(Yicai) March 6 -- Bilibili’s shares fell despite the Chinese video-sharing and gaming platform moving into the black for the first time last year after advertising sales surged.

Bilibili [HKG: 9626] finished 4.5 percent lower at HKD201.20 (USD25.73) a share in Hong Kong today. Its New York-listed stock [NASDAQ: BILI] plunged 7.1 percent to USD25.55 yesterday.

Net profit was CNY1.2 billion (USD174 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, compared with a net loss of CNY1.4 billion the previous year, Bilibili said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue rose 13 percent to CNY30.4 billion (USD4.4 billion).

Advertising revenue surged 23 percent to CNY10.1 billion, while income from gaming jumped 14 percent to CNY6.4 billion. Revenue from value-added services, including membership subscriptions and livestreaming, rose 8 percent to CNY11.9 billion.

2025 was a milestone year for Bilibili as the Shanghai-based company had its first full-year profit based on generally accepted accounting principles, Chairman and Chief Executive Chen Rui said on the firm’s earnings conference call.

Looking ahead, Bilibili will focus on two key priorities, Chen noted. First, maintaining and strengthening its high-quality content ecosystem, and second, enabling creators on the platform to enjoy longer lifecycles and bigger commercial returns.

Over the past year, Bilibili has deeply integrated artificial intelligence across its platform ecosystem, it said. By deploying advanced AI models, it has improved content discovery and ad delivery, enabling more precise matching and optimization, while AI-generated content tools for creators and advertisers have lowered production and ad placement barriers, the firm said.

“AI is a transformative force that can deepen user engagement, improve distribution efficiency, and expand creative space,” Bilibili said.

The number of monthly paying users reached a record high of 34 million in 2025, mainly boosted by gaming and value-added services. User growth resulted from continuous expansion of high-quality content on the platform, according to Chen.

In the fourth quarter, profit soared almost sixfold to CNY510 million (USD73.9 million) from a year earlier. Revenue rose 8 percent to CNY8.3 billion, with advertising income up 27 percent to CNY3 billion, value-added services up 6 percent to CNY3.3 billion, and gaming down 14 percent to CNY1.5 billion.

The jump in ad revenue was driven by the healthy growth of the platform ecosystem with rising users and creator output, as well as various proactive measures from the company, including increasing ad load ratios, improving ad efficiency, and rolling out AIGC ad tools, according to Dolphin Investment Research. Favorable industry trends also played a part, as short-form dramas, mini-games, AI products, and other content are naturally well-suited to Bilibili’s demographics.

Editor: Martin Kadiev