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Zhihu Inc. (ZH) stock

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NYSE: ZH NYSE Interactive Media & Services Next results ~November 24, 2026

D Fundamentals grade

Zhihu Inc. is a US-listed company in the interactive media & services industry. Its financial year ends in December.

Stock price today

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Third-party market data · may be delayed

Model estimate per share

~$9.9

Revenue-to-maturity cash-flow model

Base case. Range ~$9.9–$11 across our lower- and higher-growth cases (0%–5% a year).

Price vs value

No Buy/Hold/Sell rating is issued: only 2 valuation models apply; a rating needs 3.

Zhihu Inc. valuation: adjust assumptions and compare models →

Who’s trading

What company insiders, investment funds and members of Congress have been doing with the stock, from their own filings.

  • Insiders0 buying, 1 selling0 purchases and 1 sale by directors and officers, last 12 monthsInsider trades
  • Funds14 adding, 24 cuttingOf 10 active managers that changed their stake, 6 added; quarter to June 30, 2026Fund buyers and sellers

Value diary

Our note on each quarter Zhihu files

Where Zhihu stands after its latest Filing

Revenue for the twelve months was $383m, down 23.5% on a year earlier, a steeper fall than the 15.7% decline a quarter earlier. That puts it 60 of 63 for growth among the interactive media & services companies we cover. Free-cash-flow margin rose to -13.3% from -15.1% a year earlier. Operating margin widened to -18.5% from -47.0%. The diluted share count is down 12.3% on a year earlier, which lifts each remaining share. Against its peers on growth, profitability, cash generation and balance sheet, it grades D. It passes 2 of our 2 financial-health checks. Our revenue-to-maturity cash-flow model value is $9.95 a share, against a share price of $2.92.

Written from the company's filings and our models when each quarter's report arrives. Figures in older notes are as published at the time. Not investment advice.

The Fundamentalytics view

Next results ~November 24, 2026 (estimated)

Zhihu Inc.'s trailing-twelve-month revenue fell 23.5% year on year, with a free-cash-flow margin of -13.3%. Where it stands out: change in share count of -12.3% ranks 3 of 55 interactive media & services companies we cover. Where it lags: revenue growth of -23.5% ranks 60 of 63 interactive media & services companies we cover.

Current signal Revenue growth decelerating: TTM revenue growth slowed to -23.5% (-7.8pp vs the prior quarter), the 4th consecutive quarterly slowdown.

Assembled from SEC-filed figures — the full workings are on this page and in our methodology. Observations, not recommendations.

Highlights

How we pick these

Strengths

  • Shrinking share count. Diluted shares fell 12.3% in a year, so each share owns more of the business.
  • Net cash. Cash exceeds long-term debt by $0.5bn.

Things to watch

  • Revenue shrinking. Revenue fell 23.5% over the last 12 months.
  • Growth slowing. The growth rate is 7.8 points lower than a quarter earlier.
  • Loss-making. Operating margin is -18.5%: costs exceed revenue.
  • Margins narrowing. Operating margin is down 5.1 points on a year ago.
  • Burning cash. Free cash flow was -13.3% of revenue over the last 12 months.

Latest results

Earnings per share
-$0.47 against an average estimate of -$0.08: missed by 493.2%
Next report
November 24, 2026

Zhihu's figures from its SEC filings and results release; estimates are the analysts' average. Not a recommendation.

Price chart

  • 1 day-8.9%
  • 1 week-20.8%

Closing prices to 2026-11-02. Price change only, dividends excluded.

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Third-party market data · may be delayed

At a glance

Trailing twelve months, from SEC filings

Profitability

Revenue (TTM)
$383M
Operating margin
-18.5%
Net margin
-7.0%
EPS (TTM, diluted)
$-0.34

Growth

Revenue growth
−23.5%
Change in growth rate
−7.8 pts
Share count change
−12.3%

Cash

Free cash flow (TTM)
-$50.8M
FCF margin
-13.3%
Stock pay % of revenue
3.2%

News & updates

Updated November 2, 2026

Company announcements, filed results and changes that matter to shareholders.

No recent updates are available for ZH from the sources we follow. See filings →

Refreshed hourly when new source data is available. Summaries are checked against company releases and SEC filings. Company announcement headlines are labelled when a checked summary is unavailable.

Valuation

Zhihu Inc. valuation models and calculator

Fundamentalytics rating

model v1.6 · 2026-11-03

Not rated: only 2 valuation models apply; a rating needs 3.

Valuation models

We value Zhihu Inc. as an operating company, with every model that fits that kind of business. Cost of equity 9.8%: the 10-year Treasury yield (4.9%) plus a beta of 1.08 times a 4.5% equity risk premium.

Value per share by model
Model Value per share In the combined value?
Revenue-to-maturity model Revenue grown to maturity with the cash margin moving to the industry's; for companies not yet profitable. ~$9.9 ~$9.9–$11 Primary model, counts double
Price-to-earnings vs peers Earnings per share times peers' typical (harmonic-mean) price-to-earnings. — Does not apply: no positive earnings in the latest twelve months
Residual income Book value plus the present value of returns above the cost of equity, fading over ten years. — Does not apply: the model gives no positive value
Justified price-to-book Book value times (return on equity - growth) / (cost of equity - growth): steady-state returns. — Does not apply: return on equity is not positive
Price-to-sales vs peers Sales per share times peers' typical price-to-sales; used only when earnings are negative. ~$1.4 ~$2.9–$13 Included, half weight
Combined value Weighted average of the models that apply: the primary model (revenue-to-maturity model) counts double. Models more than 5x or less than 0.2x the share price, or more than 3x away from the other models' median, are left out. ~$8.3 ~$1.4–$9.9 2 models

Different models fail in different ways, so where several apply we average them rather than trust one. Peer-based models compare Zhihu Inc. with Interactive Media & Services in our coverage, using third-party market data. Model values are estimates under stated assumptions, updated as new filings arrive; not price targets or investment advice. How each model works.

Moat

Not assessed: fewer than five years of comparable figures in the filings. AI disruption exposure for this industry: Medium.

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Forecasts and guidance

Next results: November 24, 2026, before the open.

Analysts' consensus

No analyst estimates are published for Zhihu Inc.: too few analysts cover it.

Earnings against estimates

Quarter toEstimateActualSurprise
Dec 2025 −$0.08 −$0.47 −493.2%
Sept 2025 −$0.12 −$0.26 −118.3%

Adjusted EPS as companies report it, against the average analyst estimate.

Analyst recommendations

6 analysts, Nov 2026
Buy583%
Hold117%
Sell00%

Monthly trend

  1. Nov 20261416
  2. Oct 20261416
  3. Sep 20261416

Counts of recommendations published by analysts covering Zhihu Inc., by month. Source: Aggregated broker recommendations (third-party data). Aggregated counts only: we do not reproduce any firm's recommendation or price target, and these are not Fundamentalytics ratings.

Positioning

Short interest
1.8%
of tradable shares
Days to cover
1.82
at average volume
Short interest, 1 month
−9%
to October 15, 2026
Held by institutions
16%
of shares
Held by insiders
10.1%
of shares
Employees
1,149
full time

Consensus figures average analysts' published estimates (third-party data); guidance is the company's own. Neither is our forecast. Short interest is reported twice a month and lags. Market data may be delayed.

This section is general information, not investment advice or a personal recommendation, and it does not take account of your objectives or circumstances. Forecasts and guidance are estimates, not promises: companies miss their own guidance and analysts' figures are often revised. Prices can fall as well as rise, and you can lose money. See our disclaimer.

Share-price performance

Market data may be delayed

Recent prices are available. Older price history and the statistics that need it are being loaded in the background.

Price behaviour

52-week range
Not enough history
From 52-week high
—
vs 50-day average
—
vs 200-day average
—
Volatility (1 year)
—
Beta vs S&P 500
—

Volatility is the annualised standard deviation of daily returns. Beta 1.5 means the shares typically moved 1.5% for each 1% move in the S&P 500 over the past year. Prices to November 2, 2026.

Zhihu Inc. in five measures

Fundamentals grade D
Growth Profitability Cash Balance sheet

Growth, profitability, cash generation and balance sheet are percentiles against the companies we cover in the same industry, from SEC filings (100 = best). Value compares the share price with our modelled value range (50 = at our base value; higher = cheaper). A description of reported data and our model — not a quality score or advice.

Fundamentals

Revenue (TTM) Zhihu Inc.
$0 $200M $400M $600M FY19 Q4 FY21 Q4 FY23 Q4 FY25 Q4 Revenue (TTM), FY19 Q4: $97.1M Revenue (TTM), FY20 Q4: $196M Revenue (TTM), FY21 Q4: $458.8M Revenue (TTM), FY22 Q4: $536.8M Revenue (TTM), FY23 Q4: $593.4M Revenue (TTM), FY24 Q4: $500.2M Revenue (TTM), FY25 Q4: $382.5M $382.5M

Source: SEC EDGAR filings. Retrieved Invalid Date.

View chart data
Period Revenue (TTM)
FY19 Q4 $97.1M
FY20 Q4 $196M
FY21 Q4 $458.8M
FY22 Q4 $536.8M
FY23 Q4 $593.4M
FY24 Q4 $500.2M
FY25 Q4 $382.5M
Revenue growth, TTM YoY Zhihu Inc.
-50% 0% 50% 100% 150% FY20 Q4 FY21 Q4 FY22 Q4 FY23 Q4 FY24 Q4 FY25 Q4 Revenue growth, TTM YoY, FY20 Q4: 101.8% Revenue growth, TTM YoY, FY21 Q4: 134.1% Revenue growth, TTM YoY, FY22 Q4: 17.0% Revenue growth, TTM YoY, FY23 Q4: 10.5% Revenue growth, TTM YoY, FY24 Q4: -15.7% Revenue growth, TTM YoY, FY25 Q4: -23.5% -23.5%

Source: SEC EDGAR filings. Retrieved Invalid Date.

View chart data
Period Revenue growth, TTM YoY
FY20 Q4 101.8%
FY21 Q4 134.1%
FY22 Q4 17.0%
FY23 Q4 10.5%
FY24 Q4 -15.7%
FY25 Q4 -23.5%
Operating margin (TTM) Zhihu Inc.
-200% -150% -100% -50% 0% FY19 Q4 FY21 Q4 FY23 Q4 FY25 Q4 Operating margin (TTM), FY19 Q4: -157.9% Operating margin (TTM), FY20 Q4: -44.6% Operating margin (TTM), FY21 Q4: -47.0% Operating margin (TTM), FY22 Q4: -44.5% Operating margin (TTM), FY23 Q4: -25.5% Operating margin (TTM), FY24 Q4: -13.4% Operating margin (TTM), FY25 Q4: -18.5% -18.5%

Source: SEC EDGAR filings. Retrieved Invalid Date.

View chart data
Period Operating margin (TTM)
FY19 Q4 -157.9%
FY20 Q4 -44.6%
FY21 Q4 -47.0%
FY22 Q4 -44.5%
FY23 Q4 -25.5%
FY24 Q4 -13.4%
FY25 Q4 -18.5%
FCF margin (TTM) Zhihu Inc.
-150% -100% -50% 0% FY19 Q4 FY21 Q4 FY23 Q4 FY25 Q4 FCF margin (TTM), FY19 Q4: -107.4% FCF margin (TTM), FY20 Q4: -18.2% FCF margin (TTM), FY21 Q4: -15.1% FCF margin (TTM), FY22 Q4: -30.9% FCF margin (TTM), FY23 Q4: -10.1% FCF margin (TTM), FY24 Q4: -7.9% FCF margin (TTM), FY25 Q4: -13.3% -13.3%

Source: SEC EDGAR filings. Retrieved Invalid Date.

View chart data
Period FCF margin (TTM)
FY19 Q4 -107.4%
FY20 Q4 -18.2%
FY21 Q4 -15.1%
FY22 Q4 -30.9%
FY23 Q4 -10.1%
FY24 Q4 -7.9%
FY25 Q4 -13.3%

Data: SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (as filed in 10-K/10-Q); forms 20-F. Generated November 3, 2026. Definitions in our methodology.

Financial statements

US$ millions unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year 2019 Dec 2019 2020 Dec 2020 2021 Dec 2021 2022 Dec 2022 2023 Dec 2023 2024 Dec 2024 2025 Dec 2025
Income
Revenue 97 196 459 537 593 500 383
Gross profit 45 110 241 269 324 303 229
EBITDA −150 −85 −212 −235 −148 −64 −68
Operating income −153 −87 −216 −239 −152 −67 −71
Net income −145 −75 −201 −235 −119 −24 −27
Diluted EPS — — — −$2.32 −$1.20 −$0.26 −$0.33
Growth (year on year)
Revenue — +101.8% +134.1% +17.0% +10.5% −15.7% −23.5%
Margins
Gross margin 46.6% 56.0% 52.5% 50.2% 54.7% 60.6% 59.9%
EBITDA margin −154.8% −43.1% −46.3% −43.8% −24.9% −12.8% −17.8%
Operating margin −157.9% −44.6% −47.0% −44.5% −25.5% −13.4% −18.5%
Net margin −149.8% −38.3% −43.9% −43.9% −20.1% −4.8% −7.0%
Free-cash-flow margin −107.4% −18.2% −15.1% −30.9% −10.1% −7.9% −13.3%
Cash flow
Cash from operations −104 −35 −68 −166 −59 −39 −51
Capital spending 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
Free cash flow −104 −36 −69 −166 −60 −39 −51
Stock-based pay 26 26 85 56 23 8 12
Free cash flow after stock pay −130 −62 −154 −222 −83 −48 −63
Balance sheet
Cash 129 147 339 656 297 548 482
Total debt 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
Net debt (negative = net cash) −129 −147 −339 −656 −297 −548 −477
Diluted shares 21m 22m 80m 102m 100m 91m 80m
Returned to shareholders
Buybacks — — — 19 52 56 23
Total returned — — — 19 52 56 23

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (US and foreign periodic filings); column headings link to the filing. EBITDA is operating income plus depreciation and amortisation. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Growth is left blank when last year's figure was a loss or under 2% of revenue. Share counts and EPS are restated for stock splits. A dash means the company didn't report the figure.

Financial health

2 of 2 checks passed · December 31, 2025
What it owns · $742m
Short-term assets $677mLonger-term assets $66m
What it owes, and who funded it · $732m
Short-term liabilities $181mLonger-term liabilities $7mShareholders' equity $544m
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $677m of assets due within a year against $181m of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $677m short-term assets against $7m of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt Cash or debt not separately reported. Not assessable.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Equity or debt not reported. Not assessable.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Five-year comparison not available. Not assessable.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt Cash flow or debt not reported. Not assessable.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From Zhihu Inc.'s latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Dividends, buybacks and capital spending

FY2025 Q4 TTM
Buybacks (TTM)
$23.2M
Returned to shareholders
-46%
of free cash flow
Buybacks, last 3 fiscal years
$131M
Diluted share count
−12.3%
year over year
Total shareholder yield
10.9%
dividends 0.0% + buybacks 10.9% of market value
R&D spending
19.1%
of revenue
Days sales outstanding
49 days
receivables vs revenue

Competitors: side by side with peers

Closest by revenue in interactive media & services
Last 12 months unless stated ZH CCG SCOR IBTA YALA SOGP Median
Revenue, last 12 months $383m $419m $347m $343m $342m $432m $615m
Revenue growth, last 12 months −23.5% −13.2% −3.2% −6.6% 0.7% 52.9% 2.4%
Revenue growth, latest quarter — — −11.3% 3.3% — — 2.4%
Gross margin 59.9% 5.3% 38.9% 78.2% 67.3% 29.2% 60.4%
Operating margin −18.5% −0.7% −2.4% −3.5% 35.7% 7.0% 0.3%
Operating margin, 3-year average — — −8.8% 4.7% — −10.9% −0.4%
Net margin −7.0% −0.6% −5.1% −3.2% 43.3% 7.3% 3.8%
Cash from operations / revenue −13.2% −1.3% 6.0% 27.2% 40.2% 9.0% 11.4%
Free-cash-flow margin −13.3% −1.3% 5.7% 21.7% 39.6% 8.9% 7.5%
Free-cash-flow margin, 3-year average — — 5.5% 23.5% — −0.9% 7.2%
Stock pay / revenue 3.2% 0.8% 0.3% 15.4% 3.0% 0.1% 3.7%
Change in share count −12.3% 5.8% 103.3% −11.0% −1.7% −8.1% 2.0%

Median of all 63 companies we cover in interactive media & services. Shaded: best of the six on that line (lowest for stock pay and share-count growth). 3-year figures average the last three 12-month periods; 3-year growth is compound annual. Source: SEC filings.

Peer comparison

63 interactive media & services companies
Measure Company Peer median Rank
Revenue growth Growth -23.5% 2.4% 60 of 63
Change in growth rate Growth -7.8pp -0.2pp 57 of 63
Gross margin Profitability 59.9% 60.9% 28 of 54
Operating margin Profitability -18.5% 0.3% 47 of 63
Net margin Profitability -7.0% 3.8% 41 of 63
Free-cash-flow margin Cash generation -13.3% 8.9% 52 of 59
Stock pay as % of revenue Cash generation 3.2% 3.9% 23 of 61
Change in share count Balance sheet -12.3% 1.7% 3 of 55
Days sales outstanding Balance sheet 49 days 49 days 28 of 54

Rank 1 = best in the group (for spending, debt and dilution, lower ranks first).

Who owns it

Funds buying and selling
Reported value
$40.2M
Institutions reporting
44
Shares held vs prior quarter
▲ 4.7%
Positions opened / closed
3 / 4

Top buyers and sellers, Q2 2026: 14 institutions bought and 24 sold ; the biggest buyer was Fil Ltd (+1.7M shares) and the biggest seller Acadian Asset Management LLC (−288K). See which funds bought and sold →

Largest reported holders, June 30, 2026
Manager Value Shares Share of 13F value Shares QoQ
Fil Ltd $11.5M 3.6M 28.5% ▲ 87.8%
Acadian Asset Management LLC $9.2M 2.9M 22.9% ▼ 8.9%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc $1.8M 578K 4.5% ▲ 16.9%
First Beijing Investment Ltd $1.7M 551K 4.3% 0.0%
E Fund Management Co., Ltd. $1.6M 508K 4.0% ▼ 23.6%
E Fund Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. $1.6M 508K 4.0% ▼ 23.6%
Dodge & Cox $1.6M 501K 3.9% ▲ 4.2%
State Street Corp $1.5M 469K 3.7% ▼ 23.2%
UBS Group AG $1.4M 455K 3.5% ▲ 1.6%
Maven Securities Ltd $1.3M 400K 3.1% ▼ 16.5%
Morgan Stanley $729,096 233K 1.8% ▼ 26.0%
Oasis Management Co Ltd. $704,250 225K 1.8% 0.0%

From Form 13F filings with the SEC ( quarterly data sets), as reported by each manager for June 30, 2026 and filed up to 45 days later. 13F reports cover long US-listed positions of managers above $100M only, so this is not Zhihu Inc.'s complete shareholder register. Values are as reported by the filers .

Insider trading activity

Full insider history and chart
Insider purchases History → $0 0 trades by 0 insiders, last 12 months Insider sales History → $1,026 1 trade by 1 insider · 0% under pre-set plans
Net ▼ $1,026 net selling
Insider Date Trade Shares Price Value
Cheng Li-Lan Director June 5, 2026 Sell 360 $2.85 $1,026

From insiders' Form 4 filings with the SEC. Excludes awards, option exercises and shares withheld for tax. "Pre-set plan" means the filing marks the trade as made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. See every insider trade since five years ago, on a price chart.

Earnings dates and SEC filings

Results announcements

Recent SEC filings

Data status

When each part of this page on Zhihu Inc. was last updated.

DataLast updatedSource
Share priceExchange closing prices
News and updatesCompany releases and SEC 8-K filings
Analyst estimatesAggregated analyst estimates
Valuation and scoresOur models, from the filed figures

How we build and check these figures: methodology and data sources.

Zhihu Inc. in brief

What does Zhihu Inc. do?
Zhihu Inc. is a US-listed company in the interactive media & services industry. Its financial year ends in December.
What is Zhihu Inc.'s stock ticker?
Zhihu Inc. trades under the ticker ZH on NYSE. This page brings together its financial statements, valuation models, ownership and recent company updates.
What is Zhihu Inc.'s revenue, and how fast is it growing?
Over its most recent trailing twelve months, Zhihu Inc. reported revenue of $383M, 23.5% lower than a year earlier, according to its SEC filings.
What is Zhihu Inc.'s free cash flow?
Zhihu Inc.'s free-cash-flow margin is -13.3% of revenue over the trailing twelve months, ranking 52 of the 59 interactive media & services companies we cover.
Who are Zhihu Inc.'s largest institutional shareholders?
By value reported in 13F filings for June 30, 2026, the largest reported holders are Fil Ltd, Acadian Asset Management LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 13F reports cover long US-listed positions of managers above $100M, filed up to 45 days after quarter end.
Is Zhihu Inc. buying back stock, and does it pay a dividend?
Zhihu Inc. spent $23.2M on share repurchases over the trailing twelve months, and its diluted share count fell 12.3% over the year.
Who are Zhihu Inc.'s competitors?
In our Interactive Media & Services peer group, the companies closest to Zhihu Inc. are Cheche Group Inc., Comscore, Inc., Ibotta, Inc., Yalla Group Ltd and Sound Group Inc. The side-by-side comparison below sets their revenue, margins and growth against Zhihu Inc.'s.
Are insiders buying or selling Zhihu Inc. stock?
Over the last 12 months, Zhihu Inc.'s directors and officers reported 0 open-market purchases and 1 sales on Form 4. The insider trading page charts every trade.
When is Zhihu Inc.'s next earnings date?
Around November 24, 2026, estimated from the spacing of its past results announcements (8-K filings). That is an estimate, not a confirmed date — Zhihu Inc. announces its own schedule.