Q2 FY2026
Filed Aug 19, 2026Weibo reported 2% year-over-year net-revenue growth in Q2 2026, but lower advertising revenue, higher costs and expenses, and investment-related losses reduced GAAP and non-GAAP earnings.
Net revenues increased 2% year-over-year and VAS revenues increased 19%, while advertising and marketing revenues decreased 1%. Costs and expenses increased 12%, operating margin declined to 26% from 33%, and net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders declined to US$67.4 million from US$125.7 million.
Key metrics
as reported| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenuesGAAP | US$453.8 million | – | an increase of 2% |
| Net revenues on a constant currency basisnon-GAAP | a decrease of 4% year-over-year | – | a decrease of 4% year-over-year |
| Cost of revenuesGAAP | $129,804 thousand | – | – |
| Sales and marketing expenseGAAP | $118,752 thousand | – | – |
| Product development expenseGAAP | $75,425 thousand | – | – |
| General and administrative expenseGAAP | $10,986 thousand | – | – |
| Total costs and expensesGAAP | US$335.0 million | – | an increase of 12% |
| Income from operationsGAAP | US$118.9 million | – | – |
| Operating marginGAAP | 26% | – | – |
| Non-GAAP income from operationsnon-GAAP | US$125.4 million | – | – |
| Non-GAAP operating marginnon-GAAP | 28% | – | – |
| Investment related income (loss), netGAAP | $(22,755) thousand | – | – |
| Interest and other income (loss), netGAAP | $(5,088) thousand | – | – |
| Non-operating income (loss)GAAP | US$(27.8) million | – | – |
| Income before income tax expensesGAAP | $91,016 thousand | – | – |
| Income tax expensesGAAP | US$23.0 million | – | – |
| Net incomeGAAP | $68,058 thousand | – | – |
| Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholdersGAAP | US$67.4 million | – | – |
| Basic net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholdersGAAP | $0.28 | – | – |
| Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholdersGAAP | US$0.26 | – | – |
| Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholdersnon-GAAP | US$102.7 million | – | – |
| Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholdersnon-GAAP | US$0.38 | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDAnon-GAAP | $133,166 thousand | – | – |
| Monthly active usersother | 561 million in June 2026 | – | – |
| Average daily active usersother | 254 million in June 2026 | – | – |
| Cash provided by operating activitiesGAAP | US$50.5 million | – | – |
| Capital expendituresGAAP | US$3.1 million | – | – |
| Depreciation and amortization expensesGAAP | US$15.7 million | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising and marketingThe decrease was primarily due to the descending trend of advertising demands from handset and online game sectors year-over-year, partially offset by increased advertising revenues from internet service and automobile sectors and favorable foreign exchange impact. | US$381.0 million | – | a decrease of 1% |
| Advertising and marketing excluding advertising revenues from AlibabaThe decrease was primarily due to the descending trend of advertising demands from handset and online game sectors year-over-year, partially offset by increased advertising revenues from internet service and automobile sectors and favorable foreign exchange impact. | US$341.8 million | – | a decrease of 2% |
| Advertising and marketing revenues from AlibabaThe increase was primarily attributable to favorable foreign exchange impact and a modest increase in advertising demands from Alibaba mainly due to its AI application promotion. | US$39.2 million | – | an increase of 10% |
| Value-added servicesGrowth was primarily attributable to additional revenues of one-off ticket proceeds from off-line activities held by Weibo, solid growth from membership service, and favorable foreign exchange impact. | US$72.9 million | – | an increase of 19% |
What drove it
- Information-feed revamp supported solid engagement among core users and increased consumption in the information feeds.
- Video consumption continued to improve, supported by better content distribution within the revamped feed and increased supply of high quality contents.
- Management cited solid performance from certain pillar industries and good momentum in celebrity marketing.
- The company said it made progress integrating AI across product, content and monetization systems.
- VAS revenue growth included one-off ticket proceeds from off-line activities and membership-service growth.
- Favorable foreign exchange impact supported reported advertising and VAS revenue figures year over year.
Concerns
- Advertising and marketing revenues decreased 1% year-over-year, with non-Alibaba advertising and marketing revenues decreasing 2%.
- Management cited descending advertising demand from handset and online game sectors year-over-year.
- Costs and expenses increased 12% year-over-year, mainly due to increases in ad production costs and marketing expenses.
- GAAP operating margin declined to 26% from 33%, and non-GAAP operating margin declined to 28% from 36%.
- Non-operating loss was US$27.8 million, compared with non-operating income of US$12.8 million last year, including US$22.8 million of loss from fair value change of investments.
- Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders declined to US$67.4 million from US$125.7 million.
What to watch
- Advertising demand trends in handset and online game sectors.
- Advertising revenue from internet service, automobile, and Alibaba.
- The recurrence of one-off ticket proceeds from off-line activities within VAS revenue.
- Membership-service growth and the contribution of AI application promotion to Alibaba advertising demand.
- Costs related to ad production and marketing expenses.
- User engagement, information-feed consumption, video consumption, MAUs and DAUs.
- Investment-related income or loss and fair value changes of investments.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled US$2.64 billion as of June 30, 2026.
- Cash and cash equivalents were $1,639,148 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $2,298,941 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Short-term investments were $997,443 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $106,139 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Total assets were $7,145,733 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $7,091,186 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Convertible senior notes were $325,515 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $323,944 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Unsecured senior notes were $746,114 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $745,630 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Long-term loans were $795,808 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $793,976 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Total liabilities were $3,080,295 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $3,083,623 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Weibo shareholders’ equity was $3,991,172 thousand as of June 30, 2026, compared with $3,920,729 thousand as of December 31, 2025.
- Included short-term loans to and interest receivable from SINA of US$397.0 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with US$401.9 million as of December 31, 2025.
Analysis
Weibo delivered modest reported revenue growth in the second quarter, with net revenues of US$453.8 million, up 2% year-over-year. On a constant currency basis, however, net revenues decreased 4% year-over-year. The reported growth was led by VAS revenues of US$72.9 million, up 19%, while advertising and marketing revenues of US$381.0 million decreased 1%. The release attributes the VAS increase in part to additional one-off ticket proceeds from off-line activities, membership-service growth and favorable foreign exchange impact.
Advertising trends remained uneven. Non-Alibaba advertising and marketing revenues decreased 2% to US$341.8 million, as declining demand from handset and online game sectors outweighed growth from internet service and automobile sectors. Alibaba advertising revenue increased 10% to US$39.2 million, with management citing favorable foreign exchange impact and a modest demand increase related mainly to AI application promotion. Management also described solid engagement among core users, increased information-feed consumption and improving video consumption.
Profitability weakened materially despite the revenue increase. Total costs and expenses rose 12% to US$335.0 million, driven mainly by higher ad production costs and marketing expenses. Income from operations declined to US$118.9 million from US$145.6 million, reducing GAAP operating margin to 26% from 33%. Non-GAAP income from operations declined to US$125.4 million, and non-GAAP operating margin was 28% compared with 36% last year.
Below operating income, results were affected by a non-operating loss of US$27.8 million, compared with non-operating income of US$12.8 million in the prior-year period. The release identifies US$22.8 million of loss from fair value change of investments and US$5.1 million of net interest and other loss. GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders was US$67.4 million and diluted net income per share was US$0.26, compared with US$125.7 million and US$0.48, respectively. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders was US$102.7 million, with non-GAAP diluted net income per share of US$0.38.
Liquidity remained substantial, with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling US$2.64 billion as of June 30, 2026. The company generated US$50.5 million of cash provided by operating activities during the quarter and reported US$3.1 million of capital expenditures. The filing did not provide forward financial guidance, so the next areas for investors to monitor are advertising-demand conditions, the durability of VAS growth beyond off-line ticket proceeds, expense discipline, investment-related volatility, and the operating impact of AI integration.
Management, verbatim
On the user front, with our continued efforts to improve user quality and drive user retention through information feed revamp, we saw solid engagement among our core users and increased consumption in the information feeds.
Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo
On the monetization front, we focused on bringing Weibo’s unique value on content marketing to more advertisers and enhancing advertising performance through AI integration.
Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo
On the AI front, we made solid progress in the integration of AI to enhance our product, content and monetization systems.
Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Forward financial guidance was not provided.
- Previous-release outlook was not provided.
- Gross margin was not reported.
- Free cash flow was not reported.
- Capital-return activity, including share repurchases and dividends, was not reported.
- Prior-quarter comparisons were not reported for the disclosed metrics.
- Year-over-year changes were not explicitly reported for individual cost and expense line items, adjusted EBITDA, cash provided by operating activities, capital expenditures, depreciation and amortization expenses, MAUs, or DAUs.
- A tax rate was not reported.
AlphAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.