Cheetah Mobile Inc. Q2 FY2025 Earnings Call

Thank you, operator. Welcome to Cheetah Mobile's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. With us today are our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Fu Sheng; and our Director and CFO, Mr. Thomas Ren. Following management's prepared remarks, we will conduct the Q&A section. Please note that the management's trade will be presented by an AI agent. Before we begin, I refer you to the safe harbor statement in our earnings release, which also applies to our conference call today as we will make forward-looking statements. At this time, I would now like to turn the conference call over to our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Fu Sheng. Please go ahead.

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. In the second quarter, we delivered our best results since Q1 2021. Revenue grew 58% year-over-year driven by a 39% year-over-year increase in Internet business and an 86% year-over-year increase in AI and other segments. Our operating loss decreased 86% year-over-year, while non-GAAP operating loss was down 97% from last year, almost breakeven. In the first half of 2025, our revenue grew by 47% year-over-year. We believe we can maintain fast growth in the second half of 2025, driven by about 100% year-over-year revenue growth in our AI and other segments, along with a stable Internet business. This shows our turnaround is working and gaining momentum. What is even more important is how we work today. We have made AI a core part of our process, working in an AI-native way. Our R&D teams are small and flexible, using AI every day to design, test, and build products, much like open-source developers. This helps us move faster and use fewer resources; it ensures AI allows one person to do what once took a whole team. We have been investing in AI since 2016, and at the intersection of AI and robotics today, we now have advantages and experience that are hard to replicate. For example, our AI tool that turns video, audio, and documents into summaries and mind maps operates with only three full-time employees. Our core Internet business remains solid, thanks to our shift from advertising to a subscription model, which has improved user engagement and retention. Today, subscriptions make up about 60% of our Internet revenues. This healthy base gives us the room to invest in new AI products while staying financially disciplined. We are enhancing existing apps like Duba Anti-virus, Wallpaper apps, and PDF tools with AI agents. For example, in Duba Anti-virus, we are testing a new AI feature that helps users fix PC issues, especially long-tail problems that could not be solved before, and early feedback is encouraging. While we are still in the launch and improvement phase for most AI utilities, we believe Chase has a natural advantage of utility applications. At the end of the day, the core value of AI utilities is to help people work more efficiently and productively. If we can deliver on that, we believe users will be willing to use our products. On the service robotics side, we made solid progress. Revenues from service robots continue to contribute to growth in the AI and other segments. In late July, we completed the acquisition of a new factory of a robotics company that is already profitable and earns small service revenue overseas. Combining the new factory's strengths with Cheetah's distribution network and over 100 global partners gives us a clear advantage to scale globally. In fact, our robots are already being used at scale in real-world scenarios, from assembly picking, painting, and expensive tasks in factories to grabbing beverages, making coffee and beers in commercial applications, strawberry harvesting in agricultural settings, and even in universities for robot research. We now have a broad range of robots, and we are piloting robots with arms that can handle more physical tasks in more places. We believe the true breakthrough in robotics is not just in using the most advanced lab technology but in finding technologies that match real-world use cases, which can scale and generate earnings for the company. While the future of robotics is exciting, our years of experience tell us that real commercial adoption depends on delivering sustainable ROI that customers can clearly see. Our strategy is to stay optimistic yet patient, moving forward steadily. We will continue to identify scalable use cases and grow the business gradually. That said, we want to caution investors that it is not something that will reach mass deployment in the coming quarters. The service robotics market is still developing, but AI agents are making robots smarter and easier to use. Since adding agent OS, our next-generation voice system powered by AI agents, earlier this year, our voice-enabled robot revenue in China grew by about 100% in Q2, driven by recurring demand from our existing channel partners alongside expansion into new high-quality customers in healthcare, education, and cultural institutions, such as the National Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, this growth does not rely on one large order that comes from steady and repeat demand, especially in use cases for guiding and reception, which shows it is sustainable. Few companies have both our global experience in consumer-focused products and real-world robotics operations. This unique combination allows us to apply AI agent technology across both software and hardware, creating synergies that are hard to replicate, supporting our goal to become a leading service robot company in the coming years. Looking ahead, our core Internet business remains healthy and profitable. We will keep investing in AI tools and robotics with discipline, and we are on track to reach profitability in the near term. Our strong cash position and zero debt give us the flexibility to grow while keeping our finances strong. Our transformation is just getting started, but it is already producing results. We are building two growth engines, AI-powered utility apps, and AI robots that work together as synergistic forces, combining software and hardware to create a stronger moat, expand our market reach, and open new growth opportunities. At the same time, our solid Internet business and strong cash resources provide a stable base. With over seven years of R&D in AI-focused strategy and a culture of innovation, we are confident about the world ahead.

Thank you, Fu Sheng. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining the call. Unless otherwise stated, all financial figures are presented in RMB. In the second quarter of 2025, we continued to make meaningful progress, narrowing our losses and improving profitability as we remain focused on execution, efficiency, and financial discipline. In fact, on a non-GAAP basis, we almost reached breakeven on the operating level in Q2. Let me walk you through the key financial results for the quarter. Total revenue reached RMB 295 million, up 58% year-over-year and 14% quarter-over-quarter, marking a strong acceleration. Gross profit increased by 85% year-over-year and 19% quarter-over-quarter to RMB 22 million. Gross margin improved to 76%, up from 65% in the year-ago quarter and 73% in the previous quarter. Operating loss narrowed to RMB 11 million, an 86% year-over-year decrease and a 58% quarter-over-quarter decrease. On a non-GAAP basis, our operating loss declined to RMB 2 million, down 97% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter. The net loss attributable to Cheetah shareholders decreased by 82% year-over-year and 32% quarter-over-quarter to RMB 23 million. The loss attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders fell by 87% year-over-year and 35% quarter-over-quarter to RMB 14 million. These profitability improvements reflect our ongoing efforts to sharpen focus, improve efficiency, and optimize our cost structure, particularly as we shift from early-stage experimentation to ROI-focused execution in our AI initiatives. In our AI and Other segments, we have exited certain compute-sensitive directions, such as developing our own foundation models, a strategic shift that has significantly reduced our infrastructure spending. At the same time, we have streamlined our R&D process by leveraging AI tools and refocused resources on AI utility applications that generate user value. For example, R&D expenses accounted for 24% of our AI and other segment revenue in the quarter, down from 39% in the year-ago quarter and 28% in the previous quarter. These efforts have materially improved the operating profit of our AI and other segments, with adjusted operating losses decreasing by 63% year-over-year and 32% quarter-over-quarter. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our ability to achieve profitability with a clear and disciplined strategy. We see two key drivers for this path. First, our Internet business continues to deliver steady profits and serves as a solid financial foundation. In Q2, the adjusted operating margin for this segment was 14%, up from 12% in the year-ago quarter. Our transition from an ad-centric model to a subscription-driven model is showing good momentum. We believe this momentum is sustainable, supported by loyal user cohorts and diversified distribution channels. Second, in our AI and Other segment, we are building for long-term profitability by growing both our consumer-facing AI tools and enterprise-facing robotics. For our robotics business, we are prioritizing scalable use cases with clear user demand and engagement, emphasizing our core competencies in powered voice interaction, including natural conversation capabilities similar to our LOM-based agents and best-in-class indoor mobility, which we believe offers the most reliable and cost-effective solution for scalable robot deployment. We are continuously improving our robust intelligence and product experience through agents while maintaining a lean and agile team structure. A recent milestone was our acquisition of a new factory, one of the few profitable robotic arm companies globally. The new factory brings a proven track record of profitable growth, a clear market position, and consistent value creation, all aligned with our vision to scale differentiated robotic solutions over time. On the AI tools front, our tool that summarizes video, audio, PDFs, and other documents into concise takeaways and mind maps has shown encouraging early user adoption, validating product-market fit. Our balance sheet remains strong; as of June 30, 2025, we have RMB 282 billion in cash and cash equivalents and USD 110 million in long-term investments. We generated RMB 362 million in operating cash flow during the quarter. This financial strength gives us the flexibility to continue investing in high-potential growth opportunities while maintaining capital discipline. We will also remain open to strategic partnerships and acquisitions to accelerate capability building in targeted verticals. To summarize, this was another quarter of measurable progress on our path to breakeven. We are encouraged by early signs of sustainable profitability supported by: first, our profitable and resilient Internet business; second, a disciplined ROI-focused AI strategy; and third, strong capital flexibility to invest in long-term growth. Thank you. We are now happy to take your questions.

The first question today will come from Thomas Chong of Jefferies.

This was another quarter of measurable progress on our path to breakeven. We are encouraged by early signs of sustainable profitability supported by our profitable and resilient Internet business, a disciplined ROI-focused AI strategy, and strong capital flexibility to invest in long-term growth. Thank you. We are now happy to take your questions. The first question today will come from Thomas Chong of Jefferies.

We are seeing measurable progress on our path to breakeven. Early signs of sustainable profitability are encouraging, supported by our profitable and resilient Internet business, a disciplined ROI-focused AI strategy, and strong capital flexibility for long-term growth. Thank you. We are now happy to take your questions. The first question today will come from Thomas Chong of Jefferies.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Our next question will come from Vicky Wei of Citi.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you, operator. Please move to the next question.

Our next question is from Nancy Liu of JPMorgan.

Thank you, operator. Please move to the next question.

Thank you, operator. Please move to the next question.

Operator, please move to the next question. Thank you.

Our next question today will come from Brenda Zhao of CICC.

Thank you, operator. Please move to the next question.

Thank you, operator. Please move to the next question.

Our next question today will come from an unknown analyst.

Our next question is from Nancy Liu of JPMorgan. Operator, please move to the next question. Thank you. Our next question today will come from Brenda Zhao of CICC.

Operator, please move to the next question. Thank you.

Operator, please move to the next question. Thank you.

Our next question today will come from an unknown analyst.

Thank you. Please move to the next question.

Our next question today will come from Brenda Zhao of CICC.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

The next question today will come from an unknown analyst.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Our next question today will come from Joanna Ma of CMBI.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Our next question will come from Jack Yang of Mizuho.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Thank you. Operator, please move to the next question.

Operator, can you please check if we have any further questions?

At this time, I am not showing any additional questions in the question queue.

Okay. And then we can just end the call.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for joining our conference call today. If you have any further questions, please just let us know. You can send us an email or just give a call. Thank you so much.

The conference has now concluded. We do thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a nice day.