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Zhihu Inc.

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Zhihu Inc. • NYSE
$3.69 ▲ 0.82% (+0.03)
Market Cap $294.29 M
52w High $6.32
52w Low $3.19
Dividend Yield 0%
P/E 24.6
Volume 145.35K
Outstanding Shares 79.75M

Income Statement

Period Revenue Operating Expense Net Income Net Profit Margin Earnings Per Share EBITDA
Q2-2025 $716.894M ▼ $539.189M ▲ $72.482M ▲ 10.111% ▲ $0.9 ▲ $-91.006M ▼
Q1-2025 $729.665M ▼ $503.707M ▼ $-10.094M ▼ -1.383% ▼ $-0.12 ▼ $-52.603M ▼
Q4-2024 $859.212M ▲ $528.799M ▼ $86.274M ▲ 10.041% ▲ $0.93 ▲ $11.866M ▲
Q3-2024 $845.02M ▼ $624.471M ▼ $-10.491M ▲ -1.242% ▲ $-0.11 ▲ $-84.33M ▲
Q2-2024 $933.81M $740.415M $-82.739M -8.86% $-0.9 $-177.745M

Balance Statement

Period Cash & Short-term Total Assets Total Liabilities Total Equity
Q2-2025 $4.61B ▲ $5.747B ▲ $1.539B ▲ $4.141B ▲
Q1-2025 $4.556B ▼ $5.683B ▼ $1.524B ▼ $4.096B ▼
Q4-2024 $4.858B ▼ $5.733B ▼ $1.537B ▼ $4.136B ▼
Q3-2024 $4.996B ▼ $6.009B ▼ $1.664B ▼ $4.289B ▼
Q2-2024 $5.01B $6.108B $1.708B $4.312B

Cash Flow Statement

Period Net Income Cash From Operations Cash From Investing Cash From Financing Net Change Free Cash Flow
Q2-2025 $72.482M ▲ $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Q1-2025 $-10.094M ▼ $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Q4-2024 $86.274M ▲ $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Q3-2024 $-10.491M ▲ $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Q2-2024 $-82.739M $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Five-Year Company Overview

Income Statement

Income Statement Zhihu has grown its revenue strongly over the past several years, though the most recent year shows a small step back from the prior peak. The more important story is that losses are narrowing steadily: operating and net losses have moved from very heavy to much more manageable levels. This suggests better cost discipline, healthier unit economics, and gradual progress toward break-even, even though the business is still not consistently profitable.

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet The balance sheet looks relatively solid and conservative. Zhihu holds a large cash cushion compared with its very small amount of debt, which gives it financial flexibility and lowers refinancing risk. Total assets and equity have trended down from earlier peaks, which reflects ongoing losses and possibly some balance sheet tightening, but the company still appears to be running with a net cash position and no obvious signs of financial strain in this data.

Cash Flow

Cash Flow Cash flow from operations has been negative for years, but the cash burn is clearly shrinking. Free cash flow is also negative but moving in the right direction, and capital spending is very light, which fits an asset-light internet model. The key risk is that the company still relies on its existing cash reserves rather than internally generated cash, but the improving trend suggests it is getting closer to self-sufficiency if it can sustain current momentum.

Competitive Edge

Competitive Edge Zhihu’s core strength is its reputation as a serious, knowledge-focused community, closer to an expert Q&A platform than to an entertainment app. This has attracted educated, relatively affluent users who are highly engaged, giving Zhihu a differentiated audience versus more entertainment-driven peers. Its ecosystem benefits from network effects: more experts and high-quality answers draw more users, which in turn attracts advertisers and education customers. The flip side is that it operates in a highly competitive Chinese internet space with powerful rivals for user attention and advertising budgets, so maintaining content quality and user loyalty is critical.

Innovation and R&D

Innovation and R&D Zhihu is leaning heavily into AI and education-related innovation. It is using AI to search, summarize, and generate answers from its large content base, and to refine recommendations and advertising products. At the same time, it is building out vocational education and course offerings, turning its knowledge community into a learning and training platform. These initiatives help differentiate it and open new revenue streams, but they also require ongoing investment and careful execution to translate technology and traffic into durable profits.

Summary

Zhihu is evolving from a fast-growing but loss-making knowledge platform into a more disciplined, AI-enabled, education-focused internet business. Revenue has climbed meaningfully over time, losses are narrowing, and cash burn is decreasing, supported by a strong net cash position and minimal debt. Its main advantages lie in trusted, high-quality content, a sticky user community, and growing applications in vocational education and AI-enhanced services. The main questions for the future are whether it can turn this strong strategic position into stable, lasting profitability, and how well it can defend its niche amid intense competition and a changing digital and regulatory environment in China.

NEWS

November 25, 2025 · 3:55 AM UTC

Zhihu Inc. Reports Unaudited Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results

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October 30, 2025 · 7:05 AM UTC

Zhihu Inc. to Report Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results on November 25, 2025

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September 30, 2025 · 6:00 AM UTC

Zhihu Inc. Announces Resignation of Chief Technology Officer

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