BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Weibo Corporation (“Weibo” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: WB and HKEX: 9898), a leading social media in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022.
“We navigated through the challenges from COVID-19 resurgence in the second quarter,” said Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo. “Our user community and engagement continued with healthy trend despite cutback in channel investment, leveraging our unique positioning and competitive advantage in the social media sector. On monetization, although broad-based headwinds weighed on advertising demand in the near term, we are encouraged to see resilient performance of certain sectors and the gradual pick-up of the overall advertising business after the pandemic. Weibo also delivered a non-GAAP operating margin of 32% in the second quarter, which further improved from the first quarter of 2022, as we executed against our efficiency initiatives to optimize costs and expenses. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our differentiated value proposition and long-term monetization opportunities.”
Second Quarter 2022 Highlights
Net revenues were $450.2 million, a decrease of 22% year-over-year or a decrease of 19% year-over-year on a constant currency basis [1]. Advertising and marketing revenues were $385.6 million, a decrease of 23% year-over-year. Value-added services (“VAS”) revenues were $64.6 million, a decrease of 10% year-over-year. Income from operations was $93.9 million, representing an operating margin of 21%. Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders was $28.3 million and diluted net income per share was $0.12. Non-GAAP income from operations was $145.3 million, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 32%. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders was $109.7 million and non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.46. Monthly active users (“MAUs”) were 582 million in June 2022, a net addition of approximately 16 million users on a year-over-year basis. Mobile MAUs represented 95% of MAUs. Average daily active users (“DAUs”) were 252 million in June 2022, a net addition of approximately 7 million users on a year-over-year basis.
[1] On a constant currency (non-GAAP) basis, we assume that the exchange rate in the second quarter of 2022 had been the same as it was in the second quarter of 2021, or RMB6.45=US$1.00.
Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results
For the second quarter of 2022, Weibo’s total net revenues were $450.2 million, a decrease of 22% compared to $574.5 million for the same period last year.
Advertising and marketing revenues for the second quarter of 2022 were $385.6 million, a decrease of 23% compared to $502.3 million for the same period last year. Advertising and marketing revenues excluding ad revenues from Alibaba were $361.8 million, a decrease of 22% compared to $462.4 million for the same period last year. The decrease was primarily resulted from challenges from COVID-19 resurgence and restriction and lockdown in major areas of China, as well as macro uncertainties which have a broad-based negative impact on the advertising industry in China.
VAS revenues for the second quarter of 2022 were $64.6 million, a decrease of 10% year-over-year compared to $72.1 million for the same period last year. The decrease of VAS revenues was mainly due to less revenue contribution from membership service and game-related services.
Costs and expenses for the second quarter of 2022 totaled $356.2 million, a decrease of 7% compared to $381.2 million for the same period last year. The decrease was primarily resulted from a 25% year-over-year decrease of sales and marketing expenses, due to our disciplined channel investments.
Income from operations for the second quarter of 2022 was $93.9 million, compared to $193.2 million for the same period last year. Operating margin was 21%, compared to 34% last year. Non-GAAP income from operations was $145.3 million, compared to $223.2 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin was 32%, compared to 39% last year.
Non-operating loss for the second quarter of 2022 was $47.4 million, compared to a loss of $65.3 million for the same period last year. Non-operating loss for the second quarter of 2022 mainly included (i) a $21.7 million net interest and other loss; (ii) an $18.7 million net loss from fair value change of investments, which was excluded under non-GAAP measures; (iii) a $7.0 million investment related impairment, which was excluded under non-GAAP measures.
Income tax expenses were $17.5 million, compared to $46.9 million for the same period last year.
Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the second quarter of 2022 was $28.3 million, compared to $81.0 million for the same period last year. Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the second quarter of 2022 was $0.12, compared to $0.35 for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the second quarter of 2022 was $109.7 million, compared to $182.8 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the second quarter of 2022 was $0.46, compared to $0.79 for the same period last year.
As of June 30, 2022, Weibo’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $3.0 billion. For the second quarter of 2022, cash provided by operating activities was $83.0 million, capital expenditures totaled $14.8 million, and depreciation and amortization expenses amounted to $14.1 million.
Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)
Weibo released its first annual ESG report in August 2022, which details Weibo’s initiatives and performance in the respect of environmental, social and governance, with focuses on the concerns of stakeholders (http://ir.weibo.com/esg).
Conference Call
Weibo’s management team will host a conference call from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM Eastern Time on September 1, 2022 (or 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Beijing Time on September 1, 2022) to present an overview of the Company’s financial performance and business operations.
Participants who wish to dial in to the teleconference must register through the below public participant link. Dial in and instruction will be in the confirmation email upon registering.
Participants Registration Link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BIafafec22bbd342a7aa40d105c47d0e6b
This call will be webcast live and the replay will be available for 12 months. Both will be available through the Company’s corporate website at http://ir.weibo.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders, non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders and adjusted EBITDA. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, measures of the Company’s financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures exclude stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, non-cash compensation cost to non-controlling interest shareholders, impairment of intangible assets, net results of impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value change of investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items on the share of equity method investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss attributable to non-controlling interests, income tax expense related to the amortization and impairment of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and fair value change of investments (other non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items have no tax effect), and amortization of convertible debt and senior notes issuance cost. Adjusted EBITDA excludes interest income, net, income tax expenses, and depreciation expenses.
The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in their financial and operating decision-making, because management believes these measures reflect the Company’s ongoing operating performance in a manner that allows more meaningful period-to-period comparisons. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in the following ways: (i) in comparing the Company’s current financial results with the Company’s past financial results in a consistent manner, and (ii) in understanding and evaluating the Company’s current operating performance and future prospects in the same manner as management does, if they so choose. The Company also believes that the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses, gains (losses) and other items (i) that are not expected to result in future cash payments or (ii) that are non-recurring in nature or may not be indicative of the Company’s core operating results and business outlook.
Use of non-GAAP financial measures has limitations. The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures do not include all income and expense items that affect the Company’s operations. They may not be comparable to non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Accordingly, care should be exercised in understanding how the Company defines its non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures are set forth in the section below titled “Unaudited Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Results.”
About Weibo
Weibo is a leading social media for people to create, share and discover content online. Weibo combines the means of public self-expression in real time with a powerful platform for social interaction, content aggregation and content distribution. Any user can create and post a feed and attach multi-media and long-form content. User relationships on Weibo may be asymmetric; any user can follow any other user and add comments to a feed while reposting. This simple, asymmetric and distributed nature of Weibo allows an original feed to become a live viral conversation stream.
Weibo enables its advertising and marketing customers to promote their brands, products and services to users. Weibo offers a wide range of advertising and marketing solutions to companies of all sizes. The Company generates a substantial majority of its revenues from the sale of advertising and marketing services, including the sale of social display advertisement and promoted marketing offerings. Designed with a “mobile first” philosophy, Weibo displays content in a simple information feed format and offers native advertisement that conform to the information feed on our platform. To support the mobile format, we have developed and continuously refining our social interest graph recommendation engine, which enables our customers to perform people marketing and target audiences based on user demographics, social relationships, interests and behaviors, to achieve greater relevance, engagement and marketing effectiveness.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to, among other things, Weibo’s expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans (as described, without limitation, in the “Business Outlook” section and in quotations from management in this press release. Weibo may also make forward-looking statements in the Company’s periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology, such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “confidence,” “estimates” and similar statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Weibo’s limited operating history in certain new businesses; failure to grow active user base and the level of user engagement; the uncertain regulatory landscape in China; fluctuations in the Company’s quarterly operating results; the Company’s reliance on advertising and marketing sales for a majority of its revenues; failure to successfully develop, introduce, drive adoption of or monetize new features and products; failure to compete effectively for advertising and marketing spending; failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses; risks associated with the Company’s investments, including equity pick-up and impairment; failure to compete successfully against new entrants and established industry competitors; the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s operations and on general economic conditions; risks associated with weak or uncertain global economic conditions and their impact on the level of expenditures on advertising; risks associated with unrest, terrorist threats and the war in Ukraine and the associated global effects; changes in the macro-economic environment, including the depreciation of the Renminbi; and adverse changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government and its impact on the Chinese economy. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Weibo’s annual report on Form 20-Fs and other filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date hereof, and Weibo assumes no obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
Contact:
Investor Relations
Weibo Corporation
Phone: +86 10 5898-3336
Email: [email protected]
WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
Three months ended
Six months ended
June 30,
March 31,
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2022
2021
Net revenues:
Advertising and marketing
$ 385,559
$ 502,338
$ 427,121
$ 812,680
$ 892,349
Value-added services
64,593
72,128
57,501
122,094
141,013
Net revenues
450,152
574,466
484,622
934,774
1,033,362
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenues (1)
95,314
92,548
104,801
200,115
172,318
Sales and marketing (1)
115,512
154,393
125,311
240,823
298,368
Product development (1)
106,403
101,419
112,434
218,837
197,985
General and administrative (1)
28,809
32,869
39,227
68,036
62,850
Impairment of intangible assets
10,176
–
–
10,176
–
Total costs and expenses
356,214
381,229
381,773
737,987
731,521
Income from operations
93,938
193,237
102,849
196,787
301,841
Non-operating loss:
Impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value change of
investments, net
(25,676)
(76,814)
(177,950)
(203,626)
(135,014)
Interest and other income (loss), net
(21,721)
11,474
14,416
(7,305)
24,978
(47,397)
(65,340)
(163,534)
(210,931)
(110,036)
Income (loss) before income tax expenses
46,541
127,897
(60,685)
(14,144)
191,805
Income tax expenses
(17,502)
(46,910)
(11,716)
(29,218)
(61,855)
Net income (loss)
29,039
80,987
(72,401)
(43,362)
129,950
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests
739
(41)
(4,877)
(4,138)
(898)
Net income (loss) attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
$ 28,300
$ 81,028
$ (67,524)
$ (39,224)
$ 130,848
Basic net income (loss) per share attributable to Weibo’s
shareholders
$ 0.12
$ 0.36
$ (0.29)
$ (0.17)
$ 0.57
Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to Weibo’s
shareholders
$ 0.12
$ 0.35
$ (0.29)
$ (0.17)
$ 0.57
Shares used in computing basic net income (loss) per share
attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
235,521
228,099
235,206
235,364
227,936
Shares used in computing diluted net income (loss) per share
attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
237,025
229,555
235,206
235,364
229,429
(1) Stock-based compensation in each category:
Cost of revenues
$ 2,716
$ 1,827
$ 2,337
$ 5,053
$ 3,240
Sales and marketing
5,502
3,298
4,615
10,117
5,549
Product development
16,760
10,137
13,336
30,096
18,213
General and administrative
6,483
5,206
6,763
13,246
9,219
WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
June 30,
December 31,
2022
2021
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 2,336,454
$ 2,423,703
Short-term investments
680,675
711,062
Accounts receivable, net
519,029
723,089
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
481,738
450,726
Amount due from SINA(1)
492,330
494,200
Current assets subtotal
4,510,226
4,802,780
Property and equipment, net
61,185
68,396
Goodwill and intangible assets, net
260,975
297,335
Long-term investments
1,102,548
1,207,651
Other non-current assets
1,268,566
1,143,360
Total assets
$ 7,203,500
$ 7,519,522
Liabilities, Redeemable Non-controlling Interests and Shareholders’ Equity
Liabilities:
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 175,754
$ 197,643
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
756,960
828,952
Deferred revenues
91,397
91,136
Income tax payable
78,052
144,747
Convertible debt
898,612
896,541
Current liabilities subtotal
2,000,775
2,159,019
Long-term liabilities:
Unsecured senior notes
1,539,566
1,538,415
Other long-term liabilities
130,561
134,068
Total liabilities
3,670,902
3,831,502
Redeemable non-controlling interests
69,496
66,622
Shareholders’ equity :
Weibo shareholders’ equity
3,441,610
3,593,821
Non-controlling interests
21,492
27,577
Total shareholders’ equity
3,463,102
3,621,398
Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interests and
shareholders’ equity
$ 7,203,500
$ 7,519,522
(1) Included short-term loans to and interest receivable from SINA of $465.4 million as of June 30, 2022 and
$479.6 million as of December 31, 2021.
WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP TO GAAP RESULTS
(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
Three months ended
Six months ended
June 30,
March 31,
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2022
2021
Income from operations
$
93,938
$
193,237
$
102,849
$
196,787
$
301,841
Add:
Stock-based compensation
31,461
20,468
27,051
58,512
36,221
Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business
acquisitions
4,895
4,876
5,751
10,646
9,395
Non-cash compensation cost to non-controlling interest
shareholders
4,824
4,649
6,074
10,898
13,280
Impairment of intangible assets
10,176
–
–
10,176
–
Non-GAAP income from operations
$
145,294
$
223,230
$
141,725
$
287,019
$
360,737
Net income (loss) attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
$
28,300
$
81,028
$
(67,524)
$
(39,224)
$
130,848
Add:
Stock-based compensation
31,461
20,468
27,051
58,512
36,221
Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business
acquisitions
4,895
4,876
5,751
10,646
9,395
Non-cash compensation cost to non-controlling interest
shareholders
4,824
4,649
6,074
10,898
13,280
Impairment of intangible assets
10,176
–
–
10,176
–
Net results of impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value
change of investments
25,676
76,814
177,950
203,626
135,014
Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items on the share of equity
method investments
8,571
(8,091)
(2,654)
5,917
(9,166)
Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss
attributable to non-controlling interests
(278)
(198)
(4,631)
(4,909)
161
Tax effects on non-GAAP adjustments(1)
(5,541)
1,648
(10,771)
(16,312)
(5,500)
Amortization of convertible debt and unsecured senior notes
issuance cost
1,611
1,611
1,611
3,222
3,223
Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
$
109,695
$
182,805
$
132,857
$
242,552
$
313,476
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s
shareholders
$
0.46
*
$
0.79
*
$
0.56
*
$
1.02
*
$
1.35 *
Shares used in computing GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share
attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
237,025
229,555
235,206
235,364
229,429
Add:
The number of shares for dilution resulted from convertible debt(2)
6,753
6,753
6,753
6,753
6,753
The number of shares for dilution resulted from unvested restricted
share units(2)
–
–
447
976
–
Shares used in computing non-GAAP diluted net income per share
attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
243,778
236,308
242,406
243,093
236,182
Adjusted EBITDA:
Net income (loss) attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
$
28,300
$
81,028
$
(67,524)
$
(39,224)
$
130,848
Non-GAAP adjustments
81,395
101,777
200,381
281,776
182,628
Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders
109,695
182,805
132,857
242,552
313,476
Interest income,net
(8,443)
(3,848)
(10,986)
(19,429)
(7,787)
Income tax expenses
23,043
45,262
22,487
45,530
67,355
Depreciation expenses
8,616
8,204
8,730
17,346
16,113
Adjusted EBITDA
$
132,911
$
232,423
$
153,088
$
285,999
$
389,157
(1)
To exclude the income tax expenses primarily related to amortization and impairment of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and fair
value change of investments. The Company considered the tax implication arising from the reconciliation items. Part of these items were recorded in
entities established in tax free jurisdictions and there were no relevant tax implications. For impairment on investments, valuation allowances were made
for those differences as the Company does not expect they can be realized in the foreseeable future.
(2)
To adjust the number of shares for dilution resulted from convertible debt and unvested restricted share units which were anti-dilutive under GAAP measures.
*
Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders is adjusted for interest expense of convertible debt for calculating diluted EPS.
WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
Three months ended
Six months ended
June 30,
March 31,
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2022
2021
Net revenues
Advertising and marketing
Non-Ali advertisers
$ 361,831
$ 462,372
$ 401,196
$ 763,027
$ 819,083
Alibaba – as an advertiser
23,728
39,966
25,925
49,653
73,266
Subtotal
385,559
502,338
427,121
812,680
892,349
Value-added services
64,593
72,128
57,501
122,094
141,013
$ 450,152
$ 574,466
$ 484,622
$ 934,774
$ 1,033,362