Lincoln Kong

Lincoln Kong inquired about NetEase's application of AI in existing games like Egg Party and Justice Mobile, and future opportunities for AI in new games. He also asked about the company's key development directions for future games, particularly innovative categories and shooting games, and NetEase's differentiation strategy in the shooting genre.

Answer

William Ding, CEO, NetEase, emphasized AI's critical role in game development and operation, noting NetEase's extensive experience and resource deployment in AI research. He stated that user experience guides AI deployment and that future game development will be high-quality and focused, not aggressive or blind. Bill Pang, VP of Corporate Development, NetEase, added that NetEase has a clear vision for future innovations and expects grand breakthroughs in the coming years.

Lincoln Kong with Goldman Sachs asked about the integration of AI applications in existing games like Egg Party and Justice Mobile, and how AI could bring additional opportunities for gamers in the future. He also inquired about important future game genres, particularly the shooting game genre, and how NetEase plans to differentiate itself.

Answer

William Ding, CEO of NetEase, stated that AI is crucial in game development and operation, with NetEase having extensive hands-on experience and massive resources deployed in AI research. He emphasized that user experience guides technology deployment. Regarding future products, Ding reiterated the focus on concentrating resources on high-quality flagship products with conviction for success, avoiding aggressive, blind expansion. He expressed confidence in NetEase's clear vision for future innovations and products, expecting grand breakthroughs.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs asked about the impact of AI on game development, any remaining bottlenecks, and the timeline for AI-native games. He also inquired about the company's key directions and genre focus for future overseas expansion.

Answer

Bill Pang, translating for CEO William Ding, conveyed that NetEase is investing heavily in leveraging AI across its development and operational toolchains, with a long-term vision for AI-designed games. On overseas expansion, Pang added that it is a critically important task, and the company is building its global publishing capabilities based on learnings from recent launches, with plans for continued growth.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs asked about the recent user volatility for 'Marvel Rivals' and the company's strategy to ensure the game's longevity, including adjustments to season length, character releases, and monetization.

Answer

CEO William Ding, via interpreter Bill Pang, stated that fluctuations in operating metrics are normal for season-based games and help solidify the user base. He confirmed that starting from Season 3, the update interval will be shortened from three to two months. Additionally, NetEase will launch 'Marvel Rivals' eSports events in May to build its ecosystem, which is expected to drive gradual improvement in all in-game metrics.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs posed two questions: first, on the future overseas expansion strategy following the success of 'Marvel Rivals', and second, on how NetEase plans to integrate AI into its game portfolio to drive innovation, user interaction, and production efficiency.

Answer

Executive Bill Pang, translating for CEO William Ding, responded that the overseas strategy remains focused on supporting overseas studios to create high-quality, creative content tailored to local market demands. On the second point, he confirmed that AI is already significantly increasing R&D efficiency and that the company is exploring its use in many other applications, such as improving user engagement and onboarding, expressing a very positive outlook on AI's contribution to the gaming industry.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs inquired about the launch schedule, game positioning, and monetization strategy for the upcoming title 'Where Winds Meet'. He also asked for an update on the operational strategy and lifecycle extension plans for 'Justice Mobile' and 'Eggy Party', noting recent grossing trends.

Answer

Bill Pang, an executive at NetEase, explained that 'Where Winds Meet' for PC is scheduled for a late December launch, with the mobile version following shortly after. The monetization will focus on cosmetic items and battle passes to foster a healthy social environment. Regarding 'Justice Mobile', Pang noted strong player stickiness post-anniversary and a focus on balancing commercialization with user experience. For 'Eggy Party', he acknowledged short-term monetization challenges but highlighted its high DAU and long-term potential, viewing it as a valuable learning experience for the franchise.

Lincoln Kong asked about the moderation in cloud business growth in Q3, changes in cloud demand, expectations for re-acceleration in coming quarters, the outlook for next year, and key drivers for sustainable cloud business growth.

Answer

EVP Dou Shen stated that Baidu's cloud business is growing well above the industry average year-to-date, driven by strong, broad-based demand for AI-centric cloud services. He noted that AI Cloud infra revenue grew 33% year-over-year to RMB 4.2 billion, with subscription-based AI accelerator infrastructure revenue surging 128% year-over-year. Shen attributed this momentum to Baidu's full-stack AI capabilities, high-performance AI infrastructure, and the agent-centric Qianfan MAS platform, emphasizing the long-term value creation from AI applications.

Lincoln Kong asked about the slight moderation in cloud business growth in Q3, changes in demand, expectations for re-acceleration, the 2026 outlook, and key drivers for sustainable cloud growth.

Answer

Dou Shen, EVP in charge of Baidu AI Cloud Group, ACG, confirmed the cloud business is growing well above the industry average year-to-date, with strong, broad-based demand for AI-centric cloud services. He noted AI Cloud infra revenue grew 33% year-over-year to RMB 4.2 billion in Q3, with subscription-based AI accelerator infrastructure revenue surging 128% year-over-year. Shen attributed this momentum to Baidu's full-stack AI capabilities, high-performance AI infrastructure, the agent-centric Qianfeng MAS platform, and a rapidly expanding portfolio of AI applications, expressing confidence in healthy, scalable, and sustainable future growth.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs asked for more details on the recent AI search monetization tests, including how it opens new opportunities and how advertising formats and business models are evolving.

Answer

EVP Rong Luo stated that while monetization is in early stages, AI search can monetize previously difficult keywords. He highlighted a long-term strategic shift from CPC to a higher-ceiling CPS model, enabled by agents and digital humans. Luo reiterated that user experience remains the priority, delaying large-scale monetization and pressuring near-term margins.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. asked about the key drivers for the strong Q1 AI Cloud revenue growth, its sustainability, a potential revenue breakdown, the 2025 outlook for the segment's growth and profitability, and the impact of U.S. AI chip export restrictions.

Answer

EVP Dou Shen attributed the 42% year-over-year AI Cloud revenue growth to surging industry demand for Gen AI and foundation models. He noted that the majority of enterprise cloud revenue is subscription-based, supporting sustainable growth, and that the segment's non-GAAP operating margin is now in the teens. Regarding chip restrictions, Shen emphasized that Baidu's full-stack AI capabilities and flexibility in using various chip solutions allow it to build strong applications, with confidence in the long-term viability of domestically developed chips.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs asked about the key drivers behind the strong Q1 growth in AI Cloud revenue, its sustainability, a potential revenue breakdown, the 2025 outlook for growth and profitability, and the impact of U.S. AI chip export restrictions.

Answer

Dou Shen, EVP of Baidu AI Cloud Group, attributed the 42% year-over-year growth to surging demand for Gen AI and foundation models. He noted that enterprise cloud, primarily subscription-based, forms the majority of AI Cloud revenue, with Gen AI-related revenue seeing triple-digit growth. Shen stated the AI Cloud's non-GAAP operating margin is now in the 'teens' and expanding. Regarding chip restrictions, he emphasized that Baidu's full-stack capabilities enable the creation of strong applications, and the company is confident in the long-term potential of domestically developed chips.

Lincoln Kong asked about the future of Baidu's search business revamp, the current and target mix of generative AI results, recent user metric trends, and the competitive dynamics with AI chatbots that also offer search capabilities.

Answer

EVP Rong Luo stated that 22% of search result pages now feature AI-generated content and the focus is on creating personalized experiences with diverse formats like videos and agents. He highlighted positive user metrics, including a 2% year-over-year increase in search queries per user in December. Luo positioned Baidu Search as an evolving integrated platform, distinct from simple chatbots, that leverages its large user base and deep language understanding.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs questioned Baidu's current business focus, priorities for investment and capital allocation, and the expected margin trend for Q4 amid ongoing enterprise pressure and the AI transformation.

Answer

Interim CFO Junjie He stated that the AI-focused strategy remains the core priority. He acknowledged that the online marketing business will face near-term pressure due to the renovation of search without immediate monetization. Consequently, near-term margins will be in a 'period of adjustment' as the company continues to invest in search, ERNIE, and autonomous driving. For 2025, the focus will shift to optimal resource allocation to high-growth opportunities.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs requested the growth outlook for the marketing services, paid membership, and vocational training segments, their key drivers for H2 2025, and the company's full-year profitability forecast.

Answer

CFO Wang Han reported that the adjustment phase for marketing services is ending, with a return to positive year-over-year growth expected. The paid membership business is focused on improving retention and ARPU through longer-term plans and premium content like voice live streaming. Vocational training will continue to prioritize efficiency and profitability. For the full year, Wang Han stated that achieving near breakeven on a non-GAAP basis is a strong possibility, given the profitability achieved in the first half.

Inquired about the company's strategy regarding user growth and the health of the community ecosystem, particularly in light of the stable user scale.

Answer

The CEO, Zhou Yuan, clarified that the current priority is improving the quality of the ecosystem rather than just growing the user base. While the user scale is stable, key health metrics like interactions per creator and per post have surged significantly. The company believes these incremental improvements will compound into meaningful breakthroughs and greater long-term returns.

Lincoln Kong asked for an update on the health and engagement trends within Zhihu's user community.

Answer

CEO Zhou Yuan responded that the company's priority is ecosystem quality over user scale, which has remained stable. He highlighted that key user health metrics have improved, with interactions per creator and per post surging over 45% and 95% YoY, respectively. He also mentioned positive feedback from the recent Zhihu Youth Knowledge Conference and feature upgrades to 'Column and Idea' to better support professional content creators.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs asked for an update on user and community trends, focusing on engagement and ecosystem health.

Answer

Founder, Chairman & CEO Zhou Yuan emphasized that the company's priority is the quality of its ecosystem rather than raw user scale. He reported that key user health metrics, such as engagement and core user retention, have continued to improve. He also highlighted significant year-over-year growth in professional creators and the positive impact of upgraded 'column' and 'idea' features on content creation and interaction.

Asked about the trends in user growth and community health.

Answer

The CEO, Zhou Yuan, stated that while the overall user scale is stable, the focus is on quality, and key user health metrics are improving. The number of professional creators and their engagement (interactions per creator) have grown significantly. Feature upgrades to 'column' and 'idea' tools have also boosted content creation and consumption, strengthening the community atmosphere.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs asked about the outlook for profit margins, areas for cost discipline, the timeline to achieve the mid-term operating margin target, and the company's capital allocation and shareholder return policy.

Answer

CFO Sam Fan stated that strong operating leverage drove a 46% increase in gross profit. He expects the gross margin to continue improving, reaching around 37% by Q4 2025, and reiterated the 40-45% mid-term target. OpEx is expected to decline YoY in H2. Fan expressed confidence in achieving a 10% adjusted operating margin in Q4 2025 and maintained the 15-20% mid-term target. Regarding shareholder returns, he confirmed the repurchase of US$100 million in shares in Q2, with US$84 million remaining under the current program.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs inquired about Bilibili's strategy for enhancing its quality content ecosystem in 2025 and the specific progress of its AI applications.

Answer

Rui Chen, Chairman and CEO, explained that Bilibili's focus on high-quality content is driving record user engagement, with daily time spent reaching 108 minutes. He noted that users are increasingly willing to pay for quality, evidenced by 32 million monthly paying users and a 200% YoY increase in revenue from fan charging programs. Regarding AI, Chen highlighted that Bilibili's vast library of high-quality Chinese video content serves as a unique and valuable asset for training AI models, which will enhance commercialization and content discovery.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs inquired about Bilibili's overall strategy for 2025 after achieving breakeven and the company's plans for integrating AI into its community and content ecosystem.

Answer

CEO Rui Chen, interpreted by Executive IR Director Juliet Yang, outlined a 2025 strategy focused on the 'content + community' model to expand margins and profitability. Chen emphasized that high-quality content is central, highlighting its ability to transcend economic cycles. He detailed a three-pronged approach: leveraging high-quality PUGV content, developing self-owned IP assets like 'A Mortal's Journey', and capitalizing on the combination of AI with Bilibili's unique data assets of video, comments, and bullet chats, which he described as a 'gold mine' for training cost-effective AI models.

Lincoln Kong asked whether Bilibili has observed any incremental positive trends in its business lines, such as advertising or user spending, following the recent rollout of economic stimulus policies in China.

Answer

CEO Rui Chen, with interpretation by Juliet Yang, acknowledged the government's encouraging policies but stated it will take time for their effects to materialize. He affirmed that while an improving economy will benefit Bilibili, the company's primary focus remains on its own internal execution and long-term development. The company is not factoring a drastic economic improvement into its immediate plans but is focused on improving its own products and business model to drive growth.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs asked about Tencent Music's revenue and profit outlook for the second half of 2025, following the strong momentum observed in the first half.

Answer

Executive Chairman Cussion Kar Shun Pang responded, expressing encouragement over the solid performance. He highlighted the robust music subscription business, steady ARPPU growth, and strong traction in non-subscription services like advertising and concerts. Pang stated that while concert revenue can fluctuate, the company is optimistic about long-term growth and now expects full-year 2025 revenue to be higher than previous expectations, with increased potential for bottom-line improvement.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs inquired about Tencent Music's revenue and profit outlook for the second half of 2025, following the strong performance in the first half.

Answer

Executive Chairman Cussion Kar Shun Pang expressed confidence in continued high-quality growth, noting the subscriber base has surpassed 124 million. He highlighted a steady upward trend in ARPPU and strong traction in non-subscription services like advertising and concerts. Pang stated that full-year 2025 revenue is now expected to exceed previous expectations, with further room for bottom-line improvement.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs asked about the company's strategy for balancing subscriber growth versus ARPU growth in 2025, seeking clarity on the expected pace of quarterly net additions and the potential for continued ARPU increases, particularly from the SVIP tier.

Answer

CEO Liang Zhu affirmed confidence in growing both subscribers and ARPU. He stated that TME aims to maintain its current pace of net additions without resorting to aggressive, low-price promotions. For ARPU growth, the strategy involves both modestly increasing the price of the basic subscription and enhancing the premium SVIP offering, which saw significant growth in Q4. He also noted that user time spent on the platform is at a historical high, supporting retention.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs asked for the reasons behind the better-than-expected 2 million subscriber net additions in Q3 and the outlook for Q4, including promotion intensity and user retention.

Answer

An executive explained that the strong Q3 result was due to a stable operational strategy, expanded subscriber privileges, and successful festival campaigns. For Q4 and Q1, the company will maintain tight control over marketing to foster healthy, sustainable growth and emphasize content value. The strategy involves a combination of standard and SVIP tiers, enhanced by improved content and sound quality, to drive monetization and retention.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs asked about Yalla's game distribution strategy for its new mid-core and hardcore titles, focusing on the company's core competitive advantages.

Answer

COO Jianfeng Xu outlined a three-part strategy anchored on Yalla's core advantages: deep localization based on a decade of experience in the Middle East, efficient user acquisition leveraging its existing product ecosystem for low-cost targeting, and strong community operations with tailored in-game events and dedicated user care.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs questioned the latest rationale behind the shareholder return plan, particularly given the recent stock price rally, and inquired about the future consistency of the buyback program.

Answer

CEO Tao Yang stated that the company is accelerating its buyback program and has raised the 2025 target from an initial $28 million to $50 million. Yang emphasized the commitment to shareholders by highlighting the decision to cancel all shares repurchased this year. He promised another update next quarter on whether to increase the buyback scale further.

Lincoln Kong of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. inquired about Yalla's strategic vision for utilizing Artificial Intelligence to drive growth and innovation.

Answer

Chairman and CEO Tao Yang explained that Yalla is already using its dedicated algorithm team and proprietary AI platform to enhance products and boost efficiency. He emphasized that the company views AI as a key catalyst for future innovation and is actively exploring new use cases to deepen user engagement and maintain market leadership in the MENA region's digital entertainment market.

Lincoln Kong from Goldman Sachs questioned the impact of recent content performance and new membership initiatives, like the Star Diamond member benefits, on the membership business, and asked about the full-year 2025 strategy.

Answer

Youqiao Duan, SVP of Membership Business, stated that premium content since late November 2024 drove a significant turnaround in subscribing members. He highlighted key initiatives like reclassifying membership plans into individual/family categories, cracking down on password sharing, and adding valuable benefits for Diamond members. The 2025 strategy will focus on a stable supply of premium content, building a mass-market service to grow sales and retention, optimizing the product system for different content types including mini-dramas, and strengthening the overall brand value.