실적분석 2026년 8월 26일

Zhihu ($ZH) Q2 2026 Earnings Analysis — Revenue Misses Consensus, Swings to Loss, After-Hours Decline

Earnings Scorecard

Revenue: RMB 690.1 million (USD 101.7 million, Q2 2026) (-3.7% year-over-year, vs. expectation of USD 714 million) ❌ Miss

EPS (per ADS): Diluted net loss per ADS of RMB 0.49 (USD 0.07, Q2 2026) — swung to a loss from net income per ADS of RMB 0.88 in the year-ago period ❌ Miss

Guidance: Not provided — the press release contains no next-quarter or full-year revenue or earnings outlook figures

Stock Reaction: After-hours -3.48% ($3.05) — as of 08-26 20:46 Korea Standard Time

The Positives

Paid Content & IP +4.3%: RMB 425.9 million (Q2 2026), up from RMB 408.2 million a year earlier

Operating Loss Narrows 16.6%: RMB 75.9 million (Q2 2026), down from RMB 91.0 million a year ago

Revenue +5.9% Sequentially: Supported by R&D expense cuts of 25.4% and administrative expense reductions of 22.7%

The fact that intellectual property was the only growth engine among the core businesses aligns with the transformation direction the company has been highlighting. Cost discipline has been confirmed in the numbers, and average monthly subscribing members held steady at 13.1 million, unchanged from Q1. The company also repurchased 6.5 million shares for USD 7.2 million during the quarter alone.

The Negatives

Revenue Contraction Continues: RMB 690.1 million (Q2 2026), down 3.7% year-over-year

Gross Margin 57.0%: Down 5.5 percentage points from 62.5% a year ago, driven by higher content costs

Net Loss of RMB 374 Million: Swing from net income of RMB 725 million a year earlier

The margin decline is the result of higher content costs as the company widens its content offerings, and this pressure is likely to persist in the near term. While the swing from profit to loss appears large, a significant portion is attributable to the disappearance of a RMB 1,408.4 million revaluation gain on unlisted investments recorded in Q2 last year; on an adjusted basis, the company still posted a loss of RMB 10.3 million, indicating that the core business itself has yet to return to profitability.

What Management Said

Management made clear that the new businesses remain in the commercial-validation stage, taking a cautious stance of allocating resources based on demand and investment payback. The absence of specific earnings guidance leaves the market to gauge the timing of a recovery on its own.

Market Reaction and Key Things to Watch

With revenue falling short of expectations combined with no guidance on next-quarter direction, the positive signal of sequential improvement failed to translate into the share price.

Whether paid content and intellectual property revenue continues to grow year-over-year next quarter

Whether gross margin recovers from 57.0% back toward the 60% range

Whether adjusted-basis earnings return to profitability, and whether AI-related new businesses begin to contribute to revenue