Zhihu Q1 Revenue Declines to RMB651.6M While Adjusted Profit Up 147%
ZH•Zhihu Inc. reported Q1 2026 revenue of RMB651.6 million with gross margin at 59.6% and a net loss narrowed 15.6% to RMB8.5 million, while non-GAAP net income rose 147.2% to RMB17.2 million. The company repurchased US$4.2 million Class A shares in Q1 and appointed Mr. Qu Chen as non-executive director replacing Bing Yu.
1. Q1 2026 Financial Results
Zhihu reported total Q1 revenue of RMB651.6 million, down from RMB729.7 million year-over-year, including RMB191.4 million from marketing services, RMB402.3 million from paid content and IP operations, and RMB57.8 million from other services. Gross profit was RMB388.3 million with a 59.6% margin as cost of revenues fell 5.5% to RMB263.2 million. Total operating expenses decreased 10.4% to RMB451.2 million, driven by cuts in selling, marketing and R&D spending, resulting in a net loss of RMB8.5 million and a non-GAAP net income of RMB17.2 million.
2. Board Change and Share Repurchases
During Q1, Zhihu repurchased 3.7 million Class A ordinary shares for US$4.2 million under its share repurchase program, bringing total repurchases to 34.8 million shares for US$70.7 million. Effective June 3, the board appointed Mr. Qu Chen as a non-executive director replacing Mr. Bing Yu; Mr. Chen has over 13 years of experience in strategic investment, capital markets and business analytics.
