YY's Q4 revenue returned to positive year-on-year growth, with advertising business continuing to accelerate

On March 11, 2026, Beijing time, Joyy Group (NASDAQ: JOYY, referred to as 'Joyy' or 'the Group') released its Q4 and full-year 2025 financial report.

In Q4 2025, the Group's revenue reached $5.819 billion, up 7.7% quarter-over-quarter and 5.9% year-over-year, achieving growth on both a sequential and annual basis, with revenue returning to positive year-over-year growth. The Group’s live streaming business revenue increased 1.5% sequentially to $3.944 billion, marking the third consecutive quarter of sequential growth; BIGO Ads revenue growth continued to accelerate, rising 61.5% year-over-year to $1.281 billion.

For the full year 2025, the group's total revenue was $2.12 billion. Of this, live streaming revenue was $1.53 billion; BIGO Ads revenue reached $398.5 million, surging 38.5% YoY, driving the overall share of non-live streaming revenue up to 28%, an increase of 7.9 percentage points compared to 2024.

Under non-GAAP conditions, JOYY's operating profit in Q4 2025 was $40.8 million, with operating cash flow reaching $116 million; for the full year 2025, the group’s operating profit and EBITDA were $150.8 million and $189.8 million respectively, increasing 10.8% and 10.9% YoY. As of December 31, 2025, the group's net cash amounted to $3.26 billion.

Strong operating profits and cash flow provide solid assurance for shareholder returns. The Group accelerated its share repurchase in the second half of 2025, repurchasing a total of $67.4 million worth of shares in Q4 and $134.6 million for the full year. Through buybacks and dividends, the Group returned a total of $332 million to shareholders in 2025. Additionally, considering the double-digit increase in operating profit in 2025, Joyy will distribute an additional $20 million in cash dividends in Q1 2026, beyond its existing quarterly dividend plan. This reflects the company’s confidence in its operational results and its long-term commitment to delivering shareholder value as operations improve.

Ting Li, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of Joyy Group, stated: Looking back at 2025, as the social entertainment business returned to growth and advertising technology and other businesses formed a second growth curve, the Group's commercial strategy has expanded and become clearer, with a more defined growth path. BIGO Ads generated $398.5 million in revenue for the full year, up 38.5% year-over-year, with the momentum of its third-party ad platform business continuing to strengthen, increasing annual revenue by 56.3% year-over-year. The Group maintained strong operating profits, with full-year non-GAAP operating profit up 10.8% year-over-year. 2026 marks the firm beginning of Joyy's return to growth, with the Group leveraging its social entertainment business as a foundation while driving a new phase of growth through advertising and e-commerce SaaS services, steadily boosting revenue and operating profitability.

Social entertainment business achieved sequential growth for three consecutive quarters

Live streaming revenue increased by 1.5% quarter-over-quarter

In the fourth quarter, JOYY Group's social entertainment business achieved quarter-over-quarter growth for the third consecutive quarter. The global social product MAU reached 272.1 million, a 2.2% increase quarter-over-quarter. Traffic from high-engagement, purely organic customer acquisition via instant messaging products grew by 4.5%, while average user time spent and retention rates recorded year-over-year positive growth. The group's live streaming revenue was $394.4 million, a 1.5% increase quarter-over-quarter, with live streaming revenue from developed countries rising by 3.4%. Driven by effective fine-grained operations, BIGO's total paying users increased by 1.5% quarter-over-quarter, and ARPPU continued to record slight quarter-over-quarter growth.

The flagship product Bigo Live continued to enhance its anchor incentive mechanisms, supported by AI across multiple stages, continuously optimizing user content consumption and payment experience. With comprehensive traffic support, event resources, and live streaming tools, in the fourth quarter, the number of mid-tier quality broadcasters on Bigo Live increased by 7.8% quarter-over-quarter, and total broadcast hours grew by 10.3%. As large model network structures and multimodal information integration were applied, the recommendation system’s ability to understand live streaming content and user interests further improved, continuously enhancing recommendation accuracy and distribution efficiency, driving an increase of 5.6% in average user watch time quarter-over-quarter. In the fourth quarter, the newly launched 'Curated' page for new users upgraded their content consumption experience, with significant data improvements among users from developed countries and premium user groups. In the North American region, new user effective watch rate increased by 10.3% quarter-over-quarter, average watch time increased by 3.9%, and 30-day retention improved by 4.8%. Additionally, the penetration rate of AI-generated virtual gifts is steadily growing, with AI interactive gifts accounting for over 30% of Bigo Live’s overall virtual gift consumption in January.

In terms of content innovation, Bigo Live’s North American region launched its first live reality show, gathering nine top North American streamers in Atlanta for a five-day high-energy competition, boosting natural DAU by 3%. This fully validated the effectiveness of the new format of live reality shows in capturing user attention, showcasing vast potential for content innovation. Meanwhile, Bigo Live continued to deepen its engagement with local communities, integrating local cultural expression and community care into operational practices. In Southeast Asia, Latin America, and other regions, Bigo Live organized themed events tied to local festivals and traditions, supporting indigenous cultures through digital content, attracting creators to showcase traditional clothing, music, and unique makeup styles on the platform, effectively strengthening regional user participation and promoting diverse cultural representation. Additionally, in the United States, Vietnam, and other areas, Bigo Live collaborated with platform creators to provide interactive assistance to local disadvantaged groups, positively conveying values to local communities.

High-growth flywheel of ad tech business accelerates

Third-party business surged 82.5% year-over-year in Q4

In the fourth quarter, the advertising technology business BIGO Ads maintained its high growth momentum. The accelerated expansion of traffic, a unique structure of diversified advertiser verticals, and continuous iteration and optimization of models drove the flywheel effect, enabling BIGO Ads to achieve $128.1 million in ad revenue, a 23.3% increase quarter-over-quarter and a 61.5% increase year-over-year. Third-party ad revenue grew by 82.5% year-over-year and 27.3% quarter-over-quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of accelerating quarter-over-quarter growth.

On the traffic side, with the steady development of the social entertainment business, the growth in proprietary traffic MAU and fill rate improvements drove quarter-over-quarter increases in ad revenue and profitability from first-party sources. Simultaneously, third-party SDK traffic continued to see strong growth, increasing by 166% year-over-year and 23% quarter-over-quarter.

BIGO Ads continued to expand its coverage across diverse verticals and scenarios. With data accumulation, model iteration, and enhanced traffic bidding capabilities, ad placement matching accuracy and execution efficiency further improved, unleashing the growth potential of the advertising business at an accelerated pace. In the fourth quarter, seasonal ad budgets from global multi-vertical advertisers performed strongly, with Web-based budgets achieving 20% quarter-over-quarter high growth, and IAA budgets increasing by 39%. Overall, advertiser spending budgets surged significantly, with the number of KA advertisers growing by 29% quarter-over-quarter, and total spending by KA advertisers increasing by 34% quarter-over-quarter.

At the same time, BIGO Ads deepened its focus on key regions. In this quarter, developed markets experienced rapid growth, with revenue from North America increasing by more than 21% quarter-over-quarter, and revenue from Western Europe growing by 46% quarter-over-quarter.

The year 2026 will be a landmark year for the company, marking a firm starting point for renewed growth. The group will build on the profits and cash flow from its social entertainment business as a foundation, while driving a second growth curve through advertising technology and e-commerce SaaS businesses. The focus will be on revenue growth and improving profitability, continuously creating long-term value for shareholders.

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