iQiyi Profit Plunges 81% as Blockbuster Drought Weighs on Streaming Giant
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iQiyi reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results before the U.S. stock market opened on Thursday. Photo: VCG
iQiyi Inc. said its net profit plunged 81% in 2025, as the Chinese video-streaming company grappled with a shortage of blockbuster titles and intensifying competition from short-form video platforms.
The results highlight mounting pressure on China’s long-form streaming industry, where viewer attention is increasingly splintered by micro-dramas and breakout hits have become harder to produce. The company is now turning to artificial intelligence and overseas expansion in search of new growth.
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- iQiyi's 2025 net profit plunged 81% and revenue fell 7% to 27.3 billion yuan amid a weak content lineup and competition from short-form video.
- All major revenue streams declined, but overseas membership grew over 30%, accelerating to 40% in H2 2025.
- iQiyi is focusing on high-quality productions, investing in generative AI, and developing proprietary AI agents for film production.
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Who’s Who
- iQiyi Inc.
- iQiyi Inc., a Chinese video-streaming company, faced an 81% plunge in net profit in 2025 due to a shortage of hit titles and competition from short-form video. Revenue declined 7% to 27.3 billion yuan. The company is now focusing on high-quality content, generative AI for production, and international expansion, which saw overseas membership revenue grow over 30%.
- Youku
- Youku is a Chinese video-streaming platform. In 2025, Youku, along with Tencent Video, secured the top three spots for new dramas based on effective playback volume, outpacing competitor iQiyi. This indicates its strong performance in the competitive long-form streaming industry.
- Tencent Video
- Tencent Video is a competitor to iQiyi in the Chinese video-streaming industry. In 2025, Tencent Video, along with Youku, swept the top three spots for new dramas in terms of effective playback volume, while iQiyi failed to secure a top-three position despite having more titles in the top 10.
- ByteDance Ltd.
- ByteDance Ltd. is a company that developed the Seedance 2.0 video-generation model. This technology was released ahead of the Spring Festival holiday and is recognized by iQiyi's CEO as a significant advancement reshaping the industry. It's noted for its potential to reduce production costs, particularly for animation and comics.
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What Happened When
- 2025：
- iQiyi's net profit plunged 81% as it struggled with a shortage of blockbuster titles and increased competition.
- 2025：
- iQiyi's full-year revenue declined 7% to 27.3 billion yuan; non-GAAP net income fell to 280 million yuan.
- 2025：
- All major revenue streams contracted; membership services revenue fell 5% and advertising revenue fell 9%.
- 2025：
- iQiyi had four titles among the top 10 new dramas by effective playback volume but failed to secure a top-three position; Youku and Tencent Video took the top three.
- 2025：
- Most-watched series drew only half the views of 2024’s biggest hit; total views for the top 20 dramas declined 20%.
- 2025：
- The number of traditional long dramas fell by 31 to 624 amid tighter investment; micro-dramas expanded rapidly.
- 2025：
- iQiyi cut total revenue costs 2% to 21.54 billion yuan.
- 2025：
- Overseas membership revenue rose more than 30% and accelerated to 40% growth in the second half.
- Fourth quarter of 2025：
- iQiyi's results improved, with revenue rising 3% and adjusted net income turning profitable at 110 million yuan.
- Before Spring Festival 2026：
- ByteDance Ltd. released Seedance 2.0 video-generation model.
- Wednesday, February 25, 2026：
- iQiyi's shares closed at $1.77, down 1.12%, with a market capitalization of about $1.7 billion.
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