Xunlei - Q2 2025

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your patience. You've joined Xunlei's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the call over to the host and Investor Relations Manager, Ms. Luhan Tang.

Luhan Tang (Investor Relations Manager)

Good morning and good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining Xunlei's Q2 2025 Earnings Conference Call. With me today are Eric Zhou, CFO, and Li Li, Vice President of Finance. Our website has our earnings press release to supplement our prepared remarks during the call. Today's agenda includes a prepared opening remark from Chairman and CEO Mr. Jinbo Li on Q2 operational highlights, followed by CFO Eric Zhou's presentation of financial results details of Q2 2025 and revenue guidance for Q3 2025 before opening up the floor to your questions in the Q&A session. Please note that this call is recorded and can be replayed on our investor relations website at ir.xunlei.com.

Before we get started, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the discussion today will contain certain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on our management's current expectations under existing market conditions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those made in forward-looking statements. Please refer to our SEC filings for a more detailed description of the risk factors that may affect our results. Xunlei assumes no obligations to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable laws. On this call, we'll be using both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings press release.

Please note that all numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. Now, the following is a prepared statement by Mr. Jinbo Li, Chairman and CEO of Xunlei Limited. Good morning and good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

The second quarter of 2025 marks a significant milestone for Xunlei. During this period, we achieved a series of notable achievements. The successful acquisition of HuPu, a leading online community for sports enthusiasts, expanded Xunlei's reach into new user segments and content domains. Meanwhile, the IPO of Arashi Vision Inc., one of our invested companies, highlighted our strategic investment capabilities and our ability to identify high-potential ventures. Additionally, we reported year-over-year revenue growth of 30.6%, driven by strong performance across key business segments. This growth underscores the resilience of our business model and the effectiveness of our growth strategies. Just as I mentioned earlier, all of our core businesses showed robust growth during the second quarter. I'd like to take a moment to walk you through each segment and share some insights into the key drivers behind this performance.

In Q2, our subscription business generated $36.4 million in revenue, reflecting a 10.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Notably, we achieved a new record with the number of subscribers reaching 6.4 million. This growth was primarily driven by our continuous improvements on the existing features, our efforts to meet evolving user needs, as well as more refined marketing strategies aimed at expanding our diverse user base. Additionally, the percentage of users choosing our premium subscription, our highest-tier offering, rose to 81%, up from 77.1% in Q2 2024. It serves as evidence that our products and services have achieved user affirmation, and we're confident that our subscription offerings will continue to gain popularity among our valued user base. We're also excited to report our live streaming and other services achieved a strong year-over-year revenue growth of 85.5% in the second quarter, reaching $37.6 million.

This growth was largely fueled by the expansion of our overseas audio live streaming business, as well as advertising revenue from the recent acquisition of HuPu. We remain committed to deepening our presence in international markets by improving user engagement and continuously enhancing our features and services. Additionally, we are pleased to welcome HuPu to our Xunlei family. We expect the integration of HuPu will bring valuable complementary strengths and synergies, particularly in the areas of community-driven content, sports, and lifestyle sectors, as well as in advertising resources and strategies. We believe this collaboration will create promising new opportunities for future growth. Additionally, our cloud computing business brought in $30 million in revenue, marking a 13.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

This growth is largely due to the recovery from previous setbacks and the rising demand from our major clients, as we focused on providing cost-effective, scalable, and secure solutions that meet the diverse needs of our enterprise clients. At the same time, we actively tackled ongoing challenges such as competition and market uncertainty, turning them into opportunities for innovation and expansion. Our team's acute business sense and agile approach helped strengthen our market position and capacity to explore future options. During the second quarter, we booked approximately $720 million in realized pre-tax capital gains on our investment in Arashi Vision Inc. I believe that the future returns on this investment will provide a solid foundation for our sustained efforts to enhance operational efficiency and pursue innovative growth opportunities in emerging industries.

Looking ahead, I'm confident that the financial flexibility gained from this success will enable us to further strengthen our core business, invest in cutting-edge technologies, and expand into high-growth markets. We intend to explore all options to create value for our shareholders as well as all stakeholders. With that, I'll now pass the call over to Eric. Eric will give a detailed review of our Q2 2025 financial results and provide revenue guidance for the third quarter of 2025.

Eric Zhou (CFO)

Thank you, Luhan. Thank you all again for participating in Xunlei's conference call to discuss the financial results of the second quarter of 2025. In the second quarter, our total revenues were $104 million, representing an increase of 30.6% year-over-year. The increase in total revenues was mainly attributable to the increased revenue generated from our major business operations. Revenues from subscription services were $36.4 million, representing an increase of 10.5% year-over-year. The increase in subscription revenues was mainly driven by the increase in the number of subscribers and the increased average revenue per subscriber. The number of subscribers was 6.4 million as of June 30, 2025, compared with 5.71 million as of June 30, 2024. The average revenue per subscriber for the second quarter was RMB 40.8, compared with RMB 39.5 in the same period of last year.

The higher average revenue per subscriber was due to the increased proportion of premium subscribers, which have higher average revenue per subscriber. Revenues from live streaming and other services were $37.6 million, representing an increase of 85.5% year-over-year. The increase was mainly due to the growth of our overseas audio live streaming businesses, as well as advertising businesses, as a result of the acquisition of HuPu in June this year. The second quarter results included one-month financial results from HuPu. Revenues from cloud computing were $30 million, representing an increase of 13.6% year-over-year. The increase in cloud computing revenues was mainly attributable to the recovery from previous lows and increased demand from our major customers for cloud computing services. Cost of revenues was $52.3 million, representing 50.3% of our total revenue, compared with $38.6 million, or 48.5% of the total revenues in the same period of 2024.

The increase in cost of revenues was mainly attributable to the increase in bandwidth costs and revenue sharing expenses in our overseas audio live streaming operations, generally in line with the growth in revenues. Gross profit for the second quarter of 2025 was $51.2 million, representing an increase of 25.9% year-over-year. Gross profit margin was 49.2% in the second quarter of 2025, compared with 51.1% in the same period of 2024. The increase in gross profit was mainly driven by our overseas audio live streaming business, subscription business, and advertising business. The decrease in gross margin was mainly attributable to the decreased gross margin of our cloud computing business. Research and development expenses for the second quarter of 2025 were $18.4 million, representing 17.7% of our total revenues, compared with $17.5 million, or 21.9% of our total revenues in the same period of 2024.

The increase in R&D spending was primarily due to the increased labor costs incurred during the quarter. Sales and marketing expenses for the second quarter of 2025 were $21.6 million, representing 20.8% of our total revenues, compared with $10.9 million, or 13.7% of our total revenues in the same period of 2024. The increase was primarily due to more marketing expenses incurred during the quarter for our subscription services and overseas audio live streaming business as part of our ongoing efforts on acquisition. G&A expenses for the second quarter of 2025 were $9.8 million, representing 9.4% of our total revenues, compared with $11.2 million, or 14.1% of our total revenues in the same period of 2024. The decrease was primarily due to the decrease in provision for liquidation, depreciation expenses, and labor costs during the second quarter of 2025.

Operating income was $1.1 million, compared with operating income of $1 million in the same period of 2024. Other income, net, was $721.8 million, compared with other income, net, of $2.5 million in the same period of 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to the fair value changes in our long-term investment in Arashi Vision Inc., which completed its IPO in June 2025. Net income was $727.4 million, compared with net income of $2.5 million in the same period of 2024. The increase in net income was primarily due to the increase in other income. Non-GAAP net income was $8.3 million in the second quarter of 2025, compared with $3.2 million in the same period of 2024. The increase in non-GAAP income was primarily due to the increase in operating income and income tax benefits.

Diluted earnings per ADS in the second quarter of 2025 was $11.48, compared with diluted earnings per ADS of $0.04 in the second quarter of 2024. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was $0.13 in the second quarter, compared with non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS of $0.05 in the same period of 2024. As of June 30, 2025, the company had cash equivalents and short-term investments of $275.6 million, compared with $274.6 million as of March 31, 2025. The increase was mainly due to the increase in proceeds from bank borrowing and net cash inflow from operating activities, partially offset by the payment for acquisition of HuPu. On June 4, 2024, Xunlei announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new plan for the purchase of up to $20 million of its stocks over the 12 months that followed.

As of June 4, 2025, the company had spent $6.5 million on share buybacks under the new share repurchase program. No shares were purchased during the second quarter of 2025. That is the technical guidance for the third quarter of 2025. For the third quarter of 2025, Xunlei expects total revenues to be between $116 million and $124 million, and the midpoint of the range represents a quarter-over-quarter increase of approximately 15.4%. This estimate reflects management's preliminary view as of the date of this press release, which is subject to change, and any change could be material. Now we conclude prepared remarks for the conference call. Hopefully, we are ready to take questions.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question now, please press *11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press *11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. We will now take our first question from the line of Tee Lee. Your line is open, Tee, please go ahead.

Speaker 4

[Foreign language]

Eric Zhou (CFO)

Thank you. The caller said that I'm very glad and congrats for your good performance for the second quarter of 2025. She mentioned that our live streaming business achieved more than 80% in the quarter-over-quarter increase. She would like to know the breakdown of the components of the live streaming and other services for the HuPu in. Thanks for your question. The acquisition of HuPu was completed at the end of May this year. During the second quarter, only HuPu's financial data for the month of June was consolidated, contributing about $3.2 million, or approximately 3.1% of our total revenues. We expect to report more for HuPu's operational data during the coming quarters.

Speaker 5

[Foreign language]

Eric Zhou (CFO)

Let's start. If excluding HuPu's contribution, what would be the growth rate of our overseas live streaming business? The revenue from live streaming and other services together were $37.6 million, representing an increase of 85.5% year-over-year. If we exclude HuPu's contribution, the growth rate for the second quarter for overseas live streaming business alone was about 80.3%. Thank you.

Speaker 5

[Foreign language]

Luhan Tang (Investor Relations Manager)

All right, thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press *11 on your telephone keypad. We will now take our next question from the line of Wei Zhou from HWS Fund. Please go ahead, Wei.

Wei Zhou (Analyst)

[Foreign language]

Eric Zhou (CFO)

Okay, basically, he would like to know the performance of each of our three main business segments. He would like to also know if our operations will make positive contributions to our total performance. I'll try to speak Chinese and English. I think that's okay. Basically, now, as I mentioned, we have three main businesses. For subscription business, basically, it contributed to all our positive operating income. For our live streaming business, it's still in the growth stage, and we still invest heavily in this business. So far, it's still losing money. For our cloud computing business, recently, it has improved the performance, but overall, the sector is still losing money. We have one segment making money, and the two other segments are still losing money. For our HuPu business, in June, it contributed to our top line, and also, it made positive contributions to the bottom line.

Though we do not provide earnings or net income guidance, we do expect HuPu business on a yearly basis will make positive contributions to our total performance. Thank you.

Speaker 5

[Foreign language]

Wei Zhou (Analyst)

[Foreign language]

Luhan Tang (Investor Relations Manager)

Thank you. Once again, the star one one for questions. I'm showing no further questions. I'd now like to turn the conference back to the management team for closing comments.

Eric Zhou (CFO)

Thank you for your time and participation. If you have any questions, please visit our website at ir.xunlei.com or send emails to our investor relations. Have a good day. We conclude today's conference call. Thank you.

Luhan Tang (Investor Relations Manager)

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect your lines.