JOYY Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results: Total Revenue Up 12.4% YoY, Substantially Expanding Shareholder Returns
SINGAPORE, May 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYY) ("JOYY" or the "Company"), a leading global technology company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
In the first quarter, JOYY's globally diversified ecosystem continued to take shape, with its three business pillars—social entertainment, advertising, and e-commerce—bolstering one another in a self-reinforcing strategic flywheel. The Company's total revenues for the quarter grew 12.4% year over year to US$555.7 million, the highest year-over-year growth rate the Company has delivered in recent years. Social entertainment revenue was US$400.4 million, up 3.2% year over year, while the Company's second growth engine, BIGO Ads ad tech and SHOPLINE e-commerce, continued to scale with strong momentum. BIGO Ads contributed US$124.8 million, up 55.6% year over year, while SHOPLINE revenue increased 16.1% year over year to US$30.5 million. In the first quarter, non-GAAP[1] operating income and non-GAAP[1] EBITDA came in at US$38.0 million and US$45.7 million, up 22.5% and 13.2% year over year, respectively. Operating cash inflow for the quarter was US$46.0 million.
Simultaneously, JOYY announced a new share repurchase program, under which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to US$600 million of its shares until the end of 2028, and a new quarterly dividend program, under which a total of approximately US$900 million in cash will be distributed on a quarterly basis between 2026 and 2028. The new shareholder return program, totaling US$1.5 billion, represents a significant increase compared to the previous program (US$900 million) announced in 2025. From January 1 to May 22, 2026, JOYY had returned a total of US$156.8 million to shareholders through US$87.9 million in share repurchases and US$68.9 million in dividends, under its 2025 program.
Ms. Ting Li, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of JOYY, commented, "We delivered a strong start to 2026. Total revenues for the first quarter reached US$555.7 million, up by 12.4% year over year, our strongest year-over-year growth rate in recent years. This quarter marks the first time we are reporting results under our new three-segment structure: Social Entertainment, BIGO Ads, and SHOPLINE. Our AI-driven globally diversified ecosystem is taking shape with social entertainment, advertising, and e-commerce reinforcing one another in a powerful strategic flywheel. With AI serving as the backbone of our entire operations—driving content recommendation, advertising efficiency, and merchant intelligence across all three segments—our business pillars form a closed-loop system that deepens our competitive moat and drives long-term value creation for JOYY and our shareholders."
First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights
- Net revenues in the first quarter of 2026 were US$555.7 million, representing an increase of 12.4% from US$494.4 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Social Entertainment revenue increased by 3.2% to US$400.4 million from US$387.8 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- BIGO Ads revenue increased by 55.6% to US$124.8 million from US$80.2 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- SHOPLINE revenue increased by 16.1% to US$30.5 million from US$26.3 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Operating income was US$6.8 million.
- Non-GAAP[1] operating income was US$38.0 million, representing an increase of 22.5% from US$31.0 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Non-GAAP[1] EBITDA was US$45.7 million, representing an increase of 13.2% from US$40.4 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Net cash as of March 31, 2026 was US$3,175.1 million.
- Net cash from operating activities was US$46.0 million.
First Quarter 2026 Business Highlights
Social Entertainment Business
In the first quarter, global average mobile MAUs reached 276.3 million, up 6.1% year over year and 1.5% quarter over quarter. Social entertainment revenue increased by 3.2% year over year to US$400.4 million, with livestreaming revenue up 2.4% year over year. Core livestreaming paying users grew 5.9% year over year.
For flagship product Bigo Live, the Company improved its streamer incentive structure, launched targeted support programs for high-quality content categories, and integrated new AI capabilities. These initiatives drove ongoing gains in both content engagement and payment conversion. Number of active streamers increased 1.5% quarter over quarter, and average effective streaming hours per streamer rose 1.4% quarter over quarter. The Company has now fully rolled out AI smart tools for streamers across core markets, meaningfully improving interaction efficiency. In April, AI-generated interactive virtual gifts accounted for 34% of total virtual gift consumption on Bigo Live.
On the operating side, Bigo Live successfully hosted BIGO Awards Gala 2026 in South Korea along with regional galas in countries including Indonesia and the Philippines during the first quarter. These events underscore Bigo Live's continued commitment to recognizing creator excellence, strengthening regional creator ecosystems, and connecting diverse communities worldwide. Bigo Live continued to pursue content innovation and successfully launched the inaugural BIGO Content Award in North America, drawing over 300 top-tier, highly active streamers to drive measurable growth in DAUs and user retention. Additionally, Bigo Live launched a Ramadan-themed initiative featuring a digital revival of traditional content, which drove user engagement during a key cultural period and reinforced its capability to deliver scalable and localized content experiences across diverse markets.
BIGO Ads Advertising Technology Business
In the first quarter, broader traffic coverage, multi-vertical advertiser expansion, and ongoing algorithm optimization fueled the growth momentum of JOYY's ad tech business. BIGO Ads generated US$124.8 million in advertising revenue, up 55.6% year over year, with third-party Audience Network ad revenue delivering 78.8% year-over-year growth.
On the supply side, SDK traffic maintained strong growth, up 109% year over year in the first quarter. On the demand side, the Company's strategic presence across multiple verticals drove an enrichment of its advertiser mix and enhanced ecosystem density. This multi-vertical approach not only accelerated data accumulation and algorithmic iteration, but also strengthened its traffic bidding capabilities. Notably, web-based demand grew 90% year over year and delivered positive sequential growth, while IAA demand sustained 97% year-over-year growth. Geographically, BIGO Ads continued to prioritize high-value developed markets. North America remains its largest market, while Western Europe delivered notable momentum, with revenue up 27% quarter over quarter.
On the algorithm side, BIGO Ads is steadily and prudently scaling its computing infrastructure and strengthening its R&D talent base. By integrating data feedback from advertisers across channels and leveraging the dual growth of traffic scale and advertiser density, BIGO Ads has built a rich behavioral data layer. This enables multi-dimensional, precise user profiling and real-time model iteration, which in turn improves ad delivery efficiency.
SHOPLINE E-Commerce Business
In the first quarter, SHOPLINE delivered strong results. Revenue was US$30.5 million, up 16.1% year over year, with gross margin expanding further to 51.5%. Revenue growth from cross-border merchants remained robust, sustaining over 60% year-over-year growth. This is the first quarter the Company is reporting SHOPLINE as a standalone segment, underscoring the Company's diversified growth.
As global commerce enters the omnichannel era, merchants increasingly desire autonomy and full-funnel data ownership. The Company is building SHOPLINE as an AI-native, one-stop omnichannel commerce infrastructure that offers merchants a fully open and connectable retail operating system. Through deep integration of payment, logistics, and marketing modules, SHOPLINE empowers merchants across every stage of their journey, from store setup and transactions to fulfillment and full-lifecycle customer retention.
SHOPLINE is accelerating the integration of a suite of AI-powered capabilities. These tools will drive SHOPLINE's evolution from an enablement tool to an AI-driven commerce engine. AI-powered traffic allocation and automated decision-making will unlock new growth opportunities and new levels of precision across omnichannel retail.
- This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as additional clarifying items to aid investors in further understanding the Company's performance and the impact that these items and events had on the financial results. The non-GAAP financial measures provided above should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. For details of the non-GAAP measures, including the reconciliations of GAAP measures to non-GAAP measures, please refer to the press release titled "JOYY Reports First Quarter 2026 Unaudited Financial Results" issued by the Company on May 26, 2026.
SOURCE JOYY Inc.
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