Zhihu has released its first-quarter 2026 performance, showing a complex situation of "improved profit but pressure on revenue." The report shows that Zhihu's Q1 revenue was 652 million yuan, a 10.7% year-on-year decline, and a slight 1.3% quarter-on-quarter increase. Although the net loss narrowed to 8.504 million yuan, what really relieved the market was that its adjusted net profit reached 17.16 million yuan, a significant 147.2% year-on-year increase, and it successfully turned a profit on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Looking at the revenue structure, Zhihu is increasingly becoming a company that "sells membership and IP." Revenue from paid content and IP operations in Q1 reached 402 million yuan, accounting for 61.7% of total revenue, becoming the absolute core pillar; marketing service revenue was 191 million yuan, accounting for 29.4%; other income was 57.8 million yuan, accounting for 8.9%.

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At the earnings call, the management focused firmly on the AI short drama and AI manga drama sectors. CFO Wang Han clearly stated that AI short dramas and manga dramas, as well as AI data services, are the two major areas of focus. The former is the AIGC content category with the strongest user willingness to pay, while the latter plays the role of "selling shovels" in industrial infrastructure. Since intensifying efforts in this sector in 2025, Zhihu's IP expansion has been extremely rapid. In the first quarter of 2026, the total number of copyright collaborations on the platform increased by 564% year-on-year and 248% quarter-on-quarter. Short dramas such as "Golden House Hides the Spoiled Child" and "Your Heart Is Like a Disease" have exceeded 3 billion views across all platforms, while AI manga dramas like "The Noblewoman's Tears" have also reached 1 billion views.

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This explosive growth reflects two differentiation models in the current AI manga industry. The first is the "mass production type," represented by companies like Yanyan Story and Yuewen. Relying on a vast network literature IP library, they spread out a large number of dramas to capture basic traffic. Data shows that from January to May this year, Yanyan Story achieved an additional 6.834 billion views through 251 AI dramas, firmly leading the industry. The second is the "premium hit strategy," represented by companies like AiKan Interactive. These platforms strictly control the number of releases, focusing resources on improving the quality of individual works. With only 27 works, they generated 3.584 billion additional views, achieving the highest efficiency for a single drama in the industry. Zhihu executives also pointed out that the industry is shifting from extensive mass production to deepening content quality and originality.

However, beneath the surface of improved profits, Zhihu's fundamentals still face severe challenges. The report shows that its revenue has been declining for three consecutive years, and it has long been in a loss state. Although it has achieved some success in the AI manga drama sector through its own network literature IP, facing fierce competition in the sector, tightening industry regulation, and rising customer acquisition costs, Zhihu's profitability is more due to cost-cutting rather than revenue growth. In the future, whether Zhihu can truly break through and increase revenue through AI short dramas and manga dramas, and completely reverse its operational difficulties, remains to be verified by the market over time.