Chinese Social Media Weibo's Revenue Plunges 22% to USD 450.2 Mn in Q2 2022, Report Shows

Communication Author: Yiran Xing Sep 05, 2022 04:40 PM (GMT+8)

Looking ahead, we remain confident in our differentiated value proposition and long-term monetization opportunities,” said Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo.

Sina Weibo

Weibo Corporation (Chinese:微博) (NASDAQ: WB and HKEX: 9898), a leading social media in China, announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 in early September.

For the second quarter of 2022, Weibo's total net revenues were USD 450.2 million, a decrease of 22% compared to USD 574.5 million for the same period last year.

Advertising and marketing revenues for the second quarter of 2022 were USD 385.6 million, a decrease of 23% compared to USD 502.3 million for the same period last year. According to the company, the decrease was primarily resulted from challenges from COVID-19 resurgence and restriction and lockdown in major areas of China, as well as macro uncertainties which have a broad-based negative impact on the advertising industry in China.

Value-added services ("VAS") revenues for the second quarter of 2022 were USD64.6 million, a decrease of 10% year-over-year compared to USD72.1 million for the same period last year. According to the company, the decrease of VAS revenues was mainly due to less revenue contribution from membership service and game-related services.

Costs and expenses for the second quarter of 2022 totaled USD 356.2 million, a decrease of 7%

compared to USD381.2 million for the same period last year. According to Weibo, the decrease was primarily resulted from a 25% year-over-year decrease of sales and marketing expenses, due to their “disciplined channel investments”.

Income from operations for the second quarter of 2022 was USD93.9 million, compared to USD193.2 million for the same period last year. Operating margin was 21%, compared to 34% last year. Non-GAAP income from operations was USD145.3 million, compared to USD223.2 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin was 32%, compared to 39% last year.

However, in terms of clients, Weibo's monthly active users ("MAUs") were 582 million in June 2022, a net addition of approximately 16 million users on a year-over-year basis. Mobile MAUs represented 95% of MAUs. Average daily active users ("DAUs") were 252 million in June 2022, a net addition of approximately 7 million users on a year-over-year basis.

Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG")

Weibo released its first annual ESG report in August 2022, which details Weibo's initiatives and performance in the respect of environmental, social and governance, with focuses on the concerns of stakeholders

As of press time, Weibo closed at HKD 146.5 apiece, with a market cap of HKD 35.86 billion.