ZH NYSE Services-Business Services, Nec Financials FY2019βFY2025
Zhihu Inc. had $382M of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 23.5% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +14.3% a year on average.
Hi! I read Zhihu Inc.βs latest annual report (fiscal 2025). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
Are sales growing?
β23.5%
No. Sales fell 23.5% last year.
Does it make a profit?
β7.1%
No. It lost money last year.
Does profit turn into cash?
β13.3%
No. It spent more cash than it brought in.
How healthy are the accounts?
2 / 8
Weak. It passes 2 of 8 health tests.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
In plain words: Every quarter, companies publish how much they sold and earned. These are the days Zhihu Inc. did it, and the next one. Share prices often move a lot on those days.
Next results
November 24, 2026
Tuesday Β· in 29 days
| Date | Results for | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2026 | Period ended Dec 31, 2025 | Before the market opens | 20-F β |
| Apr 15, 2025 | Period ended Dec 31, 2024 | Before the market opens | 20-F β |
| Apr 26, 2024 | Period ended Dec 31, 2023 | Before the market opens | 20-F β |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Period ended Dec 31, 2022 | Before the market opens | 20-F β |
| Apr 8, 2022 | Period ended Dec 31, 2021 | Before the market opens | 20-F β |
From SEC filings: the results press release (8-K) or, without one, the quarterly or annual report.
KIRA Β· Zhihu Inc. had $382M of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 23.5% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +14.3% a year on average. Its operating margin was β18.5%, down 5.1Β pts: of every 100 in sales, about β18 is left after running the business.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA Β· Zhihu Inc. lost $27.2M in fiscal 2025.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA Β· Free cash flow was β$50.8M in fiscal 2025, β13.3% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA Β· Zhihu Inc. returned $23.2M to shareholders in fiscal 2025. The diluted share count fell 12.3%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA Β· No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. βPlanβ marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Of sales under plans
β
$0.0M
No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA Β· Zhihu Inc. has $596M more cash than debt.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Zhihu Inc. can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $692M | $770M | $546M | $622M | $601M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | β | β | β | β | $5.0M |
| Debt / equity | β | β | β | β | 0.0x |
| Current ratio | 4.4x | 4.0x | 3.3x | 3.6x | 3.7x |
| Quick ratio | 4.4x | 4.0x | 3.3x | 3.6x | 3.7x |
| Total assets | $1.4B | $1.1B | $956M | $785M | $741M |
| Total liabilities | $325M | $284M | $295M | $211M | $188M |
| Shareholders' equity | $1.1B | $820M | $647M | $567M | $543M |
| Net debt (β = net cash) | β | β | β | β | β$596M |
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA Β· Zhihu Inc. passes 2 of 8 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8β9 is strong, 0β2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Return on assets rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Debt fell relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Current ratio rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Share count didn't rise | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Gross margin rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| F-score | β / 3 | β / 5 | 2 / 8 | 2 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 2 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | β | β6.9% | β13.6% | β5.5% | β5.8% | 1.8% | 3.1% |
| Altman Z'' | β | β5.91 | 4.84 | 2.94 | 1.34 | 1.74 | 1.08 |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratioβs name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||
| Revenue | $97.0M | $196M | $459M | $535M | $593M | $500M | $382M |
| Gross profit | $45.2M | $110M | $241M | $269M | $324M | $303M | $229M |
| Research and development | $50.8M | $47.8M | $96.1M | $113M | $127M | $102M | $73.0M |
| Operating income | β$153M | β$87.3M | β$216M | β$238M | β$151M | β$66.8M | β$70.6M |
| Pretax income | β$145M | β$74.8M | β$201M | β$232M | β$117M | β$24.8M | β$24.1M |
| Income tax | $0.0M | $0.2M | $0.8M | $2.1M | $1.7M | β$1.3M | $3.0M |
| Net income | β$145M | β$75.0M | β$201M | β$234M | β$119M | β$23.5M | β$27.2M |
| Net income to common | β$207M | β$174M | β$228M | β$235M | β$119M | β$23.9M | β$26.8M |
| Diluted EPS | β$9.98 | β$7.98 | β$2.85 | β$2.31 | β$1.19 | β$0.26 | β$0.33 |
| Diluted shares | 0.02B | 0.02B | 0.08B | 0.10B | 0.10B | 0.09B | 0.08B |
| Cash flow | |||||||
| Cash from operations | β$104M | β$35.4M | β$68.3M | β$166M | β$58.7M | β$38.9M | β$50.6M |
| Capital expenditure | $0.7M | $0.3M | $1.2M | $0.1M | $1.2M | $0.4M | $0.2M |
| Free cash flow | β$104M | β$35.7M | β$69.4M | β$166M | β$59.9M | β$39.3M | β$50.8M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $2.9M | $2.8M | $3.3M | $3.7M | $3.5M | $3.0M | $2.6M |
| Stock-based compensation | $26.0M | $26.1M | $85.0M | $55.5M | $23.2M | $8.2M | $12.1M |
| Share buybacks | β | β | β | $19.0M | $52.2M | $55.7M | $23.2M |
| Dividends and buybacks | β | β | β | $19.0M | $52.2M | $55.7M | $23.2M |
| Balance sheet | |||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $129M | $306M | $692M | $770M | $546M | $622M | $601M |
| Total debt | β | β | β | β | β | β | $5.0M |
| Current assets | β | $569M | $1.3B | $1.1B | $898M | $751M | $676M |
| Current liabilities | β | $155M | $299M | $265M | $274M | $209M | $181M |
| Inventory | β | β | $0.7M | $1.5M | $3.1M | $4.2M | $3.7M |
| Property and equipment, net | β | $1.2M | $1.6M | $1.1M | $1.5M | $1.2M | $0.8M |
| Goodwill | β | β | $11.6M | $18.3M | $26.9M | $17.3M | β |
| Intangible assets | β | $3.6M | $10.8M | $11.6M | $17.3M | $7.5M | $4.2M |
| Total assets | β | $575M | $1.4B | $1.1B | $956M | $785M | $741M |
| Total liabilities | β | $155M | $325M | $284M | $295M | $211M | $188M |
| Shareholders' equity | β$573M | β$787M | $1.1B | $820M | $647M | $567M | $543M |
| Margins | |||||||
| Gross margin | 46.6% | 56.0% | 52.5% | 50.2% | 54.7% | 60.6% | 59.9% |
| Operating margin | β157.9% | β44.6% | β47.0% | β44.5% | β25.5% | β13.4% | β18.5% |
| EBITDA margin | β154.8% | β43.1% | β46.3% | β43.8% | β24.9% | β12.8% | β17.8% |
| Net margin | β149.8% | β38.3% | β43.9% | β43.8% | β20.0% | β4.7% | β7.1% |
| FCF margin | β107.4% | β18.2% | β15.1% | β30.9% | β10.1% | β7.9% | β13.3% |
| Returns | |||||||
| Return on capital employed | β | β20.8% | β19.8% | β28.2% | β22.2% | β11.6% | β12.6% |
| Return on equity | β | β | β147.7% | β25.0% | β16.2% | β3.9% | β4.9% |
| Return on assets | β | β13.0% | β20.5% | β18.8% | β11.5% | β2.7% | β3.6% |
| Return on tangible equity | β | β | β22.0% | β29.7% | β19.7% | β4.4% | β5.0% |
| Growth | |||||||
| Revenue growth | β | 101.9% | 134.2% | 16.7% | 10.7% | β15.6% | β23.5% |
| Share count change | β | 4.9% | 267.9% | 26.9% | β1.9% | β8.5% | β12.3% |
| Financial health | |||||||
| Debt / equity | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0x |
| Current ratio | β | 3.7x | 4.4x | 4.0x | 3.3x | 3.6x | 3.7x |
| Quick ratio | β | 3.7x | 4.4x | 4.0x | 3.3x | 3.6x | 3.7x |
| Capital allocation | |||||||
| Capex / revenue | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 26.8% | 13.3% | 18.5% | 10.4% | 3.9% | 1.6% | 3.2% |
| Quality scores | |||||||
| Piotroski F-score | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Altman Z'' | β | β5.9 | 4.8 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 |
| Accruals ratio | β | β6.9% | β13.6% | β5.5% | β5.8% | 1.8% | 3.1% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001835724). Data updated October 24, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. Filed in CNY under US GAAP and converted to US$: income and cash-flow lines at each period's average exchange rate, balance-sheet lines at the period-end rate. Per-share figures are per US-listed share (1 ADS = 3 ordinary shares). For information only β not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
