HUYA NYSE: HUYA reported first-quarter net revenue growth as the company continued to shift its business mix beyond live streaming and into game-related services, advertising, game publishing and in-game item sales.
Acting CEO Vincent Junhong Huang said total net revenues rose 15% year over year to RMB 1.73 billion in the first quarter. Game-related services, advertising and other revenues increased 69% year over year to RMB 627 million, reaching a record 36% of total net revenues. Live streaming revenues were RMB 1.1 billion.
Huang said HUYA is “accelerating its strategic evolution from a game live-streaming platform into a full service game services platform,” citing growth in game publishing, in-game item sales, advertising, marketing and tournament operations.
Revenue Mix Shifts Toward Game Services
CFO Raymond Peng Lei said the company’s stronger contribution from higher-margin businesses helped expand gross margin to 14.6% in the quarter, up from 12.5% a year earlier. Gross profit rose 34% year over year to RMB 253 million.
HUYA’s cost of revenues increased 12% year over year to RMB 1.48 billion, driven mainly by higher costs for in-game virtual items, along with increased revenue sharing fees and content costs. Revenue sharing fees and content costs rose 7% to RMB 1.23 billion.
Operating loss narrowed to RMB 29 million from RMB 60 million in the year-ago period. On a non-GAAP basis, operating loss narrowed to RMB 3 million from RMB 36 million. Net loss attributable to Huya Inc. was RMB 4 million, compared with net income of RMB 1 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income attributable to the company was RMB 21 million, compared with RMB 24 million a year earlier.
Lei said interest income fell to RMB 30 million from RMB 65 million, primarily due to a lower time deposit balance following the payment of special cash dividends. As of March 31, 2026, HUYA held RMB 3.46 billion in cash and cash equivalents, short-term deposits and long-term deposits, down from RMB 3.82 billion at the end of 2025.
Goose Goose Duck Mobile Remains a Key Focus
Management highlighted Goose Goose Duck Mobile as a major driver of HUYA’s game publishing efforts. Huang said the title, launched Jan. 7, ranked No. 1 on the iOS free games chart for most of the first quarter. The company has accelerated content updates, including the April 1 launch of Season 2 with a new map and roles, and the April 29 launch of its first professionally generated gameplay mode, Goose Hunt.
During the Q&A session, Head of Capital Markets Margaret Shi said Goose Goose Duck Mobile’s monetization remains in an early stage, but HUYA is gradually ramping it up. She said the game reached the top five on the iOS top-grossing game chart in April after new skins were offered.
Shi said HUYA’s 2026 priorities for the title, especially in the first half, are growing the user base and increasing engagement. The company plans to expand user-generated content mechanisms, add social and community features such as inter-player connections and home decoration, and launch a WeChat mini game version this summer.
Advertising and In-Game Item Sales Grow
HUYA said in-game item sales continued to grow year over year, driven domestically by titles including Peacekeeper Elite, Honor of Kings and CrossFire. Overseas, PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact and Arena Breakout also contributed incremental growth.
On advertising, Huang said HUYA is using its streamer network, tournament production capabilities and user-generated content expertise to provide integrated content marketing for game developers. He cited an Arknights: Endfield open beta campaign for Hypergryph that connected multiple top streamers and generated more than 70 million views across the internet.
Executives said HUYA’s reach across external platforms doubled from last year and exceeded 200 million users, including users on Douyin and WeChat platforms. Huang said HUYA is the largest gaming MCN on WeChat channels, based on internal data, and remains among the top three on Douyin.
Live Streaming Remains Core but Faces Pressure
Management said live streaming remains an important base business, even as market conditions continue to pressure the segment. Shi said HUYA will focus more closely on return on investment for content costs, including streamer expenses and licensing costs.
In the first quarter, HUYA introduced 55 licensed tournaments and more than 20 self-produced tournaments and variety shows. Huang highlighted the UZI Cup, a self-produced League of Legends event named after esports figure UZI, which attracted more than 200 teams and generated more than 100 million views across the internet.
HUYA also pointed to sports content as part of its live-streaming offering. Shi said the company secured full rights to 2026 Badminton World Federation events and the 2026 World Snooker Tour. The recently concluded 2026 World Snooker Championship generated more than 150 million total views on HUYA, she said.
AI Initiatives and Publishing Pipeline
In response to an analyst question, Shi said HUYA’s AI work is focused on four areas: live streaming, game tools, IP-based companionship and game production. She said AI-powered live streaming products remain in early testing and are not expected to replace top human streamers in the near term, but could support mid-tier and long-tail content, 24-hour companionship and interactive formats.
HUYA also launched real-time navigation for its Delta Force map tool and a League of Legends Hextech ARAM assistant tool in March. Shi said the company plans to expand game tools to more titles and categories, including Golden Spatula, Goose Goose Duck Mobile, card and board games, strategy games and auto chess games.
Looking ahead, management said HUYA has a “robust” game publishing pipeline, including collaborations with Tencent and Kingsoft and titles across casual, strategy, SLG and MMO genres. Shi said one upcoming title is a licensed casual 3D puzzle matching game planned for the summer holiday period, with exclusive publishing rights in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
On profitability, Lei said HUYA expects further room for improvement in full-year gross margin and operating margin as higher-margin businesses scale and operating leverage develops. He added that margin improvement is expected to become more visible in the second half of the year, given the pace of investments related to Goose Goose Duck and other games.
About HUYA NYSE: HUYA
HUYA Inc is a leading interactive live streaming platform based in Guangzhou, China, primarily focused on video game and esports content. The company operates a proprietary technology platform that enables users to broadcast and view live gameplay, participate in real-time chat, and engage with hosts through virtual gifting. Its services are accessible via web browsers, desktop applications and mobile apps for both iOS and Android.
At the core of HUYA's business are user-generated live streams hosted by professional gamers, influencers and esports organizations.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider HUYA, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and HUYA wasn't on the list.
While HUYA currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Discover the 10 Best High-Yield Dividend Stocks for 2026 and secure reliable income in uncertain markets. Download the report now to identify top dividend payers and avoid common yield traps.
Get This Free Report
