Core Insights - Soul, a social platform, has submitted its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking its fourth attempt at going public [1][12] - The company's revenue is primarily derived from "emotional value services," accounting for approximately 90% of total income [2][13] Group 1: Business Model and Financial Performance - Soul's business model is centered around emotional value-driven virtual goods, targeting the Z generation through anonymous social interactions [3][4] - As of August 31, 2025, Soul has approximately 390 million registered users, with daily active users averaging 11 million, 78.7% of whom are from the Z generation [3][4] - Revenue figures show steady growth, with 2022, 2023, and 2024 revenues reported at 1.667 billion, 1.846 billion, and 2.211 billion yuan respectively, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of over 15% [3][4] - For the first eight months of 2025, revenue reached 1.683 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.86% [3][4] Group 2: Revenue Structure and Profitability - Soul's revenue generation is primarily through emotional value services and advertising, with emotional value services contributing 91.1%, 90.3%, 89.1%, and 90.8% of total revenue from 2022 to the first eight months of 2025 [4][5] - The emotional value service revenue increased from 1.519 billion yuan in 2022 to 1.667 billion yuan in 2023, and further to 1.970 billion yuan in 2024 [4][5] - The company has a high gross margin, with 2024 gross margin at 83.7% and 81.5% for the first eight months of 2025 [5][6] Group 3: Marketing and User Growth Challenges - Soul's marketing expenses have been substantial, with sales and marketing costs of 844 million, 752 million, and 889 million yuan from 2022 to 2024, representing 50.6%, 40.7%, and 40.2% of revenue respectively [6][7] - The user growth appears to be stagnating, with monthly active users dropping from 29.4 million in 2022 to 26.2 million in 2023, and only recovering to 28 million in the first eight months of 2025 [7][17] Group 4: Shareholding and Funding - Since its inception, Soul has raised a total of 402 million USD (approximately 2.842 billion yuan) through seven funding rounds, with Tencent being the largest shareholder, holding 49.90% of the shares [8][19] - The IPO proceeds are intended for enhancing AI capabilities, expanding globally, and developing various content types [20] Group 5: Regulatory and Competitive Landscape - Soul's anonymous user mechanism has led to compliance challenges, with numerous complaints regarding fraud and false advertising [10][21] - The competitive landscape is intense, with established players like Momo and Tantan continuing to dominate the market, posing a threat to Soul's user base and revenue [21][22]
提供情绪价值,一年卖了近20亿!年轻人最爱的约会APP,四闯IPO
Xin Lang Cai Jing·2025-12-14 12:33