Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement for the last 5 fiscal years, taken from the XBRL data Zhihu Inc. files with the SEC in its annual reports.
In USD millions, except per-share amounts. Outflows in the cash flow statement are negative.
Income statement
FY2021
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024
FY2025
Revenue
464
523
591
493
393
Cost of revenue
221
261
268
194
157
Gross profit
244
262
323
299
236
Research and development
97.2
111
127
100
75.1
Selling and marketing
257
294
288
219
179
General and administrative
108
90.2
58.9
45.2
36
Operating expenses
462
495
474
365
308
Operating income
-218
-233
-151
-65.9
-72.5
Other non-operating income
-0.69
0.87
6.94
5.88
4.38
Pre-tax income
-203
-227
-117
-24.4
-24.8
Income tax
0.85
2.06
1.67
-1.29
3.1
Net income to minority interests
0.4
0.58
0.39
-0.32
Net income
-204
-229
-119
-23.5
-27.6
EBITDA
-215
-229
-148
-62.9
-69.8
EPS, basic
-0.96
-0.75
-0.40
-0.09
-0.11
EPS, diluted
-0.96
-0.75
-0.40
-0.09
-0.11
Shares, basic (weighted)
240
305
299
274
240
Shares, diluted (weighted)
240
305
299
274
240
Balance sheet
FY2021
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024
FY2025
Cash and equivalents
339
656
297
548
482
Short-term investments
351
114
249
73.8
120
Receivables
131
121
93.6
57.6
51.2
Other current assets
42.7
28.9
32.7
22.4
15.3
Total current assets
1,308
1,061
898
751
677
Property, plant and equipment
1.55
1.06
1.53
1.16
0.77
Lease right-of-use assets
19.9
14.5
5.66
0.98
6.02
Goodwill
11.6
18.3
26.9
17.3
Intangible assets
10.7
11.6
17.3
7.47
4.23
Long-term investments
3
6.29
7.01
22.7
Other non-current assets
2.22
3.26
1.13
0.09
1.92
Total assets
1,382
1,110
957
785
742
Accounts payable
161
133
146
114
97.4
Accrued liabilities
49.2
41.1
48.2
37.7
26.9
Deferred revenue
37.6
51.6
42.8
32.3
26.6
Short-term debt
5.01
Total current liabilities
298
265
274
209
181
Lease liabilities
12.9
6.29
0.51
0.25
2.23
Other non-current liabilities
11.5
11.9
17.2
0.54
0.67
Total liabilities
324
284
295
211
188
Paid-in capital
2,095
1,974
1,900
1,796
1,885
Retained earnings
-986
-1,140
-1,227
-1,216
-1,297
Treasury stock
-4.9
-22.8
-15.4
-39.3
Other comprehensive income
-53.2
-9.54
-2.9
1.7
-4.82
Shareholders' equity
1,056
820
648
567
544
Minority interests
1.18
5.88
14.3
8.16
10.1
Total equity
1,057
826
662
575
554
Total liabilities and equity
1,382
1,110
957
785
742
Cash flow statement
FY2021
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024
FY2025
Net income
-204
-229
-118
-23.1
-27.9
Depreciation and amortization
3.37
3.66
3.51
3.01
2.72
Stock-based compensation
86.1
54.2
23.2
8.12
12.5
Deferred income tax
-0.17
-0.35
-0.54
-0.41
2.91
Change in receivables
-58.8
-19.3
9.07
28.5
12.9
Cash from operations
-69.1
-162
-58.5
-38.4
-52
Capital expenditures
-1.17
-0.1
-1.2
-0.37
-0.19
Purchases of investments
-1,007
-1,529
-1,061
-1,249
-1,918
Cash from investing
-492
506
-237
351
-16.6
Stock issued
3.6
2.84
0.64
0.16
Share buybacks
-18.6
-52.1
-54.9
-23.9
Cash from financing
765
-15.7
-51.4
-55.3
-18.8
Exchange rate effect
-15.7
14.7
5.99
2.04
-2.62
Net change in cash
188
343
-341
259
-90.1
Free cash flow
-70.3
-162
-59.7
-38.8
-52.2
Interest paid
0.21
Income taxes paid
1.57
0.24
0.55
Key metrics
Worked out from the statements above. Latest values use fiscal 2025. Valuation uses the share price of $3.80 on September 28, 2026.
Profitability
Metric
Value
How it is calculated
Gross margin
59.9%
Gross profit / revenue.
Operating margin
-18.5%
Operating income / revenue.
EBITDA margin
-17.8%
EBITDA (operating income + depreciation and amortization) / revenue.
Pre-tax margin
-6.3%
Pre-tax income / revenue.
Net margin
-7.0%
Net income / revenue.
FCF margin
-13.3%
Free cash flow (cash from operations - capital expenditures) / revenue.
Operating cash flow margin
-13.2%
Cash from operations / revenue.
Return on equity (ROE)
-5.0%
Net income / average shareholders' equity (opening and closing). Not shown when equity is negative.
Return on assets (ROA)
-3.6%
Net income / average total assets.
Return on invested capital (ROIC)
-141.6%
Approximation: operating income x (1 - tax rate) / average (total debt + equity - cash). Tax rate is the effective rate when between 0% and 50%, else 21%.
R&D / revenue
19.1%
Research and development expense / revenue.
Stock-based pay / revenue
3.2%
Stock-based compensation (from the cash flow statement) / revenue.
Capex / revenue
0.0%
Capital expenditures / revenue.
D&A / revenue
0.7%
Depreciation and amortization / revenue.
Growth
Metric
Value
How it is calculated
Revenue growth, 1y
-20.3%
Revenue vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Revenue CAGR, 3y
-9.1%
Compound annual growth of revenue over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Gross profit growth, 1y
-21.1%
Gross profit vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Gross profit CAGR, 3y
-3.5%
Compound annual growth of gross profit over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Book value growth, 1y
-4.0%
Book value vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Book value CAGR, 3y
-12.8%
Compound annual growth of book value over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Total assets growth, 1y
-5.5%
Total assets vs the same period a year earlier. Only from a positive base.
Total assets CAGR, 3y
-12.6%
Compound annual growth of total assets over 3 fiscal years: (end / start)^(1/3) - 1. Only when both values are positive.
Share count change, 1y
-12.3%
Change in diluted weighted shares vs a year earlier. Negative means buybacks shrank the share count; positive means dilution.
Share count change per year, 3y
-7.7%
Change in diluted weighted shares, per year over 3 years. Negative means buybacks shrank the share count; positive means dilution.
Balance sheet health
Metric
Value
How it is calculated
Current ratio
3.73x
Current assets / current liabilities.
Quick ratio
3.60x
(Cash + short-term investments + receivables) / current liabilities.
Cash ratio
3.32x
(Cash + short-term investments) / current liabilities.
Net income per diluted share, as reported (split-adjusted). Over the last twelve months: the four quarters summed, or net income / latest diluted shares when a quarter has no reported EPS.
EPS, basic
-$0.11
Net income per basic share, as reported (split-adjusted).
Revenue per share
$1.64
Revenue / diluted weighted shares.
FCF per share
-$0.22
Free cash flow / diluted weighted shares.
Operating cash flow per share
-$0.22
Cash from operations / diluted weighted shares.
Book value per share
$2.27
Shareholders' equity / shares outstanding (diluted weighted shares when not reported).
Market cap + total debt - cash - short-term investments.
P/S
0.86x
Market cap / revenue.
P/B
0.62x
Market cap / shareholders' equity. Only when equity is positive.
Price / tangible book
0.63x
Market cap / tangible book value, when positive.
FCF yield
-15.5%
Free cash flow / market cap.
Earnings yield
-8.2%
Net income / market cap (the inverse of P/E).
Shareholder yield
7.1%
(Dividends paid + share buybacks) / market cap.
What was Zhihu Inc.'s revenue in fiscal 2025?
Zhihu Inc. reported revenue of $393.1M for fiscal 2025, 20.3% lower than the year before.
Was Zhihu Inc. profitable in fiscal 2025?
No. It reported a net loss of $27.6M.
How much free cash flow did Zhihu Inc. generate in fiscal 2025?
Cash from operations of $52.0M minus capital expenditures of $189.0K left free cash flow of -$52.2M.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts. Where a company tags only year-to-date figures, quarters are worked out as differences. Where a line is not tagged it is left empty, never estimated.