equipment, net | 10,849 | 8,490 | 1,163 | ||
Intangible assets, net | 122,645 | 54,534 | 7,471 | ||
Goodwill | 191,077 | 126,344 | 17,309 | ||
Long-term investments, net | 44,621 | 51,176 | 7,011 | ||
Right-of-use assets | 40,211 | 7,151 | 980 | ||
Other non-current assets | 7,989 | 623 | 85 | ||
Total non-current assets | 417,392 | 248,318 | 34,019 | ||
Total assets | 6,795,272 | 5,732,952 | 785,411 | ||
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||||
Current liabilities | |||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 1,038,531 | 835,688 | 114,489 | ||
Salary and welfare payables | 342,125 | 275,260 | 37,710 | ||
Taxes payables | 21,394 | 22,081 | 3,025 | ||
Contract liabilities | 303,574 | 235,539 | 32,269 | ||
Amounts due to related parties | 26,032 | 6,825 | 935 | ||
Short term lease liabilities | 42,089 | 17,308 | 2,371 | ||
Other current liabilities | 171,743 | 131,955 | 18,078 | ||
Total current liabilities | 1,945,488 | 1,524,656 | 208,877 | ||
Non-current liabilities | |||||
Long term lease liabilities | 3,642 | 1,823 | 250 | ||
Deferred tax liabilities | 22,574 | 6,830 | 936 | ||
Other non-current liabilities | 121,958 | 3,957 | 541 | ||
Total non-current liabilities | 148,174 | 12,610 | 1,727 | ||
Total liabilities | 2,093,662 | 1,537,266 | 210,604 | ||
Total Zhihu Inc.'s shareholders' equity | 4,599,810 | 4,136,123 | 566,647 | ||
Noncontrolling interests | 101,800 | 59,563 | 8,160 | ||
Total shareholders' equity | 4,701,610 | 4,195,686 | 574,807 | ||
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity | 6,795,272 | 5,732,952 | 785,411 | ||
ZHIHU INC. | |||||||||||||
UNAUDITED RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS | |||||||||||||
(All amounts in thousands) | |||||||||||||
For the Three Months Ended | For the Year Ended | ||||||||||||
December 31, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2024 | |||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||
(Loss)/Income from | (178,158) | (84,330) | 11,866 | 1,626 | (1,072,225) | (481,083) | (65,909) | ||||||
Add: | |||||||||||||
Share-based compensation | 7,500 | (6,971) | 7,780 | 1,066 | 164,656 | 59,262 | 8,119 | ||||||
Amortization of intangible | 5,365 | 3,490 | 3,490 | 478 | 19,585 | 16,460 | 2,255 | ||||||
Adjusted (loss)/income | (165,293) | (87,811) | 23,136 | 3,170 | (887,984) | (405,361) | (55,535) | ||||||
Net (loss)/income | (103,105) | (8,977) | 86,401 | 11,838 | (839,528) | (168,967) | (23,149) | ||||||
Add: | |||||||||||||
Share-based compensation | 7,500 | (6,971) | 7,780 | 1,066 | 164,656 | 59,262 | 8,119 | ||||||
Amortization of intangible | 5,365 | 3,490 | 3,490 | 478 | 19,585 | 16,460 | 2,255 | ||||||
Tax effects on non-GAAP | (1,069) | (600) | (600) | (82) | (3,806) | (3,025) | (414) | ||||||
Adjusted net (loss)/income | (91,309) | (13,058) | 97,071 | 13,300 | (659,093) | (96,270) | (13,189) | ||||||
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SOURCE Zhihu Inc.