【网易-S（9999.HK）】营销投入恢复较快，递延收入支撑后续增长——2025年二季度业绩点评（付天姿/赵越）

Core Viewpoint - NetEase reported Q2 2025 earnings with net revenue of 27.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, slightly below Bloomberg consensus expectations of 28.4 billion yuan [4] Business Segments - Gaming: Revenue growth was strong but below market expectations, likely due to high prior expectations set by successful Q1 titles. Q2 gaming and related services net revenue was 22.8 billion yuan, up 13.7% year-on-year, compared to the expected 23.4 billion yuan. Online gaming net revenue reached 22.1 billion yuan, a 14.9% increase year-on-year. Key contributors included new titles like "Marvel Duel" and "Yanyun Sixteen Sounds," while "Outsider Tide" performed poorly overseas. Deferred revenue at the end of the period was 17 billion yuan, up 24.6% year-on-year, indicating future revenue support [5][6] - Youdao: Net revenue was 1.4 billion yuan, a 7.3% year-on-year increase, exceeding expectations of 1.3 billion yuan, driven by online marketing and learning services growth [5] - Cloud Music: Net revenue was 2 billion yuan, also a 7.3% year-on-year increase, surpassing the expected 1.3 billion yuan, attributed to growth in online music services [5] - Innovative and Other Businesses: Net revenue was 1.7 billion yuan, down 17.8% year-on-year, below the expected 1.8 billion yuan, with declines in revenue from NetEase Yanxuan and advertising services [5] Profitability - The company's gross margin for Q2 was 64.7%, up 1.8 percentage points year-on-year, exceeding the expected 63.6%. Gaming and related services gross margin was 70.2%, up 1.4 percentage points year-on-year, likely due to cost optimization. Cloud Music's gross margin was 36.1%, up 4.0 percentage points year-on-year, also exceeding expectations. Innovative and other businesses had a gross margin of 42.3%, up 8.3 percentage points year-on-year, while Youdao's gross margin was 42.9%, down 5.2 percentage points year-on-year [6][7] - Marketing expenses were 3.6 billion yuan, with a marketing expense ratio of 12.8%, down 0.9 percentage points year-on-year, indicating a return to historical spending levels after significant optimization in previous quarters [6][7]