실적분석 2026년 8월 18일

iQIYI ($IQ) Q2 2026 Earnings Analysis — Adjusted Loss Beats, but Revenue Decline Sends Stock Lower After-Hours

Earnings Scorecard

Revenue: 6.287 billion yuan (about $927 million) (year-over-year -5%, estimate 6.322 billion yuan) ❌ Miss

EPS (Earnings Per Share): Adjusted diluted -$0.02 (estimate -$0.09) ✅ Beat · GAAP diluted -$0.04

Guidance: Not provided — no next-quarter or full-year revenue/EPS outlook

Stock Reaction: After-hours -5.26% (-$1.26) — as of 08-18 20:57 Korea time

Positives

#1 Content Share: #1 domestically in long-form drama, film, and kids' content; achieved first-ever #1 in short-form in June

Operating Cash Flow Turns Positive: Operating cash inflow of 340 million yuan (about $50 million), reversing outflow from the prior-year period

Share Buyback Execution: Under the $100 million program authorized in March, approximately 21.8 million ADSs were repurchased for $24.1 million

Sequential quarter-over-quarter, revenue increased slightly and the operating loss narrowed meaningfully, with the CFO emphasizing continued sequential improvement. Selling, general and administrative expense discipline (down 22% year-over-year) added a cost-control signal.

Negatives

Revenue Down 5% Year-over-Year: Membership and online advertising revenue each fell 2%, weighing on the core business

One-Time Tax Hit: A China subsidiary adjustment resulted in a one-time corporate tax and interest charge of 194 million yuan (about $28.5 million) (total quarterly corporate tax expense was 220 million yuan)

Other Revenue Plunges 58%: A change in certain business partnership arrangements sharply reduced other revenue

Net loss attributable to iQIYI widened to 288 million yuan (about $42.4 million) compared with the prior-year period. GAAP operating loss margin also widened to 2% from 1% a year earlier, and the absence of numerical guidance makes it difficult to gauge the pace of recovery.

What Management Said

Management highlighted content competitiveness and the early progress of the decentralized social and AI pivot, placing weight on the sequential revenue recovery and operating loss narrowing. With no numerical guidance provided, the company signaled shareholder return commitment through buybacks, and the market read the quarter as "improving, but with an unclear road ahead."

Market Reaction and What to Watch

The revenue miss and continued losses appeared to weigh more heavily than the adjusted per-share loss beat. The one-time tax charge that widened the net loss, combined with the absence of forward-looking company guidance, also added pressure.

Whether membership and advertising revenue will halt the year-over-year declines

Whether net income will normalize once the one-time tax item rolls off

Whether the short-form and AI pivot will translate into actual revenue and margin gains