Aug 25, 2026 earnings call — Growth shift: AI, pricing, and shareholder returns
Board approved an annual cash dividend of $230 million.
Revenue $0.4B (est $0.4B) · EPS $0.33 (est $0.32)
Key quotes
"In Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, while continuing to grow our user base, we will add reasonable price increases as a growth factor."
"One point worth mentioning is that the revenue we received from our AI-enabled closed-loop business grew rapidly quarter over quarter in Q2."
"The board today passed a resolution approving the distribution of annual dividends of $230 million."
Analyst Q&A 3
AI product monetization and model improvements
Q (Timothy Zhao · Goldman Sachs): The analyst asked for updates on AI products and closed-loop services revenue scale. He also asked how the Nambe large language model (Nanbeige4.2-3B) improves versus the prior generation and versus top models.
A: Management said large language models let users give long queries and have multi-round conversations, which improves understanding and sourcing of senior, professional candidates. They said they have served cumulatively more than 300 million users, had 17 million monthly active users last month, and expect expansion (example: 100 million versus 400 million). They also said "Our AI interview functions are now working on more than 10,000 interviews every day" and that Nanbeige4.2-3B ranks first in five test areas and is strong for mobile and robotics use cases.
"Our AI interview functions are now working on more than 10,000 interviews every day." — Peng Zhao (CEO·CHAIR)
Macro impact, AI costs and capital spending
Q (Eddy Wang · Morgan Stanley): The analyst asked how the macro slowdown will affect the company this year and how much operational improvements can offset it. He also asked whether AI services will change the cost structure and if the company will materially raise capital spending.
A: Management said the company has been stable through cycles and sees long-term market opportunity from 300 million customers and more than 22 million enterprises served. They said many enterprise accounts are free today, so paid conversion can drive growth, and they do not plan an aggressive capital spend race. They added they will keep R&D around "20% to 25%" and will not sacrifice cash safety while spending incremental money on AI.
"As you know, we have good profitability, so we will maintain around like 20% to 25% of R&D expenses, and we will spend incremental money on the AI and to give more support." — Wenbei Wang (CFO)
AI efficiency, margins and overseas OfferToday
Q (Wei Xiong · UBS): The analyst asked how AI has lowered costs and how much more margin improvement is possible. He also asked about FIFA World Cup spending and the plans and timeline for OfferToday and other overseas expansion.
A: Management said AI is used across operations and has reduced employee-related cost as a percentage of revenue, contributing "around 2 percentage points of our gross margin." They said FIFA World Cup costs are spread across Q2 and Q3, cloud rental for AI model training stays, and they expect Q3 margins similar to Q2 and slight full-year adjusted operating margin increase. For OfferToday, management said the goal is $100 million to $115 million revenue in about five years, with new markets taking 2 to 3 years to adapt and then about five years to reach that revenue level; some slower markets may take 10–15 years.
"As a result, the employee-related cost as a percentage of revenue continue to go down and help to contribute around 2 percentage points of our gross margin." — Wenbei Wang (CFO)