(China Daily) iQIYI, an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, announced on Tuesday its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2024.
Unaudited financial results show that the Nasdaq-listed company's total revenues in 2024 were 29.23 billion yuan ($4 billion), down eight percent from a year before. Non-GAAP operating income was 2.36 billion yuan ($323.6 million) and the non-GAAP operating income margin was eight percent. This marks the third consecutive year in which the company has achieved operating profit.
In the fourth quarter alone, QIYI generated revenue of 6.61 billion yuan ($906.0 million). The non-GAAP operating income for this quarter was 405.9 million yuan ($55.6 million), with a non-GAAP operating income margin of six percent.
"We continued to execute with a focus on discipline and efficiency, which led to sequential growth in operating profit for the fourth quarter. The strong operational momentum is extending into the opening of 2025, marking an encouraging start for the year," commented Wang Jun, chief financial officer of iQIYI.
According to the report, the company's robust performance is driven by its stronghold in long-form content, breakthroughs in mini-dramas, and significant growth in overseas markets.
The cornerstone of iQIYI's success in 2024 remained its long-form content, which continued to dominate viewership across multiple genres. The company captured the highest market share in the total drama category for both the fourth quarter and the whole year, according to Enlightent data.
This achievement was bolstered by exceptional performances in reality, suspense, period, and modern romance genres. Popular titles such as We Are Criminal Police and new releases from the "Light On Theater" brand, including Let Wind Goes By, contributed significantly to this success.
"Since late November 2024, we have launched a series of blockbusters, driving a strong rebound of business performances and reinforcing our No.1 position in total drama market share in Q4 2024. With the release of more smash hits, the momentum continued into the start of 2025, which led to a significant increase in subscribing members from the end of 2024 to now," commented Gong Yu, founder, director, and chief executive officer of iQIYI.
Additionally, the company retained its leading position in online movie viewership for the 12th consecutive quarter, supported by well-received films like the original production A Frozen Rage and theatrical releases such as Upstream. The company also strengthened its lineup of premium female-oriented content through the "Love On Theater" brand, with dramas like Fangs of Fortune driving new member sign-ups.
iQIYI's breakthrough in mini-dramas in 2024 is a notable highlight, which played a pivotal role in driving user growth and monetization. The platform expanded its mini-drama portfolio to over 10,000 titles, capturing 95 percent of the leading mini-drama content providers in the market.
To enhance user experience, iQIYI revamped its apps. The iQIYI Lite app prioritized free mini-dramas to boost advertising-based revenue, while the main app offered mini-dramas through a subscription-based model. These efforts, coupled with optimized content recommendation and ad placement systems, led to a significant increase in the user base and viewing time for mini-dramas. In a milestone achievement, iQIYI recorded its first mini-drama, generating over one million yuan in monthly revenue-sharing income during the fourth quarter.
"Although still in an early stage, we have seen great potential of mini-dramas to bolster our ad inventory and contribute to our ad revenue growth in 2025," Gong said.
iQIYI's overseas markets experienced strong growth, with total revenue and membership services revenue achieving annual and sequential growth in the fourth quarter. Membership revenue from markets outside the Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong, the UK, Thailand, and Australia, increased by over 30 percent year-over-year. The average daily number of overseas subscribing members also grew, with markets like Hong Kong and Thailand seeing over 50 percent annual growth.
The company's original content continued to resonate globally, with Fangs of Fortune becoming the best-performing Chinese drama on iQIYI's overseas platform in 2024. The company's first original overseas variety show, STARLiGHT BOYS, topped local Google rankings for variety shows across several Southeast Asian countries. Encouraged by the popularity of Thai dramas, iQIYI plans to increase investment in original Thai productions.
