The9 Reports US$32 Million Net Income for Second Quarter of 2026, Up Over 39% Sequentially

Increase driven by the fair-value recognition of 9BIT tokens received under the Company's cooperation agreement with the 9BIT Foundation as the9bit continued to expand AI capabilities, community engagement and commercial partnerships

SHANGHAI, Aug. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) ("The9" or the "Company"), a global, diversified high-tech company, today reported its unaudited financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2026.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights

• Strong sequential growth: Net income for the quarter was US$32 million, an increase of more than 39% from the previous quarter.
• Record profitability: Net income for the first half of 2026 reached US$55 million, representing the highest half-year net income in The9's history since its 2004 IPO. This increase was driven primarily by the fair-value recognition of 9BIT tokens received under the Company's cooperation agreement with the 9BIT Foundation, an independent crypto foundation established in Panama.
• The Company received 475 million 9BIT tokens during the second quarter. Cumulative allocations reached 1.9 billion 9BIT tokens for the six months ended June 30, 2026.
• As of the date of this release, the Company's AI-powered gaming ecosystem, the9bit, has more than 180,000 games that were created using its proprietary AI-assisted tools.
• As of the date of this release, the Company's total cryptocurrency holdings, including 347 BTC and 1.9 billion 9BIT tokens, are valued at approximately US$120 million based on quoted market prices. This estimate is provided for reference only and may not reflect realizable value.
• Currently, the daily trading volume of 9BIT tokens across crypto exchanges is approximately US$10 million.
• The Company's investee Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. ("NYB"), a Singapore-based, AI-driven drug discovery company, has taken a significant step toward its planned Nasdaq listing. At an extraordinary general meeting held on August 19, 2026, shareholders of RF Acquisition Corp II (Nasdaq: RFAI) voted to approve NYB's proposed business combination, marking a key milestone in NYB's effort to become a Nasdaq-listed company under the reserved ticker symbol "NYB." Upon completion of the business combination, which remains subject to customary closing conditions, the Company is expected to hold approximately 15% to 16% of the combined, Nasdaq-listed company.

The Company accounts for its digital assets in accordance with applicable U.S. GAAP, and its unaudited financial information for the quarter has been reviewed by The9's independent auditors. For the full set of interim financial statements and the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, please visit: the9.com/financials.

Business Development

During the quarter, The9 continued to refine the9bit's operations, enhance the user experience and strengthen the platform's AI capabilities. Since the9bit's inception, users have created more than 180,000 games using the9bit's proprietary AI-assisted tools. The Company is focused on translating this participation into a sustainable creator economy through improved creation tools, platform features, engagement mechanisms and broader utility for 9BIT.

The9 is advancing the9bit as an AI-native production operating system for interactive entertainment. Rather than relying on any single foundation model, the platform uses a model-agnostic orchestration layer to integrate different AI capabilities and production workflows. Users enter a single natural-language prompt, and the system converts it into a structured production blueprint, then coordinates specialized tasks across the broader development and production lifecycle. Each completed project generates production intelligence that can further improve task routing, automation and workflows, making the platform more efficient and capable as usage scales.

The Company also broadened the9bit's commercial reach through offline cooperation and market development. Paid engagements have begun, including offline marketing campaigns for brand partners across Southeast Asia. The9bit has signed 41 brand partners, with an additional 127 potential partners in its pipeline. The Company believes these partnerships can link offline consumer activity with the9bit's online creator and player community and deepen participation across the ecosystem. Building on this progress, the Company intends to explore partnership opportunities in the Americas and Europe, considering local market conditions, user preferences and regulatory requirements.

"We delivered our highest half-year net income since our IPO," said George Lai, Chief Executive Officer of The9. "Meanwhile, we continued to build the capabilities that we believe will support The9's long-term development – refining the9bit's operations, improving the user experience, strengthening our AI-native production system and creating new links between our online community and offline commercial partners. These efforts are laying the foundation for a more active, resilient and scalable ecosystem. The market remains at an early stage and will continue to evolve, but we are confident in the long-term convergence of AI, user-generated content and digital assets, and in The9's ability to capture opportunities in this space."

Incentive Plan

As previously disclosed, the Board of Directors has approved a long-term incentive plan under which senior management will be eligible to receive equity awards representing up to 12% of the Company's outstanding shares, contingent on the Company achieving higher quarterly net income in each of the remaining quarters of 2026 compared with the first quarter of 2026. Second-quarter net income of US$32 million exceeds first-quarter net income of US$23 million, satisfying the growth condition for the second quarter. The awards remain subject to multi-year vesting conditions and a three-year lock-up period.

Conference Call

The9's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:30 AM US Eastern Time on August 24, 2026 (8:30 PM Hong Kong Time on August 24, 2026). Details for the conference call are as follows:

Event Title: The9 Limited Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call

Registration Link: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI92e5c045cd54492e95c9c81c36fcf980 

All participants must use the link provided above to complete the online registration process in advance of the conference call. Upon registering, each participant will receive a set of participant dial-in numbers and a personal PIN, which will be used to join the conference call.

Additionally, a live webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at https://www.the9.com/investor-relations, and a replay of the webcast will be made available following the session.

About The9 Limited

The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) is a global, diversified high-tech company redefining how games are created, played, and monetized. Founded in 1999 and Nasdaq-listed since 2004, The9 brings over two decades of gaming heritage to its flagship platform the9bit, an AI-powered digital asset ecosystem built around AI game creation and the $9BIT token economy, where every participant can play, create, earn, and own a stake in its growth. Beyond the9bit, The9 continues to explore emerging opportunities across AI-empowered industries and the broader digital ecosystem, including an equity stake in AI-driven drug discovery company NYB, building a multi-engine business positioned at the frontier of AI and the new economy, reshaping how value is created and shared.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which are based on management's beliefs and expectations as well as on assumptions made by and data currently available to management, appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which we operate. The use of the words "will," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates," "predicts," "believes," "should," "potential," "may," "forecast," "objective," "plan," or "target," and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, future market conditions or economic performance, developments in the capital and credit markets, expected future financial performance, and the markets in which we operate. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to, the following: results of operations, financial condition, our stock price, our strategies, our future business development, competition in the industry in which we operate, our ability to manage our costs and expenses, volatility in the market price of digital assets, the limited liquidity of certain digital asset tokens, evolving and uncertain regulatory frameworks governing cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and token-based economies, laws and regulations relating to the industry in which we operate, general economic and business conditions, and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement, see The9's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The9 undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE The9 Limited