Is iQIYI profitable in 2026?

No. iQIYI posted a Q1 2026 net loss of RMB294.6M versus a RMB182.1M profit in Q1 2025, following a full-year 2025 net loss of RMB206.3M that reversed a RMB764.1M profit in FY2024, per its own earnings releases dated May 18, 2026.

iQIYI is majority-controlled by Baidu, which held about 45.1% of outstanding shares but commanded roughly 52% economic interest and over 90% voting power through Class B shares, according to ownership data dated early 2025.

Who is iQIYI's biggest competitor?

Tencent Video is iQIYI's closest rival, reportedly co-leading China's SVOD market as of November 2025, while Alibaba's Youku was described as scrambling to stay in the top three with declining app usage the same month, and ByteDance's Douyin pressures short-form video.

Could AI replace iQIYI's content production?

iQIYI is racing to control that shift itself: it launched Nadou Pro, an AI production agent, commercially on April 20, 2026, reaching over 10,000 creators within a month, even as fully AI-generated micro-dramas from rivals gain traction in China's market as of mid-2026.

Is iQIYI listing in Hong Kong?

iQIYI flagged a proposed Hong Kong main board listing around its Q1 2026 earnings call, while parent Baidu separately announced on July 22, 2026 it is converting its own Hong Kong listing to dual-primary status, expected to take effect within 2026.

Is iQIYI's revenue growing or shrinking?

Shrinking overall: Q1 2026 revenue was RMB6.2 to 6.23 billion, down about 8% sequentially and missing consensus by roughly 1.4%, per iQIYI's May 18, 2026 results, though membership revenue itself grew 2% sequentially to RMB4.2 billion.

Consumer platforms · subsidiary of Baidu, Inc. · China

iQIYI

iqiyi.com ↗

iQIYI is Baidu-backed Chinese video streaming platform with 100M+ subscribers, now losing money.

Losing its protection

Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from Q3 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Q2 2026 earnings release, plus Hong Kong listing decision

The call

A protected home market and Baidu's backing keep iQIYI alive, but domestic rivals and cheap AI content are eating its edge from both sides.

iQIYI is a Chinese video streaming service owned by Baidu with over 100 million subscribers and about $4 billion in yearly revenue, but its revenue shrank about 8% in early 2026 and it swung from profits to losses. The company is not protected from bigger, richer competitors like Tencent Video and Alibaba's Youku, which have more money to spend on shows and marketing. The biggest threat is that AI can now create decent videos cheaply, which means iQIYI's expensive original shows and films are becoming less valuable, and ironically, iQIYI's own AI tool called Nadou Pro could make this problem worse by letting everyone make quality content without paying iQIYI for it.

Why

AI pressure: AI-generated micro-dramas and iQIYI's own Nadou Pro tools. Cheap AI-made micro-dramas pull viewers away while Nadou Pro risks making iQIYI's own content spend less special. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Tencent Video, Alibaba's Youku, ByteDance's Douyin. Bigger-pocketed rivals outspend iQIYI on content and short video keeps pulling attention and ad dollars away. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Chinese licensing rules keep foreign streamers like Netflix out, and Baidu's majority control keeps it funded.

What would change this call

iQIYI reports two consecutive profitable quarters with membership revenue growth. Would show the Q1 2026 loss was a dip, not a structural decline.
iQIYI's Hong Kong main-board listing completes or is withdrawn/delayed past 2026. Would show whether capital markets still back its turnaround story.
Nadou Pro discloses an external B2B revenue line in a quarterly report. Would show its AI content tools are becoming a real monetized platform, not just internal efficiency.

Key numbers

FY2025 net loss RMB206.3M vs RMB764.1M profit in FY2024 (2025-12-31)
Q1 2026 revenue down 8% YoY, net loss RMB294.6M (2026-Q1)
Southeast Asia membership revenue up 40% YoY (2026-Q1)

Named risks

Swing to net losses in FY2025 and Q1 2026 with no clear profitability timeline. Severity: high
AI-generated micro-dramas from rivals commoditize iQIYI's core premium content cost advantage. Severity: high
No structural moat versus better-resourced domestic rivals Tencent, Alibaba, ByteDance. Severity: medium
Portrait-rights and deepfake litigation exposure from AI actor database launch. Severity: medium
Stock trading near 52-week lows with market cap ~$1.09B, limiting capital flexibility. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Tencent Video	losing to	Reported to co-lead or lead China's SVOD market as of Nov 2025 while iQIYI's revenue fell 8% YoY
Youku (Alibaba)	gaining on	Youku described as scrambling to stay in top three with declining app MAUs as of Sept 2025
Douyin (ByteDance)	contesting	AI-generated micro-dramas gaining popularity in China, competing with long-form spend as of mid-2026
MiniMax	contesting	iQIYI filed landmark AI copyright infringement suit over training data, reported Jan 3, 2025
Netflix	losing to	Netflix holds ~60% of Singapore SVOD market as of Q1 2025 per Dataxis-sourced data

Questions people ask

Is iQIYI profitable in 2026?: No. iQIYI posted a Q1 2026 net loss of RMB294.6M versus a RMB182.1M profit in Q1 2025, following a full-year 2025 net loss of RMB206.3M that reversed a RMB764.1M profit in FY2024, per its own earnings releases dated May 18, 2026.
Who owns iQIYI?: iQIYI is majority-controlled by Baidu, which held about 45.1% of outstanding shares but commanded roughly 52% economic interest and over 90% voting power through Class B shares, according to ownership data dated early 2025.
Who is iQIYI's biggest competitor?: Tencent Video is iQIYI's closest rival, reportedly co-leading China's SVOD market as of November 2025, while Alibaba's Youku was described as scrambling to stay in the top three with declining app usage the same month, and ByteDance's Douyin pressures short-form video.
Could AI replace iQIYI's content production?: iQIYI is racing to control that shift itself: it launched Nadou Pro, an AI production agent, commercially on April 20, 2026, reaching over 10,000 creators within a month, even as fully AI-generated micro-dramas from rivals gain traction in China's market as of mid-2026.
Is iQIYI listing in Hong Kong?: iQIYI flagged a proposed Hong Kong main board listing around its Q1 2026 earnings call, while parent Baidu separately announced on July 22, 2026 it is converting its own Hong Kong listing to dual-primary status, expected to take effect within 2026.
Is iQIYI's revenue growing or shrinking?: Shrinking overall: Q1 2026 revenue was RMB6.2 to 6.23 billion, down about 8% sequentially and missing consensus by roughly 1.4%, per iQIYI's May 18, 2026 results, though membership revenue itself grew 2% sequentially to RMB4.2 billion.

Timeline

2026-07-22Baidu confirms conversion to dual-primary HKEX listing; iQIYI HK listing separately proposed
2026-05-27Nadou Pro AI platform surpasses 10,000 creators, supports 100+ productions
2026-05-18Q1 2026: revenue RMB6.2-6.23B down ~8% sequentially, net loss RMB294.6M
2026-04-20Nadou Pro opens for commercial use
2026-03-30iQIYI launches Nadou Pro, an AI agent for film and TV production
2025-12-31FY2025 results show net loss RMB206.3M versus FY2024 profit RMB764.1M
2025-11-18Q3 2025 revenue RMB6.68B, down 8% year on year
2025-01-03iQIYI sues AI startup MiniMax alleging copyright infringement in training data
2024-12-31FY2024 revenue RMB29.23B with net income RMB764.1M
2018-03-29iQIYI IPOs on Nasdaq, raising $2.25B at $18 per ADS

Revision history

23 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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