Under the winter of the entertainment industry, how has iQIYI maintained profitability for four consecutive years?

On February 26, iQIYI released its unaudited fourth quarter and full-year financial report for the period ending December 31, 2025.

According to the financial report, iQIYI’s total revenue for the year 2025 reached 27.29 billion yuan, with a full-year Non-GAAP operating profit of 640 million yuan, marking iQIYI’s fourth consecutive year of operational profitability.

In particular, in the fourth quarter, iQIYI’s total revenue reached 6.79 billion yuan, achieving both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth, with a Non-GAAP operating profit of 140 million yuan for the quarter. iQIYI’s founder and CEO, Gong Yu, believes that the IP-centric strategy has solidified the platform’s user engagement and market leadership in the fourth quarter.

An industry analyst told the Securities Daily reporter that in the context of cost reduction and efficiency improvement becoming the main theme of the long video industry, iQIYI’s continuous profitability demonstrates the sustainability of its IP management strategy. “In 2025, iQIYI not only showcased the company’s resilience in traditional membership services but also consolidated its base with hit dramas while seeking a ‘second growth curve’ through overseas business and launching offline parks.”

Specifically, iQIYI’s total revenue for 2025 was 27.29 billion yuan, of which membership service revenue was 16.81 billion yuan, online advertising service revenue was 5.19 billion yuan, content distribution revenue was 2.50 billion yuan, and other revenue was 2.79 billion yuan. Total revenue for the fourth quarter was 6.79 billion yuan, including membership service revenue of 4.11 billion yuan, online advertising service revenue of 1.35 billion yuan, content distribution revenue of 790 million yuan, and other revenue of 550 million yuan.

Behind the financial performance is the support of a high-quality content ecosystem. In the fourth quarter, iQIYI flourished across drama, film, and variety fields. The content heat value of “Tang Dynasty Strange Events: Chang’an” broke 10,000, achieving breakthroughs in content series development. The iQIYI-produced theatrical film “Chasing Shadows” ranked first in film content heat value for the fourth quarter and became the highest-rated domestic action crime film on Douban in nearly a decade. The content heat value of “Hello, Farming Boy 3” reached a new high for the series, and the new self-produced variety show “Cosmic Sparkle, Please Note” demonstrated blockbuster potential, with a content heat value exceeding 8,300.

In addition, iQIYI is also seeking a second growth curve through overseas expansion and the establishment of offline parks, with initial results. In terms of overseas business, the 2025 Global Content Hit List released by iQIYI International shows that the platform’s overseas viewership increased by 114.5% year-on-year in 2025; regarding the park business, iQIYI rapidly launched three major park projects in Yangzhou, Kaifeng, and Wangfujing, Beijing (600859) in 2025.

iQIYI’s acting Chief Financial Officer, Zeng Ying, stated, “We are building new growth engines through emerging businesses. The overseas business maintains strong growth momentum, and fourth-quarter revenue performance reached a new high. Additionally, the first iQIYI park recently officially opened, receiving positive feedback and becoming an important milestone in the development of experiential business. We look forward to these emerging businesses creating long-term value for the company.”

Reporters further learned from iQIYI that, unlike the heavy asset models of Disney and Universal Studios, iQIYI has chosen a “light asset + strong operations” path. These park facilities usually range from 5,000 to 20,000 square meters, emphasizing immersive experiences such as full-sensory theaters, holographic projections, and NPC interactions, with modular designs allowing for content iteration every six months based on new drama schedules.

Currently, the short drama market is evolving rapidly, and iQIYI is also actively entering the field. By the end of 2025, iQIYI developed and produced the horizontally formatted short drama “Tang Strange Tales” based on the “Tang Dynasty Strange Events” IP, which reached a peak internal heat value of 7,889 after launch, breaking the historical record for short dramas; subsequently released vertically formatted micro-drama “Tang Strange Tales: Nine-Story Tower” also set a new high for micro-drama content heat value.

Yang Huaiyu, a senior researcher at Shanghai Xiazhi Liangsai Consulting Management Co., Ltd., told the Securities Daily reporter that this series of data proves the feasibility of the “long drama IP nourishing short drama” logic. “Short dramas are no longer isolated low-cost experiments but rather supplements and extensions of the long drama worldview. This ‘long-short linkage’ not only addresses the severe homogenization of short drama content but also provides new narrative space for subsequent ad placements and member acquisition.”