36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
Overview
The earnings call reveals a strong financial turnaround with significant improvements in gross profit margin, operating expenses, and net profit. The Q&A section confirms management's optimism about future advertising growth and value-added services. Despite macroeconomic challenges, strategic partnerships and innovative content strategies are expected to drive future growth. The absence of unclear responses enhances credibility. Overall, the positive financial metrics, strategic focus on high-margin businesses, and management's confidence in future growth contribute to a positive sentiment.
Key Financial Performance
Gross Profit Margin 57.7%, an increase of 9 percentage points year-over-year. The increase was driven by higher gross margin from brand advertising services and a strong rebound in revenue from these services.
Operating Expenses Decreased by almost RMB 70 million year-over-year. This was due to disciplined operating expense management.
Net Profit RMB 11 million for the year, compared to a net loss of RMB 140.8 million in the previous year. The turnaround was driven by cost control, high-margin business focus, reduction in impairment loss on long-term investment, and improved receivables collection.
Total Revenue (Second Half 2025) RMB 134.8 million, an increase of 4.7% year-over-year. The increase was primarily due to strong advertising demand from AI and high-tech companies.
Online Advertising Services Revenue (Second Half 2025) RMB 105.2 million, an increase of 5% year-over-year. The increase was driven by strong advertising demand from AI and high-tech companies.
Enterprise Value-Added Services Revenue (Second Half 2025) RMB 20.9 million, an increase of 7.7% year-over-year. The increase was due to innovative marketing solutions and proactive sales strategies.
Subscription Services Revenue (Full Year 2025) RMB 15.1 million, a decrease of 14.2% year-over-year. The decrease was due to a strategy shift in training services and a focus on refining the customer base.
Cost of Revenues (Full Year 2025) RMB 96.4 million, a decrease of 18.8% year-over-year. The decrease was due to strict cost control measures.
Gross Profit (Full Year 2025) RMB 131.5 million, an increase of 17.1% year-over-year. The increase was due to higher gross margin from brand advertising services and a strong rebound in revenue from these services.
Operating Expenses (Full Year 2025) RMB 121.5 million, a decrease of 36.1% year-over-year. The decrease was due to disciplined operating expense management.
Sales and Marketing Expenses (Full Year 2025) RMB 66.4 million, a decrease of 19.6% year-over-year. The decrease was due to reduced payroll-related expenses, travel and entertainment expenses, and marketing and promotional expenses.
General and Administrative Expenses (Full Year 2025) RMB 42.4 million, a decrease of 54.5% year-over-year. The decrease was due to reduced personnel-related expenses and provision of allowance for credit losses.
Research and Development Expenses (Full Year 2025) RMB 12.7 million, a decrease of 11.8% year-over-year. The decrease was due to a reduction in R&D headcount following a team restructuring, partially offset by increased salaries and bonuses.
Net Income (Full Year 2025) RMB 11.4 million, compared to a net loss of RMB 140.8 million in the previous year. The turnaround was driven by cost control, high-margin business focus, reduction in impairment loss on long-term investment, and improved receivables collection.
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, and Short-Term Investments RMB 116.1 million as of December 31, 2025, an increase of 25.5% year-over-year. The increase was due to effective cash management and operational efficiency.
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Operating Highlights
Content Ecosystem Expansion: 36Kr expanded its content dissemination network across platforms like Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Zhihu, Bilibili, Toutiao, and Kuaishou. They introduced new content formats such as text, graphics, short- and long-form videos, audio, and live streaming. They also launched new content channels like 36Kr Industry Future, focusing on urban innovation and state-of-the-art technologies.
AI Product Launches: 36Kr launched AI-focused products such as AI review hub (36aiDianping.com), AI meeting coverage, and corporate Omni-Intelligence. These products enhance content production efficiency and provide AI-powered sentiment analysis for public companies.
Global Expansion: 36Kr achieved breakthroughs in live streaming content innovation and formed commercial partnerships, such as with Tantan. They also partnered with Hangzhou Culture Radio Television Group for live streaming at the Global Digital Trade Expo, achieving over 2.7 million online attendees.
Profitability Achievement: 36Kr turned profitable in 2025 with a net profit of RMB 11 million, driven by cost optimization and high-margin business focus. Gross profit margin increased to 57.7%, and operating expenses decreased by 36.1% year-over-year.
Cost Optimization: Operating expenses decreased significantly due to disciplined management, including reductions in payroll, travel, and marketing expenses.
AI Integration: 36Kr integrated AIGC technology into its operations, enhancing content production and commercialization efficiency. They also expanded AI applications across industries, leveraging synergies between AIGC and content production.
Industrial Service Commercialization: 36Kr entered a 3-year strategic partnership with Hangzhou Qiantang New Area Construction and Investment Group to develop corporate empowerment services and operational frameworks.
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Risk or Challenges
Forward-looking statements: The discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties, which could lead to materially different results than expected.
Revenue dependency on AI and high-tech sectors: The company's revenue growth is heavily reliant on strong advertising demand from AI and high-tech companies, which may expose it to sector-specific risks.
Subscription services revenue decline: Subscription services revenue decreased by 14.2% year-over-year, attributed to a strategic shift and focus on refining the customer base, which could impact future revenue streams.
Cost control measures: While cost control measures have reduced expenses, they may limit the company's ability to invest in growth opportunities or innovation.
R&D headcount reduction: A reduction in R&D headcount could hinder the company's ability to innovate and maintain a competitive edge.
Dependence on live streaming and video commercialization: The company's increasing reliance on live streaming and video commercialization for revenue growth could be risky if these formats lose popularity or face market saturation.
Global expansion challenges: Efforts in global expansion and live streaming content innovation may face challenges in scaling effectively and maintaining profitability.
AI product integration risks: The integration of AI products and tools into content production and commercialization activities may face technical or adoption challenges, impacting efficiency and customer outreach.
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Guidance & Outlook
Financial Health and Profitability: The company plans to maintain financial health as a foundational core of its development, consistently optimizing cost structure and improving operating efficiency to ensure stable cash flow and profitability.
Content Ecosystem Expansion: 36Kr will continue to fortify its content ecosystem by driving commercialization breakthroughs on diverse fronts and broadening its business roadmap by actively expanding AI applications across industries.
AI Applications and Technological Innovation: The company aims to deeply integrate technological innovation with its content assets and industrial services to empower high-quality growth for technology enterprises. It will actively promote AI applications across diverse business scenarios, enhancing content production and commercialization efficiency.
Live Streaming and Video Content: 36Kr plans to explore new live streaming formats and scenarios, building richer content scenarios and more diverse service models for users and clients.
Industrial Service Commercialization: The company will focus on key sectors driving urban industrial transformation and future industry development, including low LTG economy, commercial aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and new energy and materials. It aims to foster deep collaborations and commercial partnerships in these areas.
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Shareholder Return Plan
The selected topic was not discussed during the call.
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Key Q&A
Q:How do we see the advertising sections, the trend of advertising sections?
A:Management is cautiously optimistic about advertising growth for 2026. Advertising revenue is influenced by macroeconomic headwinds and clients' budgets. Despite challenges, revenue remained stable due to strong partnerships with key accounts and leading brands, leveraging subvertical channels like Oh! Youth and Tide, and new formats like AI Insider. In 2025, live streaming revenue grew by 40%, and subvertical media channels for younger audiences grew by over 50%. Management plans to continue investing in content creation, live streaming, and key content verticals like AI and global expansion in 2026.
Q:Could you explain and analyze the margin, the growth of margin?
A:Gross profit margin improved substantially last year due to a focus on high-margin businesses, streamlining low-margin operations, and implementing cost control initiatives.
Q:What are the drivers behind the growth in value-added services?
A:Growth was driven by successful legacy IP events in 2025, such as WISE and AI Partner Conference, and partnerships like the 3-year strategic collaboration with Hangzhou Qiantan New Area. Restructured content strategy and organizational structure also contributed. New content channels like 36Kr Industry Future spotlighting urban innovation and emerging industries gained traction, with notable articles and events connecting over 200 companies and local governments.
Q:Review of Unclear Management Responses
A:None of the questions were avoided or lacked clarity. Management provided detailed and specific responses to all questions.
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Earnings Word Cloud
The most frequently occurring keywords in this quarter's earning call
AGI
AI Insider
AI review
AIGC technology
Conference
DeepSeek
Expo
Future
Hangzhou
Intelligence
Kr press
Mr Dagang
New Area
Qiantang New
WAIC
WAVES
WISE
World
Xiaohongshu
Youth Tide
addition AI
appeal
application industry
area content
commercialization breakthrough
commercialization channel
content commercialization
core
exhibition
health
influence industry
number client
recognition
service commercialization
start ups
stream view
streaming video
tech account
user review
video streaming
KRKR Transcript
36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive3-17
The earnings call reveals a strong financial turnaround with significant improvements in gross profit margin, operating expenses, and net profit. The Q&A section confirms management's optimism about future advertising growth and value-added services. Despite macroeconomic challenges, strategic partnerships and innovative content strategies are expected to drive future growth. The absence of unclear responses enhances credibility. Overall, the positive financial metrics, strategic focus on high-margin businesses, and management's confidence in future growth contribute to a positive sentiment.
36Kr Holdings Inc. (KRKR) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive9-26
The earnings call indicates improved financial health through cost management and operational efficiency, resulting in a significant reduction in net loss. Despite revenue declines, gross margin improvements and strong future guidance, including profitability expectations by year-end, are positive indicators. The Q&A section highlights strategic global expansion and innovation in AI, further supporting a positive outlook. However, the lack of market cap information limits the precision of the prediction.
Earnings call transcript: 36Kr Holdings Q4 2024 sees revenue drop, stock gains
Unknown4-8
The earnings call reveals significant revenue declines across all segments, increased net losses, and declining gross margins, despite cost reduction efforts. The Q&A section shows cautious optimism but lacks specifics on future revenue projections. The absence of shareholder return plans further dampens sentiment. Overall, the financial underperformance and lack of clear guidance suggest a negative market reaction.
36Kr Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:KRKR) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript
Unknown3-12
The earnings call reveals significant declines in revenue, gross profit, and increased net losses, despite cost-cutting measures. The Q&A section highlights unclear management responses and ongoing economic uncertainties affecting revenue. While there is cautious optimism about advertising growth and AI initiatives, the overall sentiment is negative due to weak financial performance and lack of clear guidance, suggesting a negative stock price reaction.
KRKR Report
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this earnings call transcript come from?
All transcripts are sourced directly from the official live webcast or the company’s official investor relations website. We use the exact words spoken during the call with no paraphrasing of the core discussion.
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No material content is ever changed or summarized in the “Full Transcript” section. We only correct obvious spoken typos (e.g., “um”, “ah”, repeated 10 times”, or clear misspoken ticker symbols) and add speaker names/titles for readability. Every substantive sentence remains 100% as spoken.
Why do some answers appear as “Unclear” or “Inaudible”?
When audio quality is poor or multiple speakers talk over each other, we mark the section instead of guessing. This ensures complete accuracy rather than introducing potential errors.
Who creates the AI Summary and Key Q&A highlights shown above the transcript?
They are generated by a specialized financial-language model trained exclusively on 15+ years of earnings transcripts. The model extracts financial figures, guidance, and tone with 97%+ accuracy and is regularly validated against human analysts. The full raw transcript always remains available for verification.
