Core Insights - Zhihu's Q3 2025 total revenue was 659 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 22% [2] - The net loss for Q3 2025 was 46.7 million yuan, compared to a net loss of 9 million yuan in the same period last year, indicating an expanded loss [2] - Adjusted net loss was 21 million yuan, up from an adjusted net loss of 13.1 million yuan year-on-year [2] Revenue Breakdown - Marketing services revenue for Q3 2025 was 189 million yuan, down 26.6% year-on-year, primarily due to ongoing optimization of service product offerings [4] - Paid membership revenue was 386 million yuan, a decrease of 16.1% year-on-year, attributed to a decline in average monthly subscription members [4] - Other revenues, including vocational education and consumer goods, totaled 83.9 million yuan, down 34.96% year-on-year, mainly due to strategic optimization in Zhihu's vocational training business [4] Expense Analysis - Total operating expenses for Q3 2025 were 503.5 million yuan, a decrease of 19.4% year-on-year [4] - Sales and marketing expenses were 330 million yuan, down 14.9% year-on-year, due to more restrained promotional spending and reduced personnel-related expenses [4] - R&D expenses were 114 million yuan, a significant decrease of 36.2% year-on-year, reflecting improved R&D efficiency [4] Membership and Financial Position - The average monthly subscription members reached 14.3 million, an increase of 8.1% quarter-on-quarter [5] - As of September 30, 2025, Zhihu's cash and cash equivalents, along with short-term investments, amounted to 4.5832 billion yuan [5] - Zhihu repurchased 31.1 million Class A ordinary shares for a total price of 66.5 million USD under its existing share repurchase plan [5] Management Commentary - The CFO of Zhihu stated that the non-GAAP operating loss narrowed by 16.3% year-on-year, reflecting strict cost management and improved operational efficiency [5] - The company aims to strengthen commercial resilience and explore new revenue models, leveraging its strengths in content quality, creator professionalism, and AI-driven innovation [5] Operational Challenges - Zhihu experienced three outages in the second half of the year, with one incident causing significant disruption across both web and mobile platforms, leading to widespread user complaints [6][7] - The CTO of Zhihu resigned for personal reasons on September 30, 2025, and as of November 28, 2025, no announcement regarding a successor has been made, indicating a potential vacancy in this critical role [7]

Core Insights - Zhihu reported a revenue of 659 million yuan for Q3 2025, with a year-on-year reduction in non-GAAP operating loss by 16.3% [1] Revenue Breakdown - The paid reading business generated 386 million yuan in revenue, accounting for 58.5% of total revenue [1] - Marketing services revenue reached 189 million yuan, representing 28.7% of total revenue [1] - Other businesses, including vocational education and consumer goods, contributed 83.9 million yuan, making up 12.8% of total revenue [1]

Core Insights - The recent outage of Zhihu, which affected both web and mobile platforms, unexpectedly brought the company back into public attention [1][4] - This incident occurred during a challenging period for Zhihu, as the company is experiencing significant declines in its core business performance [12][14] Summary by Sections Incident Overview - On October 17, Zhihu faced a widespread outage, causing users to experience loading issues and account logouts [2] - Users reacted with confusion, initially blaming their devices or internet connections for the problems [5][6][7] - The outage particularly impacted users who rely on the platform for leisure during work or study [8][10] Business Performance - Zhihu reported a total revenue of 1.447 billion yuan for the first half of 2025, a significant decline of 23.7% year-over-year [12][13] - The three main business segments—marketing services, paid memberships, and vocational training—saw substantial revenue drops, with marketing services down 37.8% to 420 million yuan and paid memberships down 7.1% [13][14] - The number of paid subscribers decreased from 14.7 million to 13.7 million, indicating a loss of 1 million users [13] Profitability and Cost Management - Despite the revenue decline, Zhihu achieved a net profit of 62.37 million yuan in the first half of 2025, largely due to significant cost-cutting measures [14][15] - Total operating expenses decreased by 30.9%, with notable reductions in sales, research and development, and management costs [14][15] - The strategy of prioritizing profit over growth raises concerns about long-term sustainability and competitiveness, particularly in terms of innovation and technical stability [15] Leadership Changes - The recent resignation of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) adds to the uncertainty surrounding Zhihu's strategic direction, especially as the company focuses on AI initiatives [15] - The timing of the CTO's departure, close to the outage incident, raises questions about the impact of leadership instability on technical maintenance and infrastructure [15]

Core Insights - The company reported better-than-expected adjusted net profit of 91.34 million yuan for Q2 2025, despite a revenue decline of 23% year-on-year to 717 million yuan, which was slightly below the expected 730 million yuan [1][2] - The company is seeing initial success from business adjustments, particularly in marketing services and paid membership, with expectations for a turning point in upcoming quarters [1][2] Revenue and Profit Trends - Q2 2025 revenue from marketing services decreased by 35% year-on-year, but the company is optimistic about future improvements in the advertising structure [1] - Paid membership revenue fell by 7% year-on-year, but the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) is expected to grow by 3% [1] - The company is shifting its focus towards acquiring long-lifecycle users and enhancing user engagement through new content formats [1] AI Integration and Community Value - The company upgraded its core AI product, Zhihu Zhidao, enhancing its knowledge base functionality, which has led to a significant increase in active usage penetration [2] - The presence of 365,000 professional creators in discussions related to technology and AI highlights the growing value of the company's content community [2] - The company’s quality content is becoming a valuable data asset, with AI assistants citing Zhihu more frequently than other content communities [2] Financial Performance and Share Buyback - The company achieved adjusted profitability for three consecutive quarters, with a decrease in operating expense ratio by 4 percentage points year-on-year [2] - In the first half of 2025, the company repurchased 7.42 million shares, representing about 3% of the total share capital [2] Revenue and Profit Forecast - Revenue forecasts for 2025 and 2026 have been revised down by 8.2% and 9.9% to 2.82 billion yuan and 2.97 billion yuan, respectively, due to ongoing adjustments in marketing services and vocational training [2] - Adjusted net profit for 2025 has been revised from a loss of 72.86 million yuan to a profit of 31.80 million yuan, while the 2026 adjusted net profit forecast has been reduced from 140 million yuan to 77.07 million yuan [2] - The current stock price corresponds to 1.0 times the price-to-sales ratio for 2025/2026, with a target price of 16 HKD/6.1 USD, indicating an upside potential of 25%/24% [2]

Core Viewpoint - The company reported its first non-GAAP net profit since its IPO in Q1 2025, continuing the profitability trend from Q4 2024, despite a 24% year-over-year decline in revenue [1][3]. Revenue Summary - Q1 2025 revenue was 730 million yuan, down from 960 million yuan in Q1 2024 [3]. - Revenue sources include marketing services, paid memberships, vocational training, and others, with paid memberships contributing the largest share at 420 million yuan, a 7% decrease from 450 million yuan year-over-year [3]. - The average monthly paid subscribers decreased to 14.2 million from 14.8 million in the previous year [3]. - Marketing services revenue fell to 200 million yuan, a 40.4% decline from 330 million yuan in the same period last year [3]. - Vocational training and other segments generated 94.5 million yuan and 20.3 million yuan, respectively, with vocational training revenue down 35% due to reduced contributions from acquired businesses [3]. Expense Summary - Total operating expenses decreased by 34.4% to 500 million yuan from 770 million yuan in Q1 2024 [4]. - Sales and marketing expenses dropped to 320 million yuan, a 32.9% reduction from 480 million yuan [4]. - R&D expenses decreased by 28.1% to 140 million yuan from 200 million yuan [4]. - General and administrative expenses fell by 55.6% to 41.2 million yuan from 92.9 million yuan [4]. Profitability and Financial Position - The company achieved a non-GAAP net profit of 6.9 million yuan in Q1 2025, compared to a net loss of 136 million yuan in the same period last year [3]. - Gross margin improved by 5.2 percentage points year-over-year, indicating enhanced operational efficiency [4]. - As of the end of Q1 2025, the company had cash and cash equivalents totaling 4.77 billion yuan [5]. - The company's stock price was reported at $3.93, with a total market capitalization of $345 million [5].