Bilibili's second-quarter results continued their improving trajectory, with revenue maintaining growth, the advertising business accelerating, and profitability seeing notable gains.
On August 27, Bilibili Inc. released its unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2026, covering the period ending June 30. During the quarter, the company posted revenue of RMB 7.94 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase. Net profit reached RMB 339 million, surging 55% from a year ago, with the net margin improving to 4.3% from 3.0% in the same period last year. On a non-GAAP adjusted basis, net profit came in at RMB 704 million, up 25% year-over-year, while the adjusted net margin climbed further to 8.9%.
User growth and engagement remained steady as well. Average daily active users (DAU) hit 116.5 million in the second quarter, up 7% year-over-year. Monthly active users reached 371 million, with average daily time spent per user at 113 minutes, driving total user time spent up 14% compared to the same period last year. In the view of CEO Chen Rui, in an era of "abundant content but scarce attention," the emotional connection between quality content and users is becoming a key competitive moat for the platform.
Advertising: Leading Growth, Becoming the Primary Revenue Engine
The advertising business continued to be the most striking growth driver in Bilibili's results. Second-quarter advertising revenue reached RMB 3.13 billion, up 28% year-over-year, accounting for nearly 40% of total revenue and making it the largest revenue source among the company's four major business segments.
The rapid growth in advertising revenue was primarily attributed to the ongoing optimization of the advertising product matrix and improved campaign efficiency. Despite pressure across the broader advertising market, Bilibili's ad business still achieved nearly 30% growth, signaling that the platform's user value realization and monetization efficiency improvements are accelerating.
From a revenue structure perspective, advertising has evolved from a previously relatively weak segment into one of Bilibili's core revenue streams. As advertising products and algorithms continue to iterate, its contribution to overall company performance is strengthening further.
Value-Added Services Grow Steadily, Gaming Business Faces Short-Term Headwinds
Second-quarter value-added services (VAS) revenue totaled RMB 2.97 billion, up 5% year-over-year.
The growth in VAS was mainly driven by higher revenue from premium membership and other value-added services. Compared to the high-growth advertising segment, VAS growth was relatively moderate, but as a mature and stable core business, its consistency remains important. With the continued expansion of the paying user base, the membership system remains a vital pillar for monetizing the platform's content ecosystem.
The gaming business was the only segment to post a decline in the quarter. Second-quarter mobile gaming revenue came in at RMB 1.39 billion, down 14% year-over-year. The company explained that the decline was mainly due to the high revenue base contributed by "Three Kingdoms: Strategic Edition" in the same period last year, which has now entered a relatively stable mature phase. Under the impact of the high base, the gaming segment still faces short-term pressure.
Looking at the first half of the year, Bilibili's gaming revenue totaled RMB 2.91 billion, lower than the RMB 3.34 billion recorded in the first half of 2025. For the gaming business, whether new hit titles can be launched to take over the revenue baton will be key to determining if the segment can regain growth momentum.
Gross Margin Improves for 16 Consecutive Quarters, Operating Leverage Further Released
Profitability improvement remained a highlight of this quarter's results.
Second-quarter revenue costs were RMB 4.98 billion, up 7% year-over-year, below the 8% revenue growth rate. This drove gross profit to RMB 2.95 billion, up 10% year-over-year, with gross margin climbing to 37.2% from 36.5% in the same period last year. This marks the 16th consecutive quarter of year-over-year gross margin improvement for Bilibili.
From a cost structure perspective, revenue-sharing costs totaled RMB 3.08 billion, up 4% year-over-year, remaining the largest cost item. Total operating expenses were RMB 2.58 billion, up 7% year-over-year, with the overall growth rate also below revenue growth. Among these, sales expenses were RMB 1.06 billion, up just 1% year-over-year; administrative expenses were RMB 510 million, roughly flat compared to the same period last year; and R&D expenses were RMB 1.01 billion, up 16% year-over-year, mainly impacted by increased server depreciation costs.
With revenue maintaining growth while expense expansion was kept under control, operating leverage was further released. Second-quarter operating profit reached RMB 373 million, up 48% year-over-year, with profit growth significantly outpacing revenue growth. CFO Fan Xin stated that the company will continue to maintain investment discipline and actively reward shareholders through share buybacks. As of the current point in 2026, Bilibili has repurchased approximately USD 118 million worth of shares under its buyback program.
Overall, the core shift in Bilibili's second-quarter performance has moved from "narrowing losses" to "profit release": high-growth advertising is supporting revenue, gross margin continues to improve, cost control is unlocking operating leverage, while the gaming business remains the relatively pressured component of current performance.
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