Zhihu's 2025 revenue reaches 2.75 billion yuan: achieving the full-year profit target for the first time

Ask AI · How can AI capabilities work together with the content ecosystem to drive commercialization and growth?

Lei Diri Network, Le Tian, March 25

Zhihu (NYSE: ZH; HKEX: 2390) today released its 2025 fourth-quarter and full-year results report. The report shows that Zhihu’s fourth-quarter revenue was 644 million yuan; full-year 2025 revenue was 2.75 billion yuan; and its adjusted net profit for full-year 2025 was 37.9 million yuan.

This is Zhihu’s first time achieving full-year profitability under non-GAAP accounting standards.

Since the fourth quarter of 2024, Zhihu has delivered non-GAAP profitability for three consecutive quarters.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Zhihu continued to explore upgrades to its business model and optimized the mix of its revenue. Among them, its paid reading business contributed 334 million yuan in revenue, accounting for 51.8%; marketing services revenue reached 235 million yuan, accounting for 36.5%, including other businesses such as education, consumer products, and copyright, which contributed 75.2 million yuan in revenue and accounted for 11.7%. As of the end of the fourth quarter, Zhihu’s total cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, restricted funds, and short-term investments amounted to 4.45 billion yuan.

On the operational side, Zhihu has driven the community ecosystem into a virtuous cycle through the coordinated evolution of “high-quality content × expert network × AI capabilities.” At the same time, Zhihu’s paid users remain consistently active, with an average of 12.2 million subscription members per month.

In the paid reading segment, the growth potential for monetizing IP derived from the expansion of quality paid-content sections is substantial. In the fourth quarter, revenue contributed by IP copyrights increased by more than 5 times year over year; for the full year, the size of the author base benefiting from copyright revenue increased by 6 times year over year. Leveraging its in-house high-quality original storytelling platform, YanYan Stories, Zhihu has built a path of “quality content accumulation—structured IP asset creation—reusable capabilities across multiple scenarios,” enabling original content to extend beyond single reading consumption into broader content scenarios, thereby realizing long-term value release of content and compounding growth.

In the marketing services segment, marketing services revenue in the fourth quarter was 235 million yuan, accelerating its rebound, with quarter-over-quarter growth of 24%. Benefiting from ongoing investment and firm execution focused on optimizing the customer mix and upgrading commercial products, Zhihu’s commercial IP and services have continuously strengthened their appeal to customers and their contribution to revenue.

Looking ahead, Zhihu will continue to invest in innovative businesses, explore growth directions, and enhance its positive impact on the community ecosystem and commercial revenue. It will accelerate the coordinated evolution of “high-quality content × expert network × AI capabilities,” continually strengthening the ecosystem moat of the community and its influence across the entire network. Building on its paid reading business and the YanYan Stories brand, it will strengthen its AI web-episode animation industry layout to unlock the full-chain potential of original content IP. And by leveraging strong data advantages and its accumulation of high-quality IP, it will accelerate AI-driven commercialization exploration, opening up even greater potential for business growth.

Zhihu’s founder, Chairman and CEO Zhou Yuan said: “2025 is a structural turning point for Zhihu. Building on the foundation of our first-quarter non-GAAP profit in the fourth quarter of 2024, we achieved non-GAAP profitability for the full year for the first time in 2025. This milestone shows that the transformation to high-quality growth has effectively strengthened our operating model and earnings resilience. In the fourth quarter, we made steady progress in community ecosystem development and commercialization efficiency. Looking ahead to 2026, while solidifying the foundation of our core business, we will accelerate our AI-related commercialization exploration. Relying on our large expert network, trustworthy content assets, and diverse real user scenarios, we are building a differentiated moat around the community and further enhancing Zhihu’s strategic position within a broader AI ecosystem.”

Zhihu’s CFO Wang Han said: “2025 marks a structural upgrade to Zhihu’s financial position. Through ongoing cost control, improving operating leverage, and strengthening expenditure management, we achieved full-year non-GAAP profitability for the first time, while maintaining a healthy gross margin. Looking ahead to 2026, we will focus on raising profitability quality and scalability by prioritizing revenue sources with higher profit margins and higher capital efficiency. At the same time, we will continue to adhere to rigorous capital allocation strategies, including share repurchases, to support long-term shareholder value.”

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