Following its listing on the STAR Market, Insta360 released its first comprehensive annual performance report: full-year revenue for 2025 approached the 10 billion yuan mark, with Q1 2026 maintaining rapid growth. However, net profits declined in both periods, showing a clear trend of ‘revenue growth without profit increase’.

Financial data reveals that 2025 revenue reached 9.741 billion yuan, up 74.76% year-on-year (YoY)—a record high. However, net profit moved in the opposite direction, with only 929 million yuan in net profit attributable to shareholders (net profit attributable to the parent company), down 6.62% YoY. By Q1 2026, the contrast became even sharper: single-quarter revenue surged 83.11% to 2.481 billion yuan, while net profit slumped 52.02% YoY.

This divergence between revenue and profit underscores Insta360’s strong growth momentum in the smart imaging sector, while also revealing stage-specific pressures on cost structure, expense allocation, and profit quality. This has drawn significant attention from the market and investors.

What’s Behind the ‘Revenue Growth Without Profit Increase’?

Addressing market doubts about the ‘revenue growth without profit increase’ phenomenon, founder Liu Jingkang clarified in his first shareholder letter post-IPO that the company is actively trading short-term profits for long-term technological barriers and ecosystem dominance.

From a causal perspective, Insta360’s ‘revenue growth without profit increase’ stems from surging R&D and marketing investments, compounded by intensified industry competition.

First, Insta360 refuses to settle for its current market position and is allocating most of its capital to future technologies. This includes R&D for three new product categories—drones, gimbal cameras, and wireless lavalier microphones—alongside the development of three custom chips.

Financial data shows that 2025 R&D expenses hit 1.530 billion yuan, up 96.95% YoY—exceeding the total of the previous three years (2022-2024). This ‘near-aggressive’ R&D investment represents the necessary cost for building long-term competitive moats.

Liu Jingkang bluntly states that high-intensity strategic investment aims to meet ‘broad and underserved customer needs.’ He believes that future imaging competition will shift from hardware alone to integrated ‘hardware + software + data’ capabilities, with upfront R&D laying the groundwork for the ‘photography robot’ era.

Second, sales expenses growing far faster than revenue also contributed to the profit declines. This surge stemmed from a ‘channel expansion blitz’ aimed at capturing market share.

In 2025, sales expenses skyrocketed 103.31% to 1.679 billion yuan, driven by offline channel expansion. From just 36 specialty stores at the start of the year, the count neared 300 by year-end—a nearly tenfold increase. This ‘money-burning’ approach sharply reduced short-term profits but established a broader global sales network and brand presence, paving the way for explosive future product growth.

Third, profit margins contracted due to encroachment from cross-sector giants and cost pressures. Reports from Jiuqian Consulting show that Insta360’s global action camera market share plunged from 92% in Q2 to 49% in Q3 2025, with DJI capturing 43% globally that quarter.

To defend market share, Insta360 engaged in promotional pricing, while rising raw material costs (e.g., memory chips) weakened pricing power and shifted the product mix toward lower-margin items. Consequently, the 2025 gross margin fell to 45.74% from 53.4% YoY.

In essence, Insta360’s profit decline reflects not operational missteps but strategic ‘growing pains’ endured during industry transformation to counter giants, explore new categories, and solidify foundational technologies.

Defeating GoPro, Only to Encounter Tougher Rival DJI

Insta360’s willingness to increase investment stems from escalating competition in consumer electronics imaging, leaving it caught between formidable rivals.

After two years of tug-of-war with action camera pioneer GoPro, Insta360 achieved a phased victory, removing some overseas expansion obstacles.

In March 2024, GoPro filed a ‘Section 337 Investigation’ with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), accusing Insta360 of six patent infringements in an attempt to block its overseas growth via legal barriers. After over a year, the ITC ruled all six claims unfounded.

Insta360 stated clearly: ‘This 337 Investigation won’t materially impact production or operations. The company remains free to import and sell existing products in the U.S.’ This win safeguarded core overseas markets, with the $10+ million legal defense cost securing autonomous global development rights unshackled from GoPro’s patents.

While overseas pressures persist, domestic battles reignite. Insta360’s ‘homeland war’ with DJI has fully erupted, threatening its established leads in some segments.

DJI, dominant in consumer drones for years, faced a direct challenge when Insta360 crossed over. In July 2025, Insta360 launched the consumer drone brand ‘Yingling Antigravity,’ entering DJI’s turf—a critical move to break growth ceilings and find a second growth engine.

DJI swiftly countered. In July 2025, it released the Osmo360, its first panoramic action camera priced at 2,999 yuan—nearly 800 yuan below Insta360’s X5 (3,798 yuan)—directly challenging Insta360’s long-held panoramic camera market. DJI also squeezed space in other segments like action cameras through aggressive pricing.

Meanwhile, smartphone giants OPPO and Vivo signaled plans to enter the handheld gimbal camera market. Competition now spans ecosystems and supply chains, not just products.

Tech blogger ‘Digital Chat Station’ revealed that OPPO’s gimbal camera project, codenamed ‘Fuyao,’ is underway for a 2026 launch. Vivo moved faster, initiating a Vlog camera project in late 2025 targeting DJI’s Pocket series, with a 2026 release planned.

The consumer electronics imaging sector may soon feature a ‘Insta360 + DJI + Smartphone Makers’ tripartite rivalry. While besieged, Insta360 views this as both a challenge and a growth imperative.

Beyond Cameras: The ‘Photography Robot’ Vision

Despite short-term financial pressures, this panoramic camera pioneer demonstrates resilience through a long-term vision, robust technical roadmaps, and deep AI integration.

Cameras traditionally aim to ‘capture images,’ but user pain points persist: struggling to grab perfect moments, achieving professional composition, or being hindered by complex operations. Liu Jingkang proposes an industry-disrupting ‘photography robot’ vision.

To realize this, Insta360 is building a ‘Trinity’ tech foundation—‘Eyes + Torso + Brain’—for the ‘photography robot,’ with each step advancing the grand vision while ensuring commercial viability.

Optical modules and sensors act as the ‘eyes’ for high-definition imaging; drones and gimbal technology form the ‘torso,’ enabling spatial mobility and angle optimization; AI algorithms like panoramic depth prediction serve as the ‘brain,’ enabling spatial awareness and intent understanding.

Beyond this, AI permeates Insta360’s operations. By 2025, AI handled over half of online customer service; by Q1 2026, 43% of the company’s code was AI-generated.

Liu Jingkang asserts: ‘AI will redefine tech companies’ organizational structures. Mastery of AI and organizational design will determine not just a company’s ceiling but its survival.’ This stance reflects Insta360’s resolve to reconstruct corporate capabilities around AI, aiming to lead the intelligence wave.

From panoramic camera leader to ‘photography robot’ pioneer, Insta360 advances with resolve. Whether its tech layout (strategic layout) sacrificing short-term profits will pay off remains to be validated by markets and time.