In the third quarter, major Chinese technology firms presented a mixed financial landscape. Tencent Holdings reported robust earnings, exceeding analyst predictions, largely attributed to advancements in artificial intelligence that spurred advertising revenue. Concurrently, Bilibili, a prominent video-sharing platform, demonstrated a potential early investment window, having surpassed its earnings estimates. However, e-commerce giant JD.com experienced a notable reduction in profit compared to the previous year, a consequence of substantial investments in emerging sectors, particularly grocery delivery services.
This quarter's results underscore a dynamic period for these companies, with AI emerging as a key growth driver for some, while others navigate the complexities of strategic expansion and market competition. The varying outcomes reflect distinct operational priorities and the broader economic shifts influencing China's digital economy.
Tencent's AI-Driven Success and Market Standing
Tencent, a dominant force in Chinese social media and gaming, exceeded financial forecasts for the third quarter. The company's adjusted earnings per share reached 7.58 yuan (approximately $1.06), outperforming the estimated 7 yuan per share. This represents a significant 21.6% increase from the prior year. Revenue also saw a healthy rise of 17.4%, totaling 192.87 billion yuan (around $27.099 billion), surpassing projections of 189.04 billion yuan. This impressive performance was largely fueled by Tencent's strategic focus on artificial intelligence, which enhanced ad targeting and user engagement in gaming, as stated by CEO Ma Huateng. The company's messaging platforms, Weixin (domestic) and WeChat (international), collectively saw a 2% growth in monthly average users, reaching 1.414 billion. Revenue streams diversified, with gaming and social network services contributing 95.9 billion yuan (up 16%), marketing services 36.2 billion yuan (up 21% due to increased ad impressions and cost per thousand impressions), and fintech and business services (including cloud) growing 10% to 58.2 billion yuan. Tencent is actively enhancing its HunYan AI foundation model, which has driven wider adoption of its Yuanbao AI chatbot. Additionally, a recent agreement with Apple will grant the iPhone maker a 15% share of purchases made through WeChat mini-games and applications.
Bilibili's Growth and JD.com's Strategic Investments
Bilibili, often recognized as 'China's YouTube,' reported adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents in the third quarter, marking a substantial 212% increase from the previous year when the company first achieved profitability. Despite a 17% decline in gaming revenue due to a challenging comparison with a successful video game launch in the year-ago period, overall revenue grew by 7% to $1.08 billion. The company saw strong performance in premium memberships and value-added services, which rose 7% to $424.6 million, and ad revenue, which increased by 23% to $361 million. Daily average users expanded by 9% to 117 million, while monthly paying users climbed 17% to 35 million, reflecting solid user engagement driven by high-quality content and a unique community experience, as noted by CEO Rui Chen. Conversely, e-commerce giant JD.com experienced a profit reduction, earning 53 cents per share, a 56% drop from the previous year. However, its revenue increased by 16.9% to $42.019 billion. CFO Ian Shu Shan explained that the decline in profit was primarily due to significant investments in new business ventures, such as grocery delivery, which the company plans to scale with improving financial models over time. While Tencent's stock saw a modest rise, Bilibili experienced an early dip despite its earnings, and JD.com remained relatively stable, indicating diverse market reactions to their latest financial results.