36Kr Holdings Inc.'s Earnings Calls: Profitability Timeline Shifts, Industrial Service Claims Clash

Date of Call: Mar 17, 2026

Financials Results

• Revenue: Full year: RMB 231.1M, down 1.5% YOY. H2 2025: RMB 134.8M, up 4.7% YOY
• EPS: Full year: Net income per ADS RMB 5.274, compared to net loss per ADS RMB 64.795 prior year. H2 2025: Net income per ADS RMB 7.616, compared to net loss per ADS RMB 19.999 prior year
• Gross Margin: Full year: 57.7%, up 9.1 percentage points YOY. H2 2025: 60%, up 8 percentage points YOY

Guidance:

• Cautiously optimistic about advertising growth trajectory for 2026, with revenue influenced by macroeconomic conditions and client budgets.
• Will continue to advance live streaming/video development, invest in content creation, and explore new formats.
• Confident in strengthening the resilience of the advertising business by empowering clients with premium content.

Business Commentary:

Profitability and Operational Breakthrough:

• 36Kr Holdings Inc. achieved a net profit of RMB 11 million for the full year of 2025, marking a significant operational breakthrough after 2 years of optimization.
• This profitability was driven by a focus on improving operating efficiency, optimizing financial structure, and integrating content innovation with commercialization.

Revenue and Gross Margin Improvement:

• The company's gross profit margin for the full year of 2025 increased to 57.7%, up 9 percentage points year-over-year, with a total gross profit increase of 17.1%.
• This improvement was mainly due to higher gross margins from brand advertising services and a strong rebound in their revenue.

Advertising Revenue and Client Growth:

• Online advertising services revenue for the full year of 2025 was RMB 179.7 million, relatively flat year-over-year, with a slight increase in the second half due to strong demand from AI and high-tech companies.
• The stability in advertising revenue was supported by solid partnerships and tailored promotion solutions that gained strong client approval.

Cost Management and Expense Reduction:

• Operating expenses for the full year of 2025 decreased by 36.1% to RMB 121.5 million, with significant reductions in sales and marketing, general and admin expenses, and R&D expenses.
• This was primarily due to disciplined operating expense management and a strategic workforce optimization.

User Growth and Content Expansion:

• The company ended 2025 with over 36.8 million followers, marking 19 consecutive quarters of user growth, and expanded video followers by 9.5 million.
• This growth was attributed to a consistent production of high-quality content across diverse formats and channels, enhancing user engagement and visibility.

Sentiment Analysis:

Overall Tone: Positive

• Achieved profitability after 2 years of operational optimization, marking 'a major operational breakthrough.' Reached a 'milestone achievement' with solid revenue and stable cash reserves. 'Cautiously optimistic' about 2026 advertising growth and confident in business resilience.

Q&A:

• Question from Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.): How do we see the advertising sections, the trend of advertising sections? And could you explain and analyze the margin, the growth of margin?
  Response: Cautiously optimistic about 2026 advertising growth despite macro challenges, driven by stable partnerships, new clients (over 50% in live streaming/video), and strong AI demand. Gross margin improved due to focus on high-margin businesses, streamlining low-margin operations, and cost control.

• Question from Rui Yin (Sealand Securities Co., Ltd., Research Division): What are the drivers behind the growth in value-added services?
  Response: Growth driven by strong performance of legacy IP events (e.g., WISE, AI Partner Conference) and a new 3-year strategic partnership for industry services. Additionally, new content channels like 36Kr Industry Future attracted significant page views and connected with over 200 industry projects.

Contradiction Point 1

Growth Outlook and Financial Targets

Contradiction on the company's profitability timeline and financial targets.

What were the key financial results discussed by Lingyi Zhao from SWS Research Co., Ltd.? - Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.)

2025Q4: We are cautiously optimistic for 2026... We will continue to improve content creation capabilities and optimize product metrics, focusing on achieving profitability. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

How is the advertising segment's trend contributing to the growth in margins? - Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.)

2025Q2: The company will continue to improve... with the prediction of having profits at the end of 2025. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

Contradiction Point 2

Status of the Industrial Service Business

Contradiction on the maturity and progress of the industrial service business.

Rui Yin (Sealand Securities Co., Ltd.) - Rui Yin (Sealand Securities Co., Ltd.)

2025Q4: Growth is driven by... The OpenTalk in 36Kr Industrial Belt project connected with >200 upstream/downstream companies and government entities. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

What are the key drivers of growth in value-added services? - Rui Yin (Sealand Securities Co., Ltd.)

2025Q2: Leveraging content influence, it has connected with over 200 upstream and downstream companies in local governments. It will continue to expand overseas ventures... has already begun operating a local government's global expansion service center in Hangzhou. In the first half, it hosted 11 events on global expansion and, as business adjustments are implemented, has identified 4 new commercial opportunities with optimized offerings. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

Contradiction Point 3

Strategic Business Focus and Optimization

Shift from optimizing low-margin businesses to aggressively expanding new verticals.

Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.) - Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.)

2025Q4: Growth drivers include: Expansion of subvertical channels for younger audiences... Live streaming and video commercialization... Increased AI-related demand. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

How do you assess the advertising section's trend and analyze the margin's growth? - Unidentified Analyst

2024Q4: The company proactively optimized its advertising products and customer base in 2024, adjusting certain low-margin, high-risk advertising businesses, which resulted in reduced costs and improved profitability. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

Contradiction Point 4

Advertising Business Outlook and Drivers

2026 outlook shifts from cautious optimism to specific, aggressive growth targets.

Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.) - Lingyi Zhao (SWS Research Co., Ltd.)

2025Q4: Cautiously optimistic for 2026... revenue remained stable due to solid partnerships... Growth drivers include: Expansion of subvertical channels... Live streaming and video commercialization... Increased AI-related demand. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

How do we see the advertising segment's trend and margin growth analysis? - Unidentified Analyst

2024Q4: The company is cautiously optimistic about 2025, confident in its ability to strengthen the resilience of its advertising business... - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

Contradiction Point 5

Growth Drivers for Value-Added Services

The primary drivers for value-added services growth are presented differently in two calls.

Rui Yin (Sealand Securities Co., Ltd.) - Rui Yin (Sealand Securities Co., Ltd.)

2025Q4: Growth is driven by two main factors: Strong Performance of Legacy IP Events... and Content Strategy and Strategic Partnerships... - [Dagang Feng](CEO)

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2024Q2: Key strategies include: enriching product metrics and service scenarios... launching the Waves Summit in October 2024... continuing to enhance value-added consulting services... and channeling strategic resources into overseas ventures. - [Dagang Feng](CEO)