The headline beat was largely due to consolidating Ximalaya for just over one month. Bloomberg-consensus numbers did not fully reflect this change. At end-Q1, most houses expected consolidation in 2H, and only in mid-Jul did some raise estimates after receiving the update. On Dolphin Research’s cut excluding Ximalaya, Q2 performance was roughly in line with mgmt.’s end-Q1 guidance, with core subs likely a touch softer. This looks like a company squeezing out gains while under pressure from competition on multiple fronts. The only consolation is shareholder returns...
Below are Dolphin Research's notes from the $Tencent Music(TME.US) FY26 Q1 earnings call.
For our earnings analysis, see 'With Ximalaya integrated, can Tencent Music win the defensive game?'.Key highlights recap: 1) Shareholder returns: FY2025 cash dividend of $0.12 per ordinary share ($0.24 per ADS), paid in Apr. 2026, totaling approx. $317mn. The two-year share repurchase announced in Mar. 2025 is on track for completion on schedule...
$Tencent Music(TME.US) Q1 results were largely in line with expectations, consistent with last quarter's guidance. Expenses came in slightly lower than the Street had modeled.
Overall, amid intensifying competition, core subscription growth is showing fatigue. The company is leaning more on non-subscription music adjacencies and derivative monetization to drive revenue.However, more noteworthy than the print is the pre-mkt disclosure that the Ximalaya acquisition has cleared regulatory approval. This not only enables TME to accelerate integration and tap audiobook users, but also paves the way to resume buybacks as a 'self-help' move...
Below is Dolphin Research's Trans of the FY2025 earnings call for $Tencent Music(TME.US) and $TME-SW(01698.HK).
For our earnings take, see 'Tencent Music: Soda Music's big push — are the easy days over?'
I. Key takeaways
1) Shareholder returns: announced a FY2025 cash dividend of $0.24 per ADS, with total payout approx. $368mn, a sharp increase vs. last year. The buyback program still has sizable remaining authorization and will continue subject to market conditions...
On Mar 17 (Beijing time), after the HK close and ahead of the US pre-market, $Tencent Music(TME.US) released its Q4 2025 results. Q4 was a mixed bag. The 'second curve' kept gaining traction, but an unstable user ecosystem slowed subscription revenue growth, so Dolphin Research’s overall read is cautious.
1) Users kept slipping. MAU fell by 23 mn QoQ in Q4, a bit worse than typical seasonal attrition. Over a longer horizon, the trend remains down.We think the company may ramp up user acquisition spend. This could include initiatives after regulatory approval of the Ximalaya acquisition...
The following are the minutes of Tencent Music's 3Q25 earnings conference call organized by Dolphin Research. For financial report interpretation, please refer to "With ByteDance's Efforts, Can Tencent Music Still Be 'Small and Beautiful'?" 1. Review of Core Financial Information: 1. Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) reported a 21% year-on-year increase in total revenue for the third quarter of 2025, reaching RMB 8.5 billion, marking the highest growth rate since the first quarter of 2021. This was driven by the continued growth of the music subscription business, strong performance in offline concerts, advertising services, and sales of artist-related merchandise. 2. Online music revenue increased by 27% year-on-year to RMB 7 billion...
On November 12th, after the Hong Kong stock market closed and before the U.S. stock market opened, $Tencent Music(TME.US)$TME-SW(01698.HK) (TME.N; 1698.HK) released its third-quarter financial report for 2025. Overall, the results exceeded expectations, particularly with the partial realization of the second growth curve narrative. However, there were flaws, as the net increase in subscriptions continued to slow, indirectly confirming market concerns about intensified competition before the earnings report. Currently, there remains a significant difference between the core users of Tencent Music and ByteDance (Tencent Music vs ByteDance = high-tier music essential users vs lower-tier Douyin catchy tune users)...
The following is the earnings call minutes for $Tencent Music(TME.US) FY25 Q2. For an interpretation of the earnings report, please refer to "Tencent Music: A Vertical Bull Stock, An Endless Gold Mine?". In the second quarter of 2025, the company achieved high-quality growth, with both revenue and profitability showing strong year-over-year growth, and it is expected that this strong momentum will continue into the third quarter. The online music subscription business remains the core growth driver and continues to attract attention. (1) Guidance and Future Outlook: The company plans to expand the tour of Korea's top artist G-DRAGON to other regions this year...
On August 12th, after the Hong Kong stock market closed and before the U.S. stock market opened, $Tencent Music(TME.US)$TME-SW(01698.HK) released its financial report for the second quarter of 2025. As expected from a leading Chinese stock, the Q2 performance remained strong. Specifically: 1. Subscription met expectations: Subscription revenue grew by 16% in the second quarter, with a net increase of 1.5 million subscribers, and an average payment of 11.7 yuan per month per user. Both volume and price changes were in line with guidance and expectations. After a year of subscription user expectation adjustments last year, the market has gradually accepted the management's growth guidance—abandoning the tracking of single subscription numbers...