Q1 2026 Zhihu Inc Earnings Call Transcript

Jun 3, 2026 / 11:00 AM GMT

Release Date Price: €2.58 (+0.78%)

Transcript

Key Points

Positve

Zhihu Inc (ZH) reported a strong start to 2026 with improved financial performance and operational efficiency.
Average daily time spent per DAU increased to approximately 42 minutes, indicating higher user engagement.
Revenue from paid content and IP operations grew by 15.8% sequentially, driven by strong IP operations.
The company successfully integrated AI capabilities across its platform, enhancing social interactions and content creation.
Zhihu Inc (ZH) maintained a strong cash position with RMB4.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026.

Negative

Total revenue for the quarter declined year-over-year from RMB729.7 million in Q1 2025 to RMB651.6 million in Q1 2026.
Gross margin decreased to 59.6% from 61.8% in the same period of 2025, although it improved sequentially.
Operating expenses remained high, with total operating expenses at RMB451.2 million, despite a year-over-year decrease.
The company faced challenges in the macro environment and industry competition, requiring a long-term perspective.
Research and development expenses decreased by 22.4% year-over-year, which could impact future innovation.

Refinitiv StreetEvents Event Transcript
E D I T E D V E R S I O N

2390.HK - Zhihu Inc
Q1 2026 Zhihu Inc Earnings Call
Jun 03, 2026 / 11:00AM GMT

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Presentation
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Unidentified_1 [1]
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Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to Chihu, Inc.'s First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call.

At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be question-and-answer session.

Today's conference is being recorded and webcasted.

At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Yolanda Liu, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am.

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Unidentified_2 [2]
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Thank you, Amber. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Zhihu's first quarter 2026 results conference

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