BOSS Zhipin Q1 2026 Net Profit Jumps 119.8% to RMB1.13 Billion on Solid User and Customer Growth

Bulletin Express
May 20

Hong Kong – BOSS Zhipin (Kanzhun Limited) reported robust unaudited results for the three months ended 31 March 2026, highlighted by double-digit revenue expansion, record margins and a sharp rise in profitability.

Financial Performance • Revenue climbed 7.6% year on year (YoY) to RMB2.07 billion (USD0.30 billion), driven mainly by an 8.2% increase in online recruitment services to RMB2.06 billion. • Operating income rose 41.8% to RMB0.62 billion, lifting the operating margin to 30.1% from 22.9% a year earlier. Adjusted operating income advanced 17.8% to RMB0.81 billion, implying a 39.4% adjusted operating margin. • Net income more than doubled to RMB1.13 billion (USD0.16 billion), up 119.8% YoY, supported by a RMB0.61 billion fair-value gain from an investee’s January IPO. Excluding one-offs and share-based compensation, adjusted net income grew 12.1% to RMB0.86 billion. • Basic earnings per ADS increased to RMB2.49, from RMB1.19 in Q1 2025; adjusted basic EPS reached RMB1.91 versus RMB1.77.

Operational Highlights • Total paid enterprise customers in the twelve months to 31 March 2026 reached 7.10 million, up 10.9% YoY. • Average monthly active users (MAU) for the quarter grew 5.7% to 60.9 million, with March MAU topping 72 million. • Management attributed traffic and revenue momentum to stronger spring hiring demand and deeper market penetration, underpinned by continued investment in AI-driven product capabilities such as the Nanbeige 4.1-3B model, recently ranked joint No. 1 globally among sub-4B-parameter models.

Cost Structure and Margins • Total operating costs and expenses declined 3.0% YoY to RMB1.45 billion, reflecting productivity gains and lower share-based compensation (down 24.1% YoY to RMB0.19 billion). • Sales and marketing rose 2.2% to RMB0.50 billion due to higher advertising spend, partially offset by improved efficiency in sales staffing. • Research and development remained steady at RMB0.42 billion, while general and administrative expenses fell 16.4% to RMB0.22 billion.

Cash & Balance Sheet • Net cash generated from operating activities increased 18.6% to RMB1.19 billion. • Cash, cash equivalents, short-term deposits and investments totaled RMB19.83 billion (USD2.87 billion) at quarter-end, up from RMB19.95 billion at 2025 year-end. • Deferred revenue stood at RMB3.56 billion, reflecting customer prepayments for recruitment services.

Shareholder Returns Year-to-date 2026, the company repurchased more than 28 million ordinary shares for roughly RMB1.40 billion, about 3% of shares outstanding. The board has also expanded its buyback authorization to up to USD0.40 billion through August 2027 and reiterated its commitment to allocate at least 50% of prior-year adjusted net income to dividends and repurchases over the next three years.

Outlook Management guides Q2 2026 revenue to RMB2.38 - 2.42 billion, representing anticipated YoY growth of 13.2% - 15.1%, reflecting current views of market conditions in China.

Conference Call A results conference call is scheduled for 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 PM Beijing Time) on 20 May 2026, with a live webcast accessible via the company’s investor relations website.

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