JOYY Reports Fourth Quarter and FY2025 Financial Results: Q4 Revenue Returns to YoY Growth, BIGO Ads Momentum Continues, Delivering Strong Shareholder Returns
SINGAPORE, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYY) ("JOYY" or the "Company"), a global leading technology company, announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2025, JOYY's total revenue was US$581.9 million, up 7.7% quarter over quarter and 5.9% year over year, marking a return to year-over-year revenue growth. Livestreaming revenue was US$394.4 million, up 1.5% quarter over quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of sequential growth. BIGO Ads delivered accelerating revenue growth, up 61.5% year over year to US$128.1 million. For the full year of 2025, total revenue was US$2.12 billion. Livestreaming contributed US$1.53 billion, while BIGO Ads contributed US$398.5 million, up 38.5% year over year, driving total non‐livestreaming revenue, including ad revenue and others, to 28.0% of the Company's revenue, up 7.9 percentage points from 2024. In 2025, JOYY delivered steady profitability growth. Non-GAAP1 operating income and non-GAAP1 EBITDA were US$150.8 million and US$189.8 million, up 10.8% and 10.9% year over year, respectively. In the fourth quarter, non‐GAAP1 operating income stood at US$40.8 million, and operating cash flow for the fourth quarter totaled US$116.0 million. As of December 31, 2025, the Company held US$3.26 billion in net cash. JOYY previously announced a shareholder return program of approximately US$900 million through dividends and share repurchases from 2025 through 2027. The Company has been actively executing its share repurchase program, with repurchases totaling US$67.4 million in the fourth quarter. In total, JOYY has distributed approximately US$332.0 million in dividends and share repurchases throughout 2025. In light of the double-digit improvements in operational profit in 2025, the Company will distribute an additional cash dividend of approximately US$20 million in the first quarter of 2026. Ms. Ting Li, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of JOYY, commented, "Looking back at the full year of 2025, we made meaningful progress in shaping our strategic framework as a global technology company with multiple, synergistic growth engines. Our livestreaming revenue has returned to sequential growth. BIGO Ads achieved 38.5% year-over-year revenue growth, with our third-party Audience Network ads revenue accelerating to 56.3% year-over-year growth. Non-GAAP operating profit remained robust, up by 10.8% year over year. As we look ahead, with our social entertainment business serving as the cornerstone of profitability and cash flow, and BIGO Ads and e-commerce SaaS business fueling our next stage of growth, we are well-positioned for sustainable and profitable growth. Leveraging our integrated ecosystem, we remain committed to strengthening JOYY's position and delivering long-term value for our shareholders." Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights Net revenues increased by 5.9% to US$581.9 million from US$549.4 million in the corresponding period of 2024 and by 7.7% from US$540.2 million in the third quarter of 2025. - Livestreaming revenue was US$394.4 million, representing an increase of 1.5% from US$388.5 million in the third quarter of 2025. - Advertising revenue increased by 62.4% to US$145.4 million from US$89.6 million in the corresponding period of 2024 and by 29.3% from US$112.5 million in the third quarter of 2025. - Other revenues increased by 12.3% to US$42.1 million from US$37.5 million in the corresponding period of 2024 and by 7.2% from US$39.2 million in the third quarter of 2025. Operating income was US$18.3 million. Non-GAAP1 operating income was US$40.8 million. Net Cash as of December 31, 2025 was US$3.26 billion. Net cash from operating activities was US$116.0 million, compared with US$110.5 million in the corresponding period of 2024. Full Year 2025 Financial Highlights Net revenues were US$2,124.2 million. Operating income was US$55.8 million. Non-GAAP1 operating income was US$150.8 million, up 10.8% from US$136.1 million in 2024. Non-GAAP1 EBITDA was US$189.8 million, up 10.9% from US$171.2 million in 2024. Fourth Quarter 2025 Business Highlights Social Entertainment Business In the fourth quarter, JOYY's core social entertainment business achieved its third consecutive quarter of sequential growth. Global average mobile MAUs reached 272.1 million, up 2.2% quarter over quarter. Traffic from its instant messenger increased 4.5% quarter over quarter, driven by high user stickiness and user organic growth. Both average user time spent and retention improved year over year. In the fourth quarter, the Company's livestreaming revenue grew 1.5% sequentially to US$394.4 million, while livestreaming revenue in developed countries increased 3.4% quarter over quarter. Backed by localized operational improvements, BIGO's total paying users increased 1.5% sequentially, while ARPPU continued to record modest sequential growth. Bigo Live refined its streamer incentive structure and integrated AI-driven features across critical stages of the user journey, enhancing content consumption and improving payment experiences. In the fourth quarter, the number of mid-tier quality streamers grew sequentially by 7.8%, with the total streaming hours rising 10.3% quarter over quarter. By integrating LLM architecture and incorporating multi-modal information into the platform's recommendation systems, Bigo Live has improved its ability to understand both livestreaming content and user interests. This continuous optimization of recommendation precision and distribution efficiency led to a 5.6% quarter-over-quarter increase in Bigo Live's users' average viewing time. Bigo Live launched the "Featured" tab in the fourth quarter, improving the content consumption experience for new users, with particularly strong performance in developed markets and among premium user segments. In North America, new users' effective viewing rate increased by 10.3% quarter over quarter, average viewing time per user rose by 3.9%, and 30-day retention improved by 4.8%. Furthermore, user adoption of AI-generated virtual gifts continues to grow. As of January 2026, the consumption of AI interactive gifts on Bigo Live has surpassed 30% of the total virtual gift consumption. During the quarter, Bigo Live launched its first all‐live reality show in North America, bringing nine top hosts together in Atlanta for an electrifying five-day competition. The new format drove a significant 3% organic DAU spike during showtime. The platform continued to strengthen local community ties through culturally rooted campaigns across the globe. These included Indonesia's Hari Batik Nasional initiative and Latin America's "Orgullo Nacional", which boosted regional engagement and created a space for cultural expression. Additionally, Bigo Live partnered with creators in the United States and Vietnam on community initiatives, supporting Thanksgiving meal assistance and Vietnamese Women's Day outreach for underprivileged women and children. Through these efforts, Bigo Live continues to deliver on its mission to bring positive social value to local communities. BIGO Ads Ad Tech Business In the fourth quarter, BIGO Ads recorded revenue of US$128.1 million, up 61.5% year over year and 23.3% quarter over quarter. Third‐party Audience Network ad revenues grew 82.5% year over year and 27.3% quarter over quarter, with growth accelerating for the third consecutive quarter. BIGO Ads fueled this growth through broader traffic coverage, multi‐vertical advertiser expansion, and ongoing algorithm optimization. First‐party traffic expanded steadily, supported by higher MAUs and ad fill rates that drove sequential revenue and profit growth. Third-party SDK traffic expansion continued, with SDK ad requests growing by 166% year over year and 23% quarter over quarter. BIGO Ads continues to expand coverage across diverse verticals. With ongoing data accumulation, model iteration, and bidding strategy optimization, audience targeting accuracy and fulfillment efficiency have further improved, fueling accelerated revenue growth. In the fourth quarter, BIGO ads saw a 20% quarter-over-quarter increase in Web-based demand and 39% in its mobile-based IAA demand sequentially. Overall, the number of key accounts increased by 29%, and total spending from key accounts rose 34% quarter over quarter. BIGO Ads continued to prioritize key developed markets, with North America revenue up over 21% quarter over quarter and Western Europe revenue up 46% quarter over quarter. This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as additional clarifying items to aid investors in further understanding the Company's performance and the impact that these items and events had on the financial results. The non-GAAP financial measures provided above should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. For details of the non-GAAP measures, including the reconciliations of GAAP measures to non-GAAP measures, please refer to the press release titled "JOYY Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Unaudited Financial Results" issued by the Company on March 11, 2026.
2026-03-11 02:27:00