The video platform is using AI and a maturing user base to post strong advertising growth in a weak market, but that higher monetization push is also testing its signature community culture

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Key Takeaways

  • Bilibili's advertising revenue rose 30% in the first quarter, far outpacing its total revenue growth, while games and IP-related revenue declined
  • The ad strength reflects better monetization of the company's loyal users, AI-assisted ad tools and a more commercially valuable audience

China's video platforms are not short of attention from their loyal customer bases. Their harder problem is converting that attention into profitable growth, as advertisers stay cautious, content remains expensive and AI becomes another major cost they can't avoid.

That's what makes the latest quarterly report from Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ:BILI) (9626.HK) all the more worth watching. The company only recently crossed into annual profitability, reporting its first full-year profit in 2025. Now, it has to prove that profit wasn't just a cost-control story, but is something that can keep growing. The company's revenue rose 7% to 7.47 billion yuan ($1.08 billion) in the first quarter, led by a 30% rise in advertising revenue to 2.59 billion yuan. Daily active users rose 8% to 115.2 million, with average daily time on the service at 119 minutes. 

The rest of the report was less impressive. Value-added services, Bilibili's largest segment, rose just 4% to 2.91 billion yuan. Mobile games revenue actually fell 12% to 1.52 billion yuan, mainly because last year's comparison was lifted by a hit game that has since entered a more mature part of its cycle. Intellectual property (IP) derivatives and other revenue also fell 4% to 448.2 million yuan. Put simply, advertising was the star of the quarter, while the rest of its business was much less impressive.  

A more selective ad market

Bilibili's ad growth stands out because other major Chinese internet names are still showing falling ad revenue as advertisers rein in their marketing budgets in China's slowing economy. Baidu (BIDU.US; 9888.HK), still heavily exposed to advertising tied to its search business, reported a 22% decline in online marketing revenue in the first quarter. Online video site iQiyi (IQ.US) also reported its online ad revenue fell 7% during the quarter.

Bilibili's ability to post strong growth for that important segment, even as many others record declines, suggests the market is splitting. Advertisers are still spending on platforms with clearer user signals, stronger communities and better conversion tools, to the detriment of platforms lacking those qualities.

Part of Bilibili's ad growth came from the growing amount of time its users spent on the service. But its edge may come from the quality of the attention of those users.

Bilibili users often watch longer videos centered on games, technology, animation, product reviews, knowledge content and creator-led discussions. That makes the platform useful for ad categories that require more detailed explanation and trust, rather than just quick exposure. Its users are also getting older. Management said the average user is now about 26.5 years old, an age when personal spending power and household decision-making influence begin to rise.

That puts Bilibili in a demographic sweet spot: its users are young enough to shape trends, but increasingly old enough to spend on big-ticket items like electronics, cars, home appliances, AI tools and home decoration.

AI helps on both sides

AI is another factor working in Bilibili's favor, with AI-related advertisers increasing their budgets by more than 170% year-on-year in the first quarter. AI is also helping Bilibili sell ads more efficiently. The company said deeper AI use improved ad matching, driving a 25% year-on-year increase in click-through conversion rates (CTCVR), an important metric for measuring an ad's performance. Bilibili also said AI generated content (AIGC) creative tools are helping advertisers produce materials better suited to its community, improving click-through rates.

Bilibili isn't the only youth platform with loyal users. ByteDance's Douyin has greater scale and a feed system where users are accustomed to ads, livestreaming, e-commerce and local services. Xiaohongshu has strong appeal to advertisers because many users go there for lifestyle advice, product discovery, travel ideas and shopping research.

Bilibili's edge is different. Users often see it less as a shopping guide or entertainment machine and more as a video community built around creators, fandoms, games, technology and shared cultural language. Its bullet-comment feature, where viewer comments stream across the screen as users watch videos, makes the experience feel more participatory. That helps explain the site's loyalty, but also makes monetization a delicate balancing act.

The sensitivity is not new. In 2016, pre-roll ads on some licensed anime titles triggered user backlash, leading Chairman Chen Rui to apologize and promise that certain licensed anime would not carry such ads. This April, Bilibili again tested the boundary by rolling out pause ads on its mobile app. The format is more restrained than pre-roll or mid-roll ads, with ads only appearing when users manually pause a video, and creators allowed to opt out. But it still shows the company is looking for new places to insert advertising into the viewing experience. 

Cost pressure remains

Bilibili also needs to keep growing advertising to protect margins, especially as its other revenue sources post slower growth and even start to contract. At the same time, the company is trying to keep its expenses under control. Its operating expenses rose only 3% in the quarter, helped by a 1% decline in sales and marketing costs. R&D spending rose 9%, mainly because of AI investment, and management also said full-year AI-related capital expenditure could rise by about 1 billion yuan. 

Earlier this year, a Chinese media report cited online rumors about major layoffs at Bilibili, including a widely discussed claim of a 60% headcount cut and R&D disruption. While the 60% figure was almost certainly highly exaggerated, the episode is still worth mentioning as its spread fits the industry mood: China's internet and entertainment companies are trying to fund AI, while simultaneously defending margins and trimming weaker businesses.

This helps explain why Bilibili's investment story now looks more attractive than that of traditional video peers such as iQiyi (NASDAQ:IQ). Bilibili has a clearer ad monetization story, a young but maturing user base with greater spending power, improving profitability and some differentiation from its peers due to games in its revenue mix. In addition to its 7% revenue growth, its adjusted net profit rose 62% to 585.4 million yuan in the latest quarter. iQiyi, by contrast, reported a 13% revenue decline for the period and swung to a net loss. 

But Bilibili's biggest advantage is also its constraint. Its ad growth depends on users believing the platform is still different from its peers. The first quarter showed Bilibili can sell more ads, especially when those ads are tied to categories that fit its content culture. The harder question is how much more advertising the platform can absorb before it starts to feel less like the Bilibili that many of its loyal users have grown to know and love.

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Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.