36KR Holdings Inc (KRKR) (H1 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Revenue Surges 33. ...

Negative Points

• Enterprise value-added services revenue growth was slower at 25.4% year-over-year, and subscription services revenue declined from RMB6.4 million to RMB5.8 million.

• Other expenses increased significantly to RMB7.7 million from RMB0.4 million of other income, primarily due to higher long-term investment losses.

• Non-GAAP adjusted net loss widened to RMB15.4 million from RMB4.7 million in the same period last year, indicating underlying profitability challenges.

• General and administrative expenses rose 20.5% year-over-year, driven by higher allowance for doubtful accounts and payroll-related costs.

• The company faces ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, which could impact future advertising and service demand.

• The strategic shift in subscription services customer composition led to a revenue decline, suggesting potential instability in that segment.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Compared with other media outlets, what is essential for 36Kr to keep its leading status in AI content coverage? Why do advertisers choose 36Kr over specialized AI media outlets? A: (Zhen Wang, IR) Our differentiated advantages come down to three key areas. First, our broad-based platform reach spans AI, embodied intelligence, going global, consumer goods, automotive, gaming, healthcare, and other verticals, with 36.52 million followers across mainstream platforms like Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Toutiao, Zhihu, Bilibili, Douyin, and Kuaishou. This allows advertisers to reach not only the AI industry audience but also upstream and downstream business and cross-sector users simultaneously. Second, our content model combines information access with in-depth content output, offering insightful original perspectives on industry development. Third, our end-to-end industrial service advantages provide comprehensive service capabilities, such as facilitating over 100 rounds of closed-door matchmaking sessions at the AI Partner Summit, connecting technology providers with companies seeking practical solutions.

Q: Looking ahead, what are the key growth engines for the company? How does management plan to balance increased investment in content and technology with maintaining healthy profitability and solid cash flow? A: (Zhen Wang, IR) We see four growth areas gaining traction. In the near term, AI customer growth is a key driver, with approximately 40% of new customers coming from the AI sector in the first half. In the medium term, we will deepen commercialization of sub-vertical content, scale monetization of AI products like the AI review hub and 36Kr Corporate Intelligence, and replicate our industrial service model across regions. Regarding balancing investment and profitability, our philosophy is clear: we invest where we see a clear path to return. We will never pursue growth at the expense of profitability, and every investment must have a clear business rationale.

Q: What's the company's long-term strategic positioning in the AI era? How do you expect the mix between tech media outlet and industrial services platform to evolve in the future? A: (Zhen Wang, IR) Our strategic positioning is crystal clear: we have always been the picks-and-shovels provider in technology industries. Content advertising remains our business foundation and traffic gateway, while industrial services are our growth engine and driver of margin expansion. The relationship is a flywheel, not a substitution. We expect the share of industrial services to increase steadily, as our services evolve from one-off events towards ongoing operations. However, content advertising will remain foundational, with flagship channels contributing nearly half of online advertising revenues in the first half.

Q: Can you elaborate on the company's financial performance in the first half of 2026, particularly regarding revenue growth and profitability? A: (Xiang Li, CFO) Total revenue increased by 33.7% year-over-year to RMB124.6 million. Online advertising services revenue grew 38.9% to RMB103.5 million, driven by surging demand from the AI sector. Enterprise value-added services revenue increased 25.4% to RMB15.3 million. Gross profit increased by 63.1% to RMB82.7 million, with gross margin expanding 12 percentage points to 66.4%, driven by higher-margin online advertising services within the AI sector and lower payroll-related costs. Net income was RMB15.4 million, compared to a net loss of RMB4.8 million in the same period last year.

Q: How is the company's cash position and what are the plans for strategic investments? A: (Xiang Li, CFO) As of June 30, 2026, the company had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments of RMB124.2 million, an increase of 6.9% from RMB116.1 million as of December 31, 2025. The increase was mainly attributable to positive cash inflow from operating activities. This provides ample liquidity to support ongoing operations and strategic investment.

Q: Can you provide more details on the performance of the AI review hub and its commercialization progress? A: (Dagang Feng, CEO) Our AI review hub at AI.36kr.com, positioned as the "Dianping of AI tools," continued to grow rapidly. We published a cumulative 4,019 AI review articles, nearly 10 times the 560 articles published at the end of 2025. We added 260 new reviewers and launched a campus ambassador initiative. Commercially, we secured a paid commercialization partnership with Kimi and Kuaishou AI, validating our closed-loop model from professional review content to commercial monetization.

Q: How is the company leveraging AI technology internally and externally? A: (Dagang Feng, CEO) We pursue a dual-track strategy: improving internal efficiency while productizing AI capabilities for external stakeholders. Internally, we hosted the KR Star AI Application Challenge to deepen AI tool adoption across operations, bringing improvements in customer sales processes, video and image optimizations, and internal process management. Externally, we continue to optimize our 36Kr project recommendations product using foundation model technology, helping entrepreneurs secure coverage for 1,117 projects and increasing conversion rate by nearly 80% year-over-year.

Q: What is the current status of the company's industrial service projects and how are they contributing to growth? A: (Dagang Feng, CEO) Our three-year strategic operations projects with Hangzhou-Qiantang New Area, including the Chinese Enterprise International Service Center operation project and the AI Phenomena Community operation service project, continued to progress steadily. We focused on key industrial parks, including the Qiantang Embodied Intelligence Industry Park, delivering operational activities built around brand exposure, resource connections, and enterprise service. Our industrial services are progressively shifting from one-off events towards ongoing operation and deeper customer partnerships, laying the foundation for replication across the Yangtze River Delta region.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .