SINGAPORE, Aug. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JOYY Inc. $(JOYY)$ ("JOYY" or the "Company"), a global technology company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2026.

Second Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights(1)

   -- Net revenues were US$590.8 million, an increase of 16.3% from US$507.8 
      million in the corresponding period of 2025, and an increase of 6.3% from 
      US$555.7 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
          -- Social Entertainment net revenues increased by 7.4% to US$422.7 
             million from US$393.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025, 
             and by 5.6% from US$400.4 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
          -- BIGO Ads net revenues increased by 53.1% to US$133.7 million from 
             US$87.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and by 7.1% 
             from US$124.8 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
          -- Shopline net revenues increased by 28.6% to US$34.4 million from 
             US$26.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and by 12.5% 
             from US$30.5 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
   -- Operating income was US$13.8 million, an increase of 138.1% from US$5.8 
      million in the corresponding period of 2025, and an increase of 102.0% 
      from US$6.8 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
   -- Non-GAAP EBITDA2 was US$56.9 million, an increase of 18.1% from US$48.2 
      million in the corresponding period of 2025, and an increase of 24.4% 
      from US$45.7 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
   -- Net income from continuing operations attributable to controlling 
      interest of JOYY3 was US$51.8 million, compared with US$60.8 million in 
      the corresponding period of 2025 and US$50.7 million in the first quarter 
      of 2026. 
 
   -- Non-GAAP net income from continuing operations attributable to 
      controlling interest and common shareholders of JOYY4 was US$63.5 million, 
      compared with US$77.0 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and 
      US$55.9 million in the first quarter of 2026. 
 
   -- Net Cash5 as of June 30, 2026 was US$3,059.3 million. 
 
   -- Net Cash from operating activities was US$64.9 million, compared with 
      US$57.6 million in the corresponding period of 2025. 

Second Quarter 2026 Business Highlights

Global community:

   -- Global average mobile MAUs6 reached 277.1 million in the second quarter 
      of 2026, up by 5.5% from 262.5 million in the corresponding period of 
      2025, and up by 0.3% from 276.3 million in the first quarter of 2026. The 
      Company continued to optimize its marketing strategies to focus on return 
      on investment (ROI) and high-value users. 

Social Entertainment:

   -- In the second quarter, Social Entertainment revenues increased by 7.4% 
      year over year to US$422.7 million, with live streaming revenues reaching 
      US$402.6 million, a 7.3% increase from the corresponding period of 2025. 
      By region, live streaming revenues in developed markets grew 11.8% year 
      over year, reflecting strong performance in key geographies. 
 
   -- In the second quarter, core live streaming paying users7 increased by 
      3.9% year over year to 1.56 million, while ARPPU8 increased by 2.4% year 
      over year to US$220.5. 
 
   -- The Company continued to make enhancements to its streamer incentive and 
      growth mechanisms, including a richer content ecosystem, AI-powered 
      improvements to content distribution and payment experience, and 
      localized operating initiatives. Average daily active streamers increased 
      by 4.4% quarter over quarter, and newly signed streamers going live 
      increased by 5.4% quarter over quarter. In content distribution, the 
      Company continued to develop its AI-driven content understanding 
      capabilities, focusing on onboarding content for new users and deepening 
      user consumption, allowing high-quality content to be more precisely 
      matched to interested users across regions. In May 2026, AI-generated 
      interactive virtual gifts accounted for 34.3% of total virtual gift 
      consumption on Bigo Live. 

B2B Initiatives: Advertising Technology and Smart Commerce

   -- Beginning in 2022, the Company ramped up efforts to diversify its revenue 
      streams, cultivating its new initiatives in advertising technology and 
      smart commerce. The Company has made steady progress advancing towards 
      its strategic positioning as a global tech company powered by multiple 
      growth engines. In the second quarter, total non--live streaming revenues 
      reached US$188.1 million, up by 42.1% year over year, representing 31.8% 
      of total net revenues of the Company, compared with 26.1% in the 
      corresponding period of 2025. 

BIGO Ads:

   -- BIGO Ads is a global AI-powered programmatic advertising platform. 
      Launched to provide one-stop marketing and monetization solutions, it 
      leverages deep learning, real-time bidding, and smart bidding models 
      (such as oCPC and ROAS optimization) to enable brands to scale user 
      acquisition and app developers to effectively unlock monetization 
      potential through connecting premium global demand. 
 
   -- In the second quarter, BIGO Ads' total revenues grew by 53.1% year over 
      year to US$133.7 million. In particular, BIGO Audience Network, which 
      includes third-party advertising revenues generated on network partners' 
      traffic properties, continued to demonstrate strong momentum, with 
      revenues increasing by 74.1% year over year. 
 
   -- BIGO Ads has access to a vast traffic pool, comprising the Company's own 
      global average mobile MAU base and an extensive network of third-party 
      traffic through seamless integration of developer traffic across major 
      channels. During the second quarter, Software Development Kit (SDK) 
      traffic maintained steady growth, with SDK advertising requests up 37.7% 
      year over year. 
 
   -- BIGO Ads continued to invest in its algorithm and engineering 
      infrastructure during the quarter. By strengthening multi-channel 
      attribution and accumulating customer feedback data, BIGO Ads further 
      enhanced its user profiling and targeting capabilities. In parallel, the 
      continuous iteration of vertical-specific models improved budget matching, 
      traffic bidding, and post-campaign optimization efficiency. Furthermore, 
      intelligent upgrades to compute scheduling and system architecture 
      allowed the platform to optimize infrastructure costs effectively, even 
      amid rapid request volume growth. 
 
   -- Broader traffic coverage, multi-vertical advertiser expansion, and 
      ongoing algorithm optimization fueled accelerated growth. Web-based 
      demand grew 91.7% year over year. In-App Advertising $(IAA)$ spending 
      recorded 70.6% year-over-year growth. 

Shopline:

   -- Shopline serves as a global AI-powered operating system for modern 
      retail. Beyond storefront creation, Shopline offers a deeply integrated 
      suite of merchant services across payments, logistics, marketing, and 
      data analytics. It is an open, extensible omnichannel platform that 
      enables merchants to manage the full commerce value chain from store 
      setup and transactions to fulfillment, customer acquisition, and 
      lifecycle engagement. Shopline has helped merchants in diverse industries 
      across multiple markets to launch and scale their businesses. 
 
   -- Shopline currently generates revenues from recurring software 
      subscription fees and a suite of transaction-based value-added services, 
      including localized payment processing (Shopline Payments) and marketing 
      solutions. 
 
   -- In the second quarter, Shopline generated revenues of US$34.4 million, up 
      28.6% year over year and 12.5% quarter over quarter, with revenue growth 
      accelerating from the first quarter. Cross-border merchants revenue 
      sustained strong growth of 73.5% year over year, driving the acceleration 
      in overall revenue growth. 
 
   -- With AI-driven discovery emerging as an e-commerce scenario, Shopline 
      expanded its integrations with multiple AI agents during the quarter to 
      help merchants effectively capture traffic and convert cross-channel 
      orders, customer relationships, and operational data into long-term 
      proprietary assets. Shopline fuels AI with complete business context to 
      deliver actionable insights and continuously boost operational and 
      decision-making efficiency. 

Ms. Ting Li, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of JOYY, commented, "We are pleased to report another quarter of strong performance. Total revenues for the second quarter reached US$590.8 million, up 16.3% year over year, with revenue growth accelerating and operating income improving notably. Our Social Entertainment, BIGO Ads, and Shopline businesses all advanced in tandem, and our globally diversified ecosystem continued to unlock new growth opportunities as we forged ahead towards the next stage of our development. We remain committed to delivering shareholder value, returning a total of US$358.8 million year-to-date through August 21, 2026, comprising US$142.4 million in dividends and US$216.4 million in share repurchases.

Social Entertainment revenues grew 7.4% year over year, with live streaming revenue up 7.3% year over year, and core live streaming paying users and ARPPU both improving. BIGO Ads revenues grew 53.1% year over year to US$133.7 million, with our third-party BIGO Audience Network sustaining strong growth of 74.1% year over year. Shopline revenues reached US$34.4 million, up 28.6% year over year, with growth accelerating from the first quarter on continued strength from cross-border merchants. For the full year of 2026, we remain confident in delivering solid revenue growth across the Group. On the profitability front, supported by a better-than-expected operational performance in the first half of the year and enhanced operating leverage from improved efficiency across our business segments, we expect the Group's full-year 2026 non-GAAP operating income to achieve approximately 20% year-over-year growth.

AI remains the technology foundation of our long-term strategy, driving measurable improvements across our streamer ecosystem, content distribution, advertising models, and merchant operations on Shopline. Together, these efforts reinforce the closed-loop system across our three business segments, and we remain confident this multi-engine strategy will continue to drive long-term value for JOYY and our shareholders."

Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

NET REVENUES

Net revenues were US$590.8 million, representing an increase of 16.3% from US$507.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and an increase of 6.3% from US$555.7 million in the first quarter of 2026.

Social Entertainment net revenues increased by 7.4% to US$422.7 million from US$393.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and by 5.6% from US$400.4 million in the first quarter of 2026. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases were primarily driven by higher live streaming revenues, as expanded content categories and enhanced localized operations contributed to stronger user engagement and spending across key markets.

BIGO Ads net revenues increased by 53.1% to US$133.7 million from US$87.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and by 7.1% from US$124.8 million in the first quarter of 2026. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases were driven by expansion of traffic, elevated advertiser demand across regions and verticals, and enhanced algorithm performance that resulted in improved advertisement delivery efficiency and higher advertiser spending.

Shopline net revenues increased by 28.6% to US$34.4 million from US$26.7 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and by 12.5% from US$30.5 million in the first quarter of 2026. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases were mainly due to continued merchant adoption and deeper penetration of value-added services.

COST OF REVENUES AND GROSS PROFIT

Cost of revenues was US$389.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$322.5 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$366.4 million in the first quarter of 2026.

Social Entertainment's cost of revenues increased by 6.5% year-over-year to US$264.6 million, and by 3.4% from US$256.0 million in the first quarter of 2026. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases were primarily attributable to higher revenue-sharing fees and content costs of US$25.0 million and US$10.9 million, respectively.

BIGO Ads' cost of revenues increased by 77.5% year over year to US$106.3 million, and by 11.1% from US$95.6 million in the first quarter of 2026. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases were primarily attributable to higher traffic acquisition costs paid to third-party partners in relation to the expansion of BIGO Audience Network.

Shopline's cost of revenues increased by 29.4% year over year to US$18.3 million, and by 23.8% from US$14.8 million in the first quarter of 2026. The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increases were primarily attributable to higher payment processing costs, reflecting an increased contribution from payment services to Shopline's revenue mix.

Gross profit was US$201.6 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$185.2 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$189.3 million in the first quarter of 2026. Gross margin was 34.1% in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 36.5% in the corresponding period of 2025 and 34.1% in the first quarter of 2026.

OPERATING EXPENSES AND INCOME

Operating expenses were US$188.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$179.8 million in the same period of 2025 and US$183.4 million in the first quarter of 2026. Among the operating expenses, sales and marketing expenses were US$79.6 million, compared with US$71.9 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$79.6 million in the first quarter of 2026. Research and development expenses were US$53.0 million, compared with US$60.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$61.2 million in the first quarter of 2026. General and administrative expenses were US$55.6 million, compared with US$47.9 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$42.6 million in the first quarter of 2026.

Operating income was US$13.8 million, compared with US$5.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$6.8 million in the first quarter of 2026.

Non-GAAP operating income(9) was US$49.1 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$38.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$38.0 million in the first quarter of 2026. Non-GAAP operating income margin(1) (0) was 8.3% in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 7.5% in the corresponding period of 2025 and 6.8% in the first quarter of 2026.

Non-GAAP EBITDA was US$56.9 million, compared with US$48.2 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$45.7 million in the first quarter of 2026. Non-GAAP EBITDA margin(1) (1) was 9.6%, compared with 9.5% in the corresponding period of 2025 and 8.2% in the first quarter of 2026.

NET INCOME

Net income from continuing operations attributable to controlling interest of JOYY was US$51.8 million, compared with US$60.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$50.7 million in the first quarter of 2026. Net income margin was 8.8% in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 12.0% in the corresponding period of 2025 and 9.1% in the first quarter of 2026.

Non-GAAP net income from continuing operations attributable to controlling interest and common shareholders of JOYY was US$63.5 million, compared with US$77.0 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$55.9 million in the first quarter of 2026. Non-GAAP net income margin(1) (2) was 10.7% in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 15.2% in the corresponding period of 2025 and 10.1% in the first quarter of 2026.

NET INCOME PER ADS

Diluted net income from continuing operations per ADS(1) (3) was US$1.01 in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$1.13 in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$1.00 in the first quarter of 2026.

Non-GAAP diluted net income from continuing operations per ADS(1) (4) was US$1.24 in the second quarter of 2026, compared with US$1.44 in the corresponding period of 2025 and US$1.11 in the first quarter of 2026.

BALANCE SHEET AND CASH FLOWS

As of June 30, 2026, the Company had net cash of US$3,059.3 million, compared with US$3,258.0 million as of December 31, 2025. For the second quarter of 2026, net cash from operating activities was US$64.9 million.

SHARES OUTSTANDING

As of June 30, 2026, the Company had a total of 979.5 million common shares outstanding, representing the equivalent of 49.0 million ADSs assuming the conversion of all common shares into ADSs.

Business Outlook

For the third quarter of 2026, the Company expects net revenues to be between US$602 million and US$622 million. This forecast reflects the Company's current and preliminary views on the market, operational conditions, and business strategies, which are subject to change, particularly as to the potential impact from macroeconomic uncertainties.

Share Repurchase Programs

Pursuant to the Company's up-to-US$600 million share repurchase program authorized in May 2026, or the 2026 Share Repurchase Program, which is effective through the end of 2028, the Company had repurchased approximately 1.1 million ADSs for an aggregate consideration of US$72.9 million on the open market during the second quarter of 2026. In addition, under the previous share repurchase program, which was authorized in March 2025 and replaced by the 2026 Share Repurchase Program in May 2026, the Company repurchased approximately 0.6 million ADSs for an aggregate consideration of US$35.0 million on the open market during the second quarter of 2026.

Between July 1, 2026 and August 21, 2026, the Company repurchased an additional approximately 0.8 million ADSs, for an aggregate consideration of US$55.5 million under the 2026 Share Repurchase Program. The remaining unutilized amount under the 2026 Share Repurchase Program was approximately US$471.6 million as of August 21, 2026.

Quarterly Dividend Program

On May 22, 2026, the board of directors of the Company authorized a quarterly dividend program, or the 2026 Dividend Program, under which a total of approximately US$900 million in cash will be distributed on a quarterly basis between 2026 and 2028.

Pursuant to the 2026 Dividend Program, the board of directors has accordingly declared a dividend of US$1.55 per ADS, or US$0.0775 per common share, for the second quarter of 2026, which is expected to be paid on October 16, 2026 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 30, 2026. The ex-dividend date will be September 30, 2026.

Conference Call Information