--- title: "Revenue soars while profits are halved, how to explain Insta360's \"increased revenue without increased profit\"?" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/285341252.md" description: "In the first quarter of 2026, Insta360's revenue increased by 83.11% year-on-year, but the net profit attributable to the parent company dropped significantly by 52.02% year-on-year. In 2025, the company's revenue reached 9.741 billion yuan, an increase of 74.76%. Despite the continuous high growth in revenue, profits have sharply declined due to reliance on non-recurring gains and government subsidies, resulting in an operating loss of 4 million yuan. Founder Liu Jingkang stated that the strategy of increasing revenue without increasing profit is a short-term choice made by the company, aimed at paving the way for long-term competition" datetime: "2026-05-06T08:40:41.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/285341252.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285341252.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/285341252.md) --- # Revenue soars while profits are halved, how to explain Insta360's "increased revenue without increased profit"? **Insta360's revenue in Q1 2026 increased by 83.11% year-on-year,** while net profit attributable to shareholders plummeted by 52.02% year-on-year. ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OeS95V1OKVP6edaFZ2dSX91qrBP6pbe_6ZXMNaWInMsxYAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Investment Time Network, Biaodian Finance researcher Li Lu Insta360 Technology Co., Ltd. (Insta360, 688775.SH), a global leader in panoramic cameras with a market value exceeding 75 billion yuan, released two financial reports with significantly different revenue and profit performances just before the end of the year and quarterly reports. On the revenue side, Insta360 maintained a sustained high growth trend, achieving a historical high in 2025. Specifically, the company achieved revenue of 9.741 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 74.76%, just one step away from the 10 billion yuan mark; this growth momentum continued into Q1 of this year, with revenue reaching 2.481 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 83.11%. Regarding the high revenue growth in Q1, Insta360 explained that it was mainly due to the launch of new products, market expansion, and continuous growth in online and offline sales. On the profit side, the company's net profit attributable to shareholders in 2025 was 929 million yuan, a slight decline of 6.62% year-on-year; in Q1 2026, the net profit attributable to shareholders was only 84.62 million yuan, which not only halved year-on-year but also dropped by 52.02% quarter-on-quarter. More concerning is that the company's non-recurring gains and losses in 2025 reached 80 million yuan, and in Q1 2026, it relied on government subsidies and financial investment income to achieve profitability. Excluding these related gains, the operating loss reached 4 million yuan. At the same time, the net cash flow from operating activities also fell from -381 million yuan in the same period last year to -1.471 billion yuan in Q1 of this year. Insta360 explained that this was mainly due to the procurement of chips and other materials and the preparation of new products. **Insta360's year-on-year growth rate of net profit attributable to shareholders from 2018 to present (%)** ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/Oi1oHdNopFHtF-IoG46SWyp9GkiPMKS_VRyD3zTpNdG6QAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Data source: **Wind** In response to market controversies arising from the significant contrast between revenue and profit, the company's founder Liu Jingkang addressed investors in a letter, stating that this situation of "increased revenue without increased profit" is not due to poor management but rather a deliberate short-term profit "contraction" chosen by the company, with a clear goal of gaining long-term competitive advantage and paving the way for future development. According to Liu Jingkang, while continuing to maintain its three core businesses of panoramic cameras, thumb cameras, and action cameras, the company is directing funds and energy towards more new tracks. On one hand, the company has laid out two drone models, with the Yingling A1 panoramic drone already on the market, while also developing gimbal cameras, wireless lapel microphones, and three other brand new categories; On the other hand, the company has also initiated the custom development of three chips, aiming to address its technological shortcomings and build a more complete industrial chain advantage. He explained that Insta360 currently derives over 60% of its revenue from original niche categories pioneered 7 to 8 years ago. To avoid falling into the "single product curse" of the consumer electronics hardware market, the company needs to continuously expand the boundaries of imaging. From the financial data, in 2025, the company's R&D expenses reached 1.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 96.95%, nearly doubling, with the R&D expense ratio climbing to 15.7%. The scale of R&D investment even exceeded the total of the three years from 2022 to 2024. Entering 2026, the company's R&D investment intensity remained strong, with the first quarter R&D expenses reaching 465 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 100.59%, and the R&D expense ratio further rising to 18.73%. However, such heavy investment has yet to yield significant returns. The company's panoramic drone business is still in the market cultivation stage, facing prominent loss pressures. In the first quarter of 2026, its panoramic drone business accounted for less than 5% of revenue. According to relevant data, this business is expected to incur a quarterly loss of 160 million yuan, with a loss of 52 million yuan in January alone, and the market estimates that the annual loss for this business may expand to 640 million yuan. Insta360's significant investment in the drone business directly targets DJI's core business territory, intensifying competition between the two companies and leading to considerable friction. After the launch of the Insta360 drone, DJI quickly responded by releasing its first 8K panoramic drone, the DJI Avata 360, entering the panoramic imaging track of Insta360 and forming direct competitive pressure on Insta360. At the same time, DJI also launched competing products in the panoramic camera and thumb camera segments. According to IDC's report, DJI's thumb camera Osmo Nano had a market share exceeding 65% in shipments in the fourth quarter of 2025; the panoramic camera Osmo 360 also surpassed 35% in shipments in the same quarter. Insta360's practice of hiring core R&D personnel who left DJI has led to patent ownership disputes and lawsuits. In March 2026, DJI filed a lawsuit regarding six core patents related to flight control, structure, and image processing. DJI believes that these patents were completed by several former core R&D personnel within a year of leaving, and the technical content is "closely related" to their original tasks at DJI. According to patent law, these should be considered DJI's service inventions, and Insta360's unauthorized use of the relevant patents constitutes infringement. Insta360, on the other hand, stated that it does not recognize DJI's accusations, claiming that the involved employees joined Insta360 within a year after leaving DJI, and the relevant patent applications were generated as independent innovations during their tenure at Insta360. Currently, the litigation between the two parties is still ongoing. In addition to the surge in R&D expenses, the growth of costs and sales expenses is also a key factor affecting the company's profitability. In 2025, the company's sales expenses amounted to 1.68 billion yuan, exceeding R&D expenses for the first time, with a year-on-year growth rate approaching doubling; in the first quarter of 2026, this figure was 465 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 101% On the cost side, the continuous rise in storage chip prices has directly led to a significant decline in the company's gross margin, with a year-on-year decrease of 6.5 percentage points in gross margin for 2025, and a further year-on-year decline of 7.7 percentage points in the first quarter of 2026. **Insta360 2025 Expense Year-on-Year Change Situation** **(CNY)** ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OpsxIbZPhzhr6xQzQxg-4kaSp-UCpLc0hHUZtw9lPgcooAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Data Source: Company Announcement As a company listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, the continuous growth rate of R&D investment exceeding the growth rate of revenue is regarded as a typical characteristic of growth-oriented technology enterprises. So, in 2026, can Insta360 truly, as Liu Jingkang said, successfully transform "investment" into "revenue" after the launch of three major new product categories: cloud platform cameras, microphones, and drones, and further enhance profits? **Investment Timing Keywords: Insta360 (688775.SH)** ### Related Stocks - [688775.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/688775.CN.md) ## Related News & Research - [DJI sues rival Insta360 for alleged patent infringement ahead of new drone debut](https://longbridge.com/en/news/280157414.md) - [Cannes film market opens to record turnout as focus shifts to smaller films](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286255387.md) - [Hundreds Unite to Build West Valley City Playground in a Day](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286217510.md) - [BMS and Hengrui forge $15.2bn alliance for early-stage drugs](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286117895.md) - [Venture Capitalist David Sacks Says Private Equity's Debt-Fueled Buyouts Are Now Software's Third Major Exit As IPOs and M&A Slow](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285791675.md)