Earnings Call Transcript - WB Q1 2024

Operator, Operator

Good day, and thank you for joining us. Welcome to Weibo's First Quarter 2024 Financial Results. Please note that today's conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to our first speaker, Sandra Zhang, IR Head. Please proceed.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Thank you, operator. Welcome to Weibo first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Chief Executive Officer, Gaofei Wang; and our Chief Financial Officer, Fei Cao. The conference call is also being broadcasted on the internet and is available through Weibo's IR website. Before the management remarks, I would like to read you the safe harbor statement in connection with today's conference call. During today's conference call, we may make forward-looking statements, statements that are not historical facts, including statements of our beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Weibo assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statement in this conference call and elsewhere. Further information regarding this and other risks is included in Weibo's Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the SEC. All the information provided in this press release is occurring as of the date hereof. Weibo assumes no obligation to update such information except as required under applicable law. Additionally, I would like to remind you that our discussion today includes certain non-GAAP measures, which exclude stock-based compensation and certain other expenses. We use non-GAAP financial measures to gain a better understanding of Weibo's comparative operating performance and future prospects. Our non-GAAP financials exclude certain expenses, gains or losses, and other items that are not expected to result in future cash payment or are non-recurring in nature, or are not indicative of our core operating results and outlook. Please refer to our press release for more information about our non-GAAP measures. Following the management prepared remarks, we'll open the lines for a brief Q&A session. With this, I would like to turn the call over to our CEO, Gaofei Wang.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Our non-GAAP financials exclude certain expenses, gains or losses, and other items that are not expected to result in future cash payment or are non-recurring in nature, or are not indicative of our core operating results and outlook. Please refer to our press release for more information about our non-GAAP measures. Following the management prepared remarks, we'll open the lines for a brief Q&A session. With this, I would like to turn the call over to our CEO, Gaofei Wang.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Thank you. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Weibo's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. On today's call, I'll share highlights on Weibo's product and monetization in the first quarter of 2024.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Thank you. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Weibo's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. On today's call, I'll share with you highlights on Weibo's product and monetization in the first quarter of 2024.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

On the user front, in the first quarter, Weibo's monthly active users reached 588 million and average daily usage reached 255 million. Given our already substantial user community and the increasingly mature mindset of our users, we have proactively revised our user strategy for 2024 with a greater budget allocated towards acquiring and engaging high-quality users. We are committed to further improving Weibo's product competitiveness by optimizing our channel strategy, enhancing social features, and differentiating ourselves in trending topics.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

In the first quarter, Weibo's MAU reached 588 million and average daily use reached 255 million. Given the established user base and evolving user mindset, we have proactively adjusted our user strategy for 2024 by allocating more budget toward acquiring and engaging high-quality users. We are committed to further improving Weibo's product competitiveness by optimizing our channel strategy, enhancing social features, and differentiating in trending topics.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

On the monetization front, over the past two years, we have concentrated on increasing the commercial value of Weibo's hot-trends by integrating entertainment and IP-related hot-trends content with advertising and marketing demand. This quarter, we boosted the hot-trends effect for the spring festival, taking advantage of Weibo's strength in hot-trends marketing. Despite a generally sluggish end market in the first quarter of 2024, our total revenues were USD 395.5 million and total ad revenues amounted to USD 339 million. On a constant currency basis, both our total revenues and ad revenues are expected to remain flat year-over-year. For the first quarter of 2024, our non-GAAP operating income was USD 125.8 million, which reflects a non-GAAP operating margin of 32%, showing a modest increase year-over-year.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Our total revenues reached USD 395.5 million and our total ad revenues reached USD 339 million. On a constant currency basis, both our total revenues and ad revenues will be flat year-over-year. For the first quarter of 2024, our non-GAAP operating income reached USD 125.8 million, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 32%, showing a modest pickup year-over-year.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Next, I'll share our progress in product operation and monetization during the first quarter. In 2024, we continue to concentrate on increasing user scale and engagement, enhancing the competitiveness of our content ecosystem, and improving operating efficiency as our primary strategic goals. We are optimizing channel collaboration, boosting the competitiveness of social and trending products, and strengthening key content verticals to further enhance the overall competitiveness and healthy growth of Weibo's content ecosystem. We believe that implementing this strategy will establish a strong foundation for revenue recovery from users, content, and monetization, positioning us to seize market opportunities when the macro economy improves and demand for brand advertising increases.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

We continue to optimize channel collaboration, enhance the competitiveness of our social and trending products, and strengthen key content areas to improve the overall competitiveness and sustainable growth of Weibo's content ecosystem. We believe that executing this strategy will establish a strong foundation for our revenue recovery from users, content, and monetization, allowing us to seize market opportunities as the macro economy improves and brand advertising demand increases.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

On the channel front, we maintained close collaboration with handset manufacturers, focusing on acquiring high-value users and promoting user engagement. We also invested in enhancing the accuracy of our algorithm and the targeting capability of our business model to create enriched content offerings for our channel users and increase user engagement, which lays the foundation for monetization.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

On the channel front, we maintained close collaboration with handset manufacturers, focusing on the acquisition of high-value users and promotion of user engagement. We also invested to further refine the accuracy of our algorithm and targeting capability of our business model in order to create enriched content offerings for our channel users and increase user engagement, which lays the foundation for monetization.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

In the first quarter, we continued to implement strategies aimed at developing content verticals to support the recovery of our vertical content ecosystem. We focused on adjusting the algorithms for relationship-based and interest-based feeds to distribute personalized vertical content more effectively to users. This has strengthened real-time feedback and promoted social conversions, leading to increased content consumption and interaction efficiency in these feeds. In 2024, we increased our investment in user-generated content (UGC) and enhanced the creation of high-quality UGC on Weibo. We encouraged users to produce more quality content around trending topics and verticals to enhance user engagement and diversify content in specific areas. For instance, in the mobile photography segment on Weibo, we launched long-term streaming tracks, collaborated with media and handset manufacturers on content creation, and hosted offline photography exhibitions to inspire users to share their photography of scenery, culture, and everyday life. As a result, over 6 million users participated in the contest over 5 months, contributing approximately 3 million photos. This year, we aim to recognize more similar initiatives and encourage user participation in content generation, leveraging Weibo's influence to enrich our ecosystem.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

We collaborated with media and device manufacturers and hosted offline photography exhibitions to motivate everyday users to share their photos of landscapes, culture, and life on Weibo. As a result, more than 6 million users joined the contest in five months and submitted around 3 million photos. This year, we plan to acknowledge more similar initiatives and encourage user participation in content creation, utilizing Weibo's influence to enhance our company ecosystem.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Additionally, we upgraded the posting and interaction features for the Super Topic products. To enhance user engagement within the community, users can earn traffic incentives on high-quality content they post while enjoying social interactions around interest-based content within the Super Topic community. In the first quarter, the number of users posting and interacting in the Super Topic community increased by double digits compared to Q4 of last year. The Super Topic has become a key channel for attracting high-quality content creators focused on specific interests.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

In the first quarter, the number of users who posted and engaged in the Super Topic community saw significant growth compared to the previous quarter. The Super Topic has emerged as a key channel for attracting high-quality content creators focused on specific interests.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

In the first quarter, while staying competitive in trending areas like entertainment and other profitable IP-related sectors, we are concentrating on boosting investment in fields such as digital, automotive, gaming, fashion, beauty, and healthcare to strengthen Weibo's ecosystem and improve monetization effectiveness.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

On content ecosystem, in the first quarter, while maintaining our competitiveness in hot trends, entertainment, and other advantaged IP-related verticals, we focused on increasing investment in verticals such as digital, automotive, gaming, fashion, beauty, and healthcare to enhance the competitiveness of Weibo's ecosystem and further improve monetization efficiency.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

In the first quarter, during the Spring Festival, we released a significant amount of entertainment content and integrated our operations across hot-trends entertainment and various verticals to engage more users in consuming and interacting with Spring Festival-related content, utilizing our strengths in these areas. This resulted in a notable increase in overall platform traffic. The total views for content related to the Spring Festival Gala reached 100 billion, with discussions exceeding 300 million, representing a 50% year-over-year growth. The surge in traffic around hot-trends during the Spring Festival also generated substantial commercial value. By amplifying the hot-trends and IP effects, our cross-vertical operations enhanced platform efficiency and solidified Weibo's influence in key industries. Furthermore, as hot-trends become more standardized and the marketing process becomes more streamlined, we foresee sustainable revenue growth in the future. We are confident that Weibo will continue to lead the industry in hot-trends operations and marketing.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Cross-vertical operations amplified the hot-trends and the IP effect on the platform, improved the platform's operating efficiency, and established Weibo's influence in key industries. As hot-trends become increasingly standardized and the process of hot-trends marketing becomes smoother, we will also achieve sustainable revenue growth moving forward. We are confident that Weibo will maintain its leading position in the industry in future hot-trends operations and marketing.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

On industry-related content verticals, this year, we will continue to execute some key strategies we adopted in the fourth quarter of last year. First, we aim to strengthen the construction of a vertical company ecosystem. Specifically, we will enhance our support of vertical content by engaging cross-vertical accounts and media outlets in the creation and distribution of popular vertical content. Second, we will redirect more traffic to vertical accounts to promote the growth of high-quality accounts in these areas, enabling them to achieve higher commercial returns with their own content on the Weibo platform. In addition to the healthcare industry mentioned in last quarter's conference call, we also saw significant growth in the automobile, digital products, and online games sectors this quarter. We are pleased to observe a substantial increase in the number of golden and orange verified accounts, their traffic interaction, and the annual ad revenues generated. Particularly in the online game vertical, the number of golden and orange verified accounts rose nearly 50% year-over-year, with traffic and interaction increasing by over 20%, and revenues from marketing activities tripling yearly. Consequently, we have gradually integrated the content and monetization ecosystem for the online game vertical in a closer, healthier manner. In terms of the cosmetic and beauty vertical, we achieved significant growth in the number of hot-trends and golden verified accounts over the past two quarters, leveraging our traffic support and hot-trends operations. However, due to strong competition from other platforms and accounts, Weibo's content ecosystem in the cosmetic and beauty vertical has returned to an effective growth trajectory. We must maintain our investment and establish a stable and effective roadmap to optimize the content ecosystem to bolster our competitiveness in this vertical.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

We have seen growth in the number of popular trends and verified accounts over the last two quarters, benefiting from our traffic support and trend operations. However, due to intense competition from other platforms, Weibo's content ecosystem in the cosmetics and beauty sector is now back on a path of effective growth. We need to maintain our investments and develop a stable and efficient strategy to optimize the content ecosystem to strengthen our competitiveness in this area.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Moving on to monetization. In 2024, we will continue to strengthen our efforts to enhance our competitive monetization strategies. By leveraging Weibo's strengths in trending topics and intellectual property, as well as fostering a vertical content ecosystem, we aim to improve our content marketing and performance advertising products, which will help us better navigate business risks in key industries.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Moving on to monetization. In 2024, we will continue to strengthen our efforts to reinforce our competitive monetization strategies. By leveraging Weibo's expertise in trending topics and intellectual properties, along with advancing our vertical content ecosystem, we aim to enhance our competitive edge in content marketing and performance advertising products, which will help us better manage business risks in key industries.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Amid a relatively soft end market in the first quarter, our ad revenue remained flat year-over-year on a constant currency basis. During the Spring Festival, we used our platform resources for customers' marketing campaigns by incorporating trending topics on Weibo and market hype for clients. We aimed to accommodate our customers' promotion budgets as much as possible. As a result, our gross ad revenues from the Spring Festival ad placements increased by 50% year-over-year, with gross ad revenues linked to the Spring Festival IPs doubling year-over-year thanks to our diverse marketing offerings and products. More customers from various industries participated in the Spring Festival marketing campaigns. Consequently, our gross ad revenue from sectors such as e-commerce, online games, footwear and apparel, healthcare, digital products, and food and beverages all more than doubled year-over-year. For instance, during the Spring Festival, a beverage brand launched the Send Good Wishes campaigns on Weibo, leveraging trending topics surrounding their brand ambassador, such as Spring Festival greetings and auspicious words. Over 300 celebrities shared good wishes under the topic of good luck in the Year of the Dragon to create an auspicious atmosphere and enhance the brand's connection to auspicious culture. As a result, the customer successfully generated market hype, with its brand exposure on Weibo increasing by 290%, which contributed to a 20% year-over-year growth in e-commerce sales for the brand during the Spring Festival season.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

The brand ambassador engaged in activities like sharing Spring Festival greetings and positive messages, contributing to the popularity of the brand. More than 300 celebrities shared well-wishes about good fortune in the Year of the Dragon, fostering a positive atmosphere and bolstering the brand's association with auspicious culture. Consequently, the customer achieved significant market hype, as brand exposure on Weibo surged by 290%, leading to a 20% increase in e-commerce sales during the Spring Festival season compared to the previous year.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

We are pleased to see that the handset online game industry has maintained double-digit growth year-over-year. The handset sectors continue to grow from a strong foundation as we gain a larger market share among customers and budgets, thanks to their recognition of our trending marketing offerings. Additionally, the online games have benefited from game license approvals and increased client demand for content marketing, resulting in significant growth in ad revenue from the gaming sector.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

On the industry, we are pleased to see the handset online game industry sustained double-digit growth year-over-year. The handset sectors continue to grow off a high base as we capture higher volume share among customers and budgets, thanks to the customers' recognition of hot-trends marketing offerings. As for the online games, with the support from game license approval and the client's growing demand for content marketing, ad revenue from the game sector also grew significantly.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

On the flip side, despite a sequential recovery, the cosmetic and beauty sector continued to decline year-over-year as we previously expected. This was mainly because consumer preferences are gradually shifting toward more cost-effective products. As a result, sales of international beauty brands were still under pressure, negatively impacting the pace of new product launches and their scalable budget. That said, we are pleased to see continuous improvement in domestic beauty brands regarding product quality and brand marketing, which has led to increased brand ad placements on Weibo since the second half of last year. In the first quarter, ad revenues from domestic beauty brands grew over 50% year-over-year. However, this growth still cannot fully offset the impact of the decline in international brands on our overall revenue. To enhance client willingness for new product marketing and improve performance, we will strengthen cooperation with e-commerce platforms and domestic brands, actively exploring synergistic promotion of new products in the FMCG industry on social and e-commerce platforms to provide clients with better marketing support. We hope these efforts will lead to more stable growth in the FMCG industry in the coming quarters. In the second quarter, we will test in-depth cooperation with Tmall, focusing on the beauty, footwear, and apparel industries, leveraging Weibo's strength in hot-trends marketing to create full funnel value for customers for their new product launches, from social influence to e-commerce conversion, thus enhancing customers' perception of Weibo's value in hot-trends marketing.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

We hope these efforts will translate into more stable growth in the FMCG industry in the coming quarters. In the second quarter, we will test in-depth cooperation with Tmall focusing on the beauty, footwear, and apparel industries, leveraging Weibo's strength in hot-trends marketing to create full funnel value for customers for their new product launches from social influence to e-commerce conversion and thus enhance customers' perception of Weibo's value in hot-trends marketing.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Overall, while revenues from certain sectors, particularly the cosmetic and beauty industry, did not meet expectations and impacted overall revenue growth, we achieved a respectable operating profit, which increased from last year. This was due to the effective execution of our efficiency initiatives, enhanced operating efficiency, stable profitability, and robust cash flow. Additionally, we have improved our financial flexibility, allowing us to invest in our vertical company ecosystem to foster user growth and engagement, and to bolster our competitive edge in monetization.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

The industry did not meet expectations and impacted overall revenue growth, but we achieved good operating profit, which grew from last year due to effective execution of our efficiency initiatives. This was made possible by enhanced operating efficiency, stable profitability, and strong cash flow. We also improved our financial flexibility, allowing us to invest in the vertical company ecosystem to foster user growth and engagement, while also enhancing our monetization competitiveness.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

With that, let me hand the call over to Fei Cao for a financial review.

Fei Cao, CFO

Thank you, Gaofei, and hello, everyone. Welcome to Weibo's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Let's start with user metrics. In March 2024, Weibo's MAUs reached 588 million and average DAUs reached 255 million. Given our massive user base and increasingly mature mindset, we have proactively adjusted our user strategy in 2024, which puts more emphasis on the acquisition and engagement of high-quality users, leveraging effective channel investments, optimizing social features, and our differentiation in hot-trends. Turning to financials. As a reminder, my prepared remarks will focus on non-GAAP results. All monetary amounts are in U.S. dollar terms and all the comparisons are on a year-over-year basis, unless otherwise noted. We continue to experience challenges in our financials due to the volatility of foreign exchange rates in the last 12 months. Since our business primarily operates in China, while we report our financials in U.S. dollars, our financial performance was affected by adverse currency movements. Now let me walk you through our financial highlights for the first quarter of 2024. Weibo's first quarter 2024 net revenue was USD 395.5 million, a decrease of 4% or flattish on a constant currency basis. Operating income was USD 125.8 million, representing an operating margin of 32%. Net income attributable to Weibo reached USD 106.6 million, representing a net margin of 27%. Diluted EPS was USD 0.41. Let me give more color on the first quarter 2024 revenue performance. Weibo's advertising and marketing revenues for the first quarter of 2024 was USD 339 million, a decrease of 5% or flattish on a constant currency basis, reflecting low seasonality and the past macro environment. Mobile ad revenue was USD 322.5 million, contributing approximately 95% of total ad revenue. In terms of growth, the online game and the product sector demonstrated strong momentum, both booking double-digit growth. For the online game sector, we benefited from normalization with game license approval and captured ad budget of newly launched blockbuster titles. We are also encouraged to see the solid increase of handset sector continued into 2024, leveraging our years of cultivation around content ecosystem in the vertical. But FMCG categories continued on a descending trajectory year-over-year, though delivering sequential growth. Within the FMCG category, the food and beverage and the apparel sectors already returned to positive growth, while the cosmetic and personal care sector still faces challenges from a lack of new product releases and competition among ad platforms. The ad product promoting feed ads was the largest, followed by social display, topic, and search. Ad revenue from Alibaba for the first quarter was USD 22.6 million, an increase of 23% or 29% on a constant currency basis. We are pleased to see the solid ad growth from Alibaba continue into 2024. As advertisers actively embrace the campaign before the opening of the Olympic Games, consumption sentiment also seems to be bottoming out with the holiday effect and execution of economic stimulus packages. We hope for further recovery of our ad business in the second half of the year, driven by one-time events as well as a relatively comparable user base. Turning to VAS, VAS revenue was USD 56.5 million in the first quarter, a decrease of 3% or an increase of 1% on a constant currency basis. Turning to cost and expenses, total cost and expenses for the first quarter were USD 269.7 million, a decrease of 5%, mainly due to lower personnel-related expenses and marketing expenses. Operating income in the first quarter was USD 125.8 million, representing an operating margin of 32% compared to 31% in the same period last year. Turning to income tax and GAAP measures, income tax expense for the first quarter was USD 25 million compared to USD 21.9 million last year. Net income attributable to Weibo in the first quarter was USD 106.6 million, a decrease of 4% or flattish in renminbi terms. Net margin was 27%, flattish versus the same period last year. Turning to our balance sheet and cash flow items as of March 31, 2024. Weibo's cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled USD 3.25 billion. In the first quarter, cash provided by operating activities was USD 139.6 million. Capital expenditures totaled USD 21.7 million and depreciation and amortization expenses amounted to USD 14.8 million. Before turning to the Q&A session, we are pleased to announce that we have completed the distribution of a special dividend of USD 0.82 per ordinary share or ADS to our shareholders with an aggregate amount of approximately USD 200 million. Looking forward, we remain highly committed to consistently returning value to our shareholders and exploring various ways to enhance shareholder returns, including but not limited to, distributing dividends. Besides, I would also like to provide an update on our ESG initiative. In April, we released our third ESG report which details the company's initiatives and progress in key ESG areas such as cybersecurity and privacy protection, human capital, content quality, social responsibility, and operations, etc. The ESG practice displayed in the report showcases our long-term commitment to sustainable development and impact on our users, content creators, employees, business partners, and other stakeholders. Weibo is set to make the world a better place with the power of Weibo. Looking ahead, we will continue to refine our ESG governance system and enhance our ESG performance. We invite all participants and stakeholders around Weibo's ecosystem to jointly achieve the sustainable development goal of the company. You may visit our IR website to obtain more information about our ESG disclosure. With that, let me now turn the call over to the operator for the Q&A session.

Operator, Operator

We will now take our first question from Felix Liu from UBS.

Felix Liu, Analyst

Congratulations on exceeding consensus expectations in the first quarter. My question is about your outlook for the advertising business in the second quarter and the second half of the year. How is advertiser sentiment evolving? How do you anticipate your advertising business will perform? Could you also provide more details about your ad strategy?

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Congratulations on the first quarter beating consensus expectations. My question is about your outlook for the advertising business in the second quarter and the latter half of the year. How is advertiser sentiment trending? What are your expectations for your advertising business's performance? Could you elaborate a bit more on your advertising strategy?

Unknown Executive, Executive

First of all, let's discuss our expectations for Q2 and the second half of the year. Last year, from Q1 through Q4, we observed growing certainty in the advertising industry. In 2024, we are taking a cautious approach regarding the recovery of sentiment, especially as Q1 was more optimistic than anticipated. Besides the cosmetic and beauty products sector, we have noted a slow recovery and fairly normal sentiment from advertisers in other industries. In March and April of Q2, we witnessed some positive trends, although consumption appears to be slowing down. Nonetheless, we are more optimistic about the second half of the year in Q3 and Q4 compared to Q1 and Q2. With limited advertising budgets, many of these funds are directed toward performance-based advertising, such as live stream ads, which focus on branding and new product promotions. We have identified a clear trend in budget allocations to these areas over recent quarters. Additionally, we should refocus on hot topic marketing related to festivals and key intellectual properties, as well as e-commerce events like the 618 or Double 11 shopping festivals. We also need to concentrate on marketing new products and brands. Overall, we are seeing promising demand for advertisements in hot industry segments as we move into the second half of the year.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

We need to reallocate resources to key areas we have previously highlighted. It's essential to concentrate on hot topic marketing, including the themes of festivals and key intellectual properties, along with a strong focus on e-commerce during significant events like 618 and Double 11 shopping festivals. Additionally, we must prioritize marketing for new products and brands. Overall, we are observing a positive impact on advertisement demand from hot industry segments in the second half of the year.

Unknown Executive, Executive

We are observing positive trends particularly in the shoe sector, footwear, gaming, food and beverage, and healthcare. In the latter half of the year, we plan to implement activities designed to stimulate advertising budgets, such as during the Olympic Games. The advertising industry is also adjusting to these trends.

Gaofei Wang, CEO

We are seeing positive trends particularly in the shoe industry, footwear, gaming, food and beverage, and healthcare. In the second half of the year, we are planning activities aimed at stimulating advertising budgets, such as the Olympic Games. The advertising industry is adapting to these trends as well.

Unknown Executive, Executive

On the gaming side, the focus is shifting to content-based advertisements and hot topic marketing, which is improving the overall structure of advertisement demands. As a result, we anticipate better outcomes and a positive recovery in the second half of the year. We should note that for the handset and automotive industries, the baseline remains quite high, which brings some uncertainties regarding the growth rate compared to 2023. Yet, we are backing our differentiated strategies and core competencies. In the handset industry, there are still some high-budget variations when introducing new models. The automotive sector has shown signs of recovery but is facing profit pressures and subsidy challenges, leading to reduced budget allocations. For the cosmetic and beauty products sector, we observed a 5% decline in overall revenue from this industry in Q1. As a result, we are concentrating on partnerships with domestic brands, which account for only about 20% of total revenue. International brands have reported decreases in their sales. We have seen a slight recovery over the past quarters, but our ecosystem needs improvements to fully recover. In 2023, this sector has not performed as well as it did in the same period last year. We expect that the low baseline in the first half will lead to a positive trend in the cosmetic and beauty products industry in the second half of this year. To increase advertisement revenue, we need to concentrate on market trends and our core business models, particularly by highlighting advertisements centered around trending topics and customer interests, in order to enhance sales in these areas. Additionally, we will focus our efforts on significant events like the Olympics and e-commerce festivals to enhance our product promotional strategies. While we are making improvements, our market penetration is still relatively low compared to other brands. However, we are seeing a positive trend. We have also been optimizing traffic management to stabilize performance amidst current pressures.

Operator, Operator

Next question is from Daisy Chen from Haitong International.

Daisy Chen, Analyst

My question is about the user base. This quarter, we noted that the number of active users has decreased, but a good point is that the revenue per user has improved at the same time. We think this indicates an improvement in our user quality. As you just mentioned that you will adjust your user growth strategy this year, can you tell us more about the adjustment and what kind of user data you forecast this year? And is there any target for the user base that you feel comfortable with?

Gaofei Wang, CEO

Unknown Executive, Executive

In the last year, particularly in the fourth quarter and the overall second half, we discussed our strategy in this area. We are concentrating on daily active users and monthly active users, but we genuinely believe that the average revenue per user from different asset types and brands varies significantly. We’ve observed that the average revenue per user for smartphone brands such as Huawei and iPhone is two to four times higher than for other brands. Therefore, we must concentrate on those competitive brands, especially targeting users who can drive more engagement and produce content on trending topics. If we need to allocate our budget to acquire those users, we will prioritize those with a higher average revenue per user. In the first quarter of this year, we intentionally let go of some lower-cost users who had less interactivity and generated lower average revenue per user. This decision is expected to lead to an increase in daily active users due to our focused strategy. We have also observed that users with high average revenue per user tend to maintain relatively stable engagement, which will enhance overall performance and user interaction. In the future, we will focus not only on maintaining a stable or slight increase in the number of daily active users but also on increasing the number of high average revenue per user. An important metric for us is to enhance user activity and content generation capability. We are noticing that 40% of our users use the app across popular platforms like iPhone and Huawei. We aim to boost this figure well above 50% through improvements in interactivity, content generation, and overall engagement. Overall, we aim to stabilize growth in monthly active users while pursuing organic growth instead of depending on event-driven spikes. Our focus remains on improving our channels to sustain growth naturally over time.

Operator, Operator

And we have no further questions. In that case, I will hand the conference back to the speakers for closing remarks.

Sandra Zhang, IR Head

Thanks, operator. This wraps up our conference call today. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next quarter.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. This does conclude the conference for today. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.