User Growth and Engagement
Daily active users (DAUs) rose 8% YoY to 115 million; monthly active users (MAUs) reached 376 million. Average daily time spent hit a new high of 119 minutes (up 11 minutes YoY), driving total user time spent up 19% YoY.
Bilibili
· BILI
May 19th, 2026
Summary
- Earnings Call Date:
- 2026-05-19
- Change Since:
- -19.30%
- Next Earnings Date:
- 2026-08-13
Earnings Call Sentiment
PositiveThe call presents a largely positive picture: robust user engagement and monetization improvements (notably 30% ad growth, 19% total user time spent increase, and 62% adjusted net profit growth) alongside continued margin expansion and a healthy cash position. Near-term challenges include a 12% YoY decline in games revenue, modest VAS growth, and stepped-up AI-related spending (Q1 CapEx +80% YoY and ~RMB 1 billion expected incremental full‑year CapEx). Management expects AI investments to drive long-term efficiency and monetization gains while maintaining margin targets (mid-term gross margin 45% and operating margin 15–20%). Overall, highlights materially outweigh the lowlights.
Company Guidance
Management guided that Q2 advertising revenue should “maintain rapid growth” as AI-driven efficiency gains continue to feed monetization, with automated ad spending penetration already ~85% and CTCVR for performance ads +25% YoY; ad channels such as PC/OTT grew >50% YoY while search and mini‑program scenarios more than doubled, AI advertiser budgets surged >170% YoY and home‑decoration ad spending was up >130% YoY. They expect gross margin to continue improving and net‑profit margin to have “further room to increase,” while reaffirming mid‑to‑long‑term targets of ~45% gross margin and a 15–20% operating profit ratio. On AI investment, Q1 CapEx rose ~80% YoY to ~RMB200m, and full‑year AI‑related CapEx is expected to rise by ~RMB1.0bn with an estimated P&L impact of ~RMB500m; management said some OpEx will be curtailed to offset this. For context, Q1 results included total revenue RMB7.5bn (+7% YoY), ad revenue RMB2.6bn (+30% YoY), adjusted operating profit RMB524m (7.0% margin) and adjusted net profit RMB585m (7.8% margin), and the company ended Q1 with RMB24.2bn cash and completed a share repurchase of 9.9m shares (USD60.3m repurchased in Q1).
Strong Advertising Momentum
Advertising revenue grew 30% YoY to RMB 2.6 billion, marking the 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit ad growth. Ad revenues from PC and OTT rose over 50% YoY; search and mini programs more than doubled. Performance ad conversion (CTCVR) improved ~25% YoY and automated ad penetration reached ~85%.
Revenue and Profitability Improvement
Total revenue increased 7% YoY to RMB 7.5 billion. Gross profit grew 9% YoY to RMB 2.8 billion and gross margin expanded to 37.1% (from 36.3%), the 15th consecutive quarter of margin expansion. Operating profit was RMB 167 million (over 10x YoY); adjusted operating profit RMB 524 million (7.0% margin). Adjusted net profit was RMB 585 million, up 62% YoY, with adjusted net profit margin of 7.8% (vs. 5.2% prior).
Creator and Content Ecosystem Strength
Daily active creators rose 6% YoY and daily submissions increased 19% YoY. Creators with >1,000 followers grew >30% YoY; creators with 10k/100k/1M+ followers grew >20% YoY. Average income per creator rose 24% YoY. Official members totaled 291 million with an ~80% 12-month retention rate.
VAS and Fan Monetization Growth
Value-added services (VAS) revenue was RMB 2.9 billion, up 4% YoY. Premium members reached 24.8 million (up 5% YoY), ~80% on annual/auto-renew plans. Fan charging revenue increased over 50% YoY, indicating stronger direct support for creators.
Content Category Expansion
Category watch-time gains: games and Chinese anime categories up 27% and 20% YoY respectively; knowledge-based content (including AI topics) up 20% YoY; music up 25% YoY; parenting/early education and outdoor categories surged >50% YoY.
Healthy Balance Sheet and Share Buyback
Cash, cash equivalents, time deposits and short-term investments totaled RMB 24.2 billion (USD 3.5 billion) as of March 31, 2026. Completed USD 200 million repurchase program (9.9 million shares repurchased); Q1 repurchases were 2.5 million shares for USD 60.3 million. Board is considering renewal.
Product & Pipeline Progress (Games and IP)
Pipeline progress: NCard (Three Kingdom casual card game) soft-launched with positive feedback and targeted official launch in July; new SLG San Guo testing positive and planned rollout later in the year; Lumi Master entered paid/global testing in May with a targeted global launch in Q4. Escape from Tarkov-like title (Escape from Duckov) sold over 4 million copies, supporting IP expansion.
Operator
Good day, and welcome to Bilibili's First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Business Update Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Juliet Yang, Executive Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Juliet Yang
Thank you, operator. During this call, we'll discuss our business outlook and make forward-looking statements. These comments are based on our predictions and expectations as of today. Actual events or results could differ materially from those mentioned in today's news release and in this discussion due to a number of risks and uncertainties and including those mentioned in our most recent filings with the SEC and Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The non-GAAP financial measure will provide are for comparison purpose only. The definition of this measure and the reconciliation table are available in the news release we issued earlier today. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. In addition, an investor presentation and a webcast replay of this conference call will be available on the Bilibili IR website at ir.bilibili.com.
Joining us today from Bilibili senior management are Mr. Rui Chen, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer; Ms. Ni Li, Vice Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Operating Officer; and Mr. Xin Fan, Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call to Mr. Chen.
Rui Chen
Thank you, Juliet, and thank you to everyone joining us today. 2026 is off to a great start for Bilibili. In the first quarter, we kept up the momentum from last year, delivering solid growth across our community, commerc...
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