Author | Li Zheng

With the help of its AI business, Kuaishou's (01024.HK) "second curve" of growth is now clearly visible.

On August 21, Kuaishou released its financial results for the second quarter of 2025. During this period, the company's revenue surged 13.1% year-on-year to reach 35 billion yuan, while its adjusted net profit increased by 20.1% to 5.6 billion yuan.

Kuaishou's CFO Jin Bing noted that AI has played a pivotal role in enhancing the quality and efficiency within the company. The value of AI within Kuaishou's content and business ecosystem is gradually being realized, particularly in the rapid commercialization of Kuaishou AI.

Data indicates that in the second quarter of 2025, Kuaishou AI generated over 250 million yuan in revenue.

Notably, on the day of the financial report's release, Kuaishou announced a special dividend of HK$0.46 per share, totaling approximately HK$2 billion. This marks the company's first dividend since its listing.

Revenue Grows by 13.1% in the Second Quarter

On August 21, Kuaishou unveiled its financial results for the second quarter of 2025. During this period, the company's revenue increased by 13.1% year-on-year to 35 billion yuan, with adjusted net profit growing 20.1% to 5.6 billion yuan. Additionally, the company's gross profit margin and adjusted net profit margin both surpassed historical peaks, reaching 55.7% and 16.0%, respectively.

The financial report highlights that in the second quarter, Kuaishou's online marketing service revenue rose from 17.5 billion yuan to 19.8 billion yuan, an increase of 12.8%. This growth was primarily driven by the optimization of smart marketing product solutions through AI technology, which boosted marketing customer spending.

Over the same period, Kuaishou's live streaming business revenue increased by 8% from 9.3 billion yuan to 10 billion yuan, while other service revenues jumped 25.9% from 4.2 billion yuan to 5.2 billion yuan.

Kuaishou attributed this performance to the growth of its e-commerce business and Kuaishou AI business. The expansion of the e-commerce business was evident in the increase in e-commerce GMV, while the growth of the Kuaishou AI business was fueled by advanced AI technology and product performance.

Regarding the short-form drama business, Kuaishou noted that in the content consumption industry, advertising spending in the short-form drama sector continued to maintain a high double-digit year-on-year increase. Through dynamic adjustments to IAP intelligent pricing and IAA marketing nodes, Kuaishou enhanced the willingness to pay and viewing duration of short-form drama users.

At the earnings meeting, Kuaishou's CFO Jin Bing emphasized the significant role AI has played in improving the company's quality and efficiency. The value of AI within Kuaishou's content and business ecosystem is gradually being unleashed, especially in the rapid commercialization of Kuaishou AI.

The financial report reveals that Kuaishou AI, the company's current flagship AI application, has witnessed rapid commercial growth, with revenue exceeding 250 million yuan in the second quarter of 2025.

Since its launch in June last year, Kuaishou AI has consistently maintained high-speed iteration. Previously, Kuaishou AI also introduced the 2.1 series model, which significantly improved the generation speed.

Data shows that as of July 2025, Kuaishou AI had produced over 200 million videos and 400 million images, serving more than 20,000 enterprise customers.

Currently, Kuaishou AI has formed a multi-terminal cross-platform product matrix, including App, Web (Chinese and English versions), and Kuaishou mini-programs, transforming into a one-stop AI productivity engine.

Jin Bing revealed that Kuaishou AI's full-year revenue in 2025 is expected to double the target set at the beginning of the year, reinforcing Kuaishou's commitment to making long-term investments in its AI initiatives.

It's worth mentioning that Jin Bing pointed out that since Kuaishou AI has achieved positive gross margin at the inference computing power level, and while maintaining product iteration and upgrades, its gross margin at the inference level remains relatively stable. Consequently, the additional investment in inference computing power has a manageable impact on the group's profits.

Jin Bing stated, "We anticipate the group's overall AI investment to impact the annual profit margin by approximately 1-2%. This means that despite increasing our investment in AI, we remain confident in achieving our goal of maintaining a stable year-on-year adjusted net profit margin for the full year of 2025."

Average Daily Active Users Reach 409 Million

Currently, Kuaishou is more determined than ever to advance its AI strategy.

Since 2023, Kuaishou has fully embarked on its AI strategy, successively introducing large model matrices such as the Kuaishou Language Large Model, Kuaishou Image Generation Large Model, Kuaishou Video Generation Large Model, and OneRec End-to-End Generative Recommendation Large Model. Additionally, it has launched AI business application products like Magnetic Innovation, Nuwa Digital Human, Digital Employee π, and UAX Automatic Bidding, forming a comprehensive artificial intelligence ecosystem layout.

While accelerating the iteration of Kuaishou AI to achieve commercial breakthroughs, the company is also actively promoting the deep integration of AI technology with its existing businesses.

Against this backdrop, in the second quarter of 2025, Kuaishou's total traffic hit a new high, with an average of 409 million daily active users, up 3.4% year-on-year, and an average of 715 million monthly active users, up 3.3% year-on-year. Total user engagement time increased by 7.5% year-on-year.

In the financial report, Kuaishou highlighted that AI has driven marketing services, including tapping into incremental budgets across various industries and optimizing smart marketing product solutions with the assistance of AI large model technology. Significant progress has been made in AIGC marketing material generation, marketing bidding, and marketing recommendations.

Kuaishou's founder and CEO Cheng Yixiao commented, "In the second quarter of 2025, our AI large model capabilities were integrated into numerous ecosystem scenarios on the platform, not only enhancing the operational efficiency of merchants and influencers but also providing creators with a more immersive creative experience."

Looking ahead to medium and long-term development, Kuaishou believes there is still room for further cost reduction in the unit training and inference cost curves of Kuaishou AI. Simultaneously, with the continuous realization of AI's value in empowering content and business ecosystems, the company believes that incremental investments in AI can bring sustainable revenue growth opportunities to its development.

Notably, on the day of the financial report's release, Kuaishou announced a special dividend of HK$0.46 per share, totaling approximately HK$2 billion. This dividend will be paid in cash to shareholders registered on September 16 around October 6. This marks the company's first dividend since its listing.

In the announcement, Kuaishou stated that the distribution of this special dividend reflects the board's confidence in the company's long-term growth prospects and robust financial position, as well as its commitment to continuously enhancing shareholder returns. With a strong balance sheet, the company has the financial strength to maintain financial and operational flexibility, driving long-term business development while rewarding shareholders. In the future, the company will consider various ways to reward shareholders, including share buybacks and dividend distributions, depending on the situation.

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Typesetting | Wu Yue

Editor-in-Chief | Lao Chao

Images sourced from the internet