36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR) management said the company delivered a “major operational breakthrough” in fiscal year 2025 by turning profitable, citing two years of efforts to improve operating efficiency, optimize its cost structure, and strengthen core capabilities.
On the call discussing second-half and full-year fiscal 2025 results, Chairman and CEO Dagang Feng highlighted expanding audience reach across major Chinese social and content platforms, continued growth in AI-focused coverage, and what he described as commercialization progress across advertising, live streaming and video, event IP, and industrial services. CFO Xiang Li detailed margin expansion, lower operating expenses, and a swing to net income, while noting that total revenue for the year was slightly lower than the prior year.
Profitability turnaround and margin expansion
Li added that gross margin improvement reflected a shift toward higher-margin businesses, streamlining of lower-margin operations, and cost control. He also said higher gross margin from brand advertising services across 36Kr’s digital platforms and what he described as a “strong rebound” in revenue from those services contributed to the increase.
Revenue and segment performance
Li reported that total revenue increased 4.7% to CNY 134.8 million in the second half of 2025, compared with CNY 128.7 million in the same period of 2024. For the full year, total revenue was CNY 327.9 million, compared with CNY 331.1 million in the prior year.
- Online advertising services: Revenue rose 5% to CNY 105.2 million in the second half. Li attributed the increase primarily to strong advertising demand from AI and high-tech companies captured through 36Kr’s focus on the tech vertical. Full-year online advertising revenue was RMB 179.7 million, compared with RMB 180.6 million the year before.
- Enterprise value-added services: Revenue increased 7.7% to RMB 20.9 million in the second half. For the year, the segment rose 1.2% to RMB 33.2 million. Li cited more innovative marketing solutions and proactive sales strategies in a challenging environment.
- Subscription services: Revenue was RMB 8.7 million in the second half, compared with RMB 9.0 million a year earlier. Li said full-year subscription services revenue decreased 14.2% to RMB 50.1 million due to a strategy shift in training services and a focus on refining the customer base for the segment.
During Q&A, management said enterprise value-added services growth in 2025 was driven by strong performance from legacy IP events and by restructuring of content strategy, business roadmap, and organizational structure for industry services. Management also pointed to a three-year strategic partnership with Hangzhou Qiantang New District Construction and Investment Group for operational services projects, as well as content-driven efforts such as the 36Kr Industry Future channel and the “Industrial Belt” initiative, which management said connected with more than 200 upstream and downstream projects and government entities.
Costs, expenses, and net income swing
Li said cost of revenue declined 12.6% to RMB 54.0 million in the second half, and decreased 18.8% to RMB 96.4 million for the full year, attributing the change primarily to strict cost control measures. Gross profit increased 20.8% to RMB 88.8 million in the second half, and rose 17.1% to RMB 131.5 million for the full year.
Operating expenses fell 10.3% to CNY 65.6 million in the second half and decreased 36.1% to CNY 121.5 million for the full year. Li cited disciplined operating expense management, including lower payroll-related costs and reduced travel, entertainment, and marketing spend. General and administrative expenses declined sharply year-over-year, which Li said was largely due to reduced personnel-related expenses and changes related to allowance for credit losses.
Net income was RMB 16.2 million in the second half of 2025 versus a RMB 44.9 million net loss in the prior-year period. For the full year, net income was RMB 11.4 million, compared with a RMB 140.8 million net loss the year before. Li attributed the turnaround mainly to cost control, increased emphasis on higher-margin business, reduced impairment losses on long-term investments versus 2024, and a lower provision of allowance for credit losses due to improved receivables collection.
Li also noted other income of CNY 1.4 million for the full year, compared with CNY 63.0 million of other expenses in the previous year, saying the change reflected long-term investment impairment losses recognized in 2024.
Audience growth, content expansion, and AI initiatives
Feng said 36Kr continued to build its content ecosystem and broaden distribution across platforms including Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Toutiao, Zhihu, Bilibili, Douyin, Kuaishou, and others. He reported the company had more than 36.8 million followers by the end of 2025, marking the 19th consecutive quarter of user growth.
Management highlighted multiple content initiatives and performance metrics, including:
- On the 36Kr official WeChat account, 698 articles in 2025 achieved more than 100,000 page views.
- “Waves” followers grew 54% year-over-year.
- Video followers reached 9.5 million by year-end, and WeChat Channels followers rose 67% year-over-year.
- The new “36Kr Tech” Douyin account launched in the second half of 2025 attracted more than 130,000 followers, according to management.
Feng also emphasized 36Kr’s AI coverage and tooling. He said 36Kr was the only tech media outlet to have exclusively interviewed DeepSeek’s founder twice, and the company launched additional AI-related video and consumer-oriented channels. Management said an AI-powered “meeting coverage” product integrated DeepSeek in March 2025 and covered 1,308 companies in 2025.
Beyond content production, Feng discussed AI product initiatives including an AI-powered sentiment analysis product for secondary-market users covering more than 7,800 A-share and Hong Kong-listed companies, with 36,600 cumulative users and 6,187 subscribers, as well as an AI tool discovery and review community launched at the end of 2025 that has published 516 AI review articles.
2026 advertising outlook: “cautiously optimistic”
In response to an analyst question, management said it was “cautiously optimistic” on advertising trends for 2026, while noting that advertising demand remains tied to macroeconomic conditions and that industry ad budgets have not seen strong growth. Management cited stable legacy client relationships, growing contributions from new clients, and continued traction in newer products such as live streaming and video formats. Feng said AI-related demand continued to increase and reiterated plans to invest in content creation, expand live streaming formats, and build depth in key verticals such as AI and global expansion.
Li said the company ended 2025 with RMB 116.1 million in cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, up 25.5% from RMB 92.5 million at the end of 2024.
About 36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR)
Beijing 36Kr Holdings Inc, known as 36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR), is a China‐based digital media and services platform focused on the coverage and support of new economy enterprises. The company delivers news, in‐depth analysis and research on technology startups, venture capital trends and innovation across the Chinese market. Its flagship online portal and mobile applications serve as primary channels for entrepreneurs, investors and industry professionals seeking timely information on emerging businesses and disruptive technologies.
In addition to editorial content, 36Kr offers a suite of subscription‐based membership services that provide premium research reports, proprietary databases and exclusive interviews with founders and investors.
