Zhihu Inc.
ZHAnalytical Summary
Zhihu Inc. faces fundamental challenges with weakness in Profit Margin (%) and Operating Margin (%). Investors should exercise caution and monitor for improvement in key metrics.
8-Year Financial Trajectory
AnnualBullish Indicators
- Debt to EquityDebt to Equity is in the top quartile (lower is better)
Bearish Risks
- Operating Margin (%)Operating Margin (%) is in the bottom quartile
- Profit Margin (%)Profit Margin (%) is in the bottom quartile
Health Breakdown
Statement lens
Choose the reporting cadence, isolate a period range, or search directly for a metric.
| Metric | FY 2025 Dec 31, 2025 20-F ↗ | FY 2024 Dec 31, 2024 20-F ↗ | FY 2023 Dec 31, 2023 20-F ↗ | FY 2022 Dec 31, 2022 20-F ↗ | FY 2021 Dec 31, 2021 20-F ↗ | FY 2020 Dec 31, 2020 20-F ↗ | FY 2019 Dec 31, 2019 20-F ↗ | FY 2018 Dec 31, 2018 20-F ↗ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth YoY (%) |
-20.3%
Weak
↓
Weak
Declining
Year-over-year change in total revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-505%)
|
-16.6%
Weak
↓
Weak
Declining
Year-over-year change in total revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-433%)
|
13.2%
Good
Good
Year-over-year change in total revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
vs Sector:
Above avg (+163%)
|
12.6%
Good
Good
Year-over-year change in total revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
vs Sector:
Above avg (+151%)
|
— | — | — | — |
| EPS Growth YoY (%) |
-22.2%
Weak
↓
Weak
Declining
Year-over-year change in earnings per share
Optimal:
> 10%
|
77.5%
Excellent
↑
Excellent
Improving
Year-over-year change in earnings per share
Optimal:
> 10%
|
46.7%
Excellent
Excellent
Year-over-year change in earnings per share
Optimal:
> 10%
|
21.9%
Good
Good
Year-over-year change in earnings per share
Optimal:
> 10%
|
— | — | — | — |
| Net Income Growth YoY (%) |
-20.5%
Weak
↓
Weak
Declining
Year-over-year change in net income |
80.4%
Excellent
↑
Excellent
Improving
Year-over-year change in net income |
48.3%
Excellent
Excellent
Year-over-year change in net income |
-12.3%
Weak
Weak
Year-over-year change in net income |
— | — | — | — |
| FCF Growth YoY (%) |
-53.4%
Weak
↓
Weak
Declining
Year-over-year change in free cash flow |
29.0%
Excellent
↑
Excellent
Improving
Year-over-year change in free cash flow |
62.4%
Excellent
Excellent
Year-over-year change in free cash flow |
-81.4%
Weak
Weak
Year-over-year change in free cash flow |
— | — | — | — |
| Revenue CAGR 3Y (%) |
-9.1%
Weak
Weak
Compound annual revenue growth over 3 years |
2.0%
Caution
Caution
Compound annual revenue growth over 3 years |
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Metric | FY 2025 Dec 31, 2025 20-F ↗ | FY 2024 Dec 31, 2024 20-F ↗ | FY 2023 Dec 31, 2023 20-F ↗ | FY 2022 Dec 31, 2022 20-F ↗ | FY 2021 Dec 31, 2021 20-F ↗ | FY 2020 Dec 31, 2020 20-F ↗ | FY 2019 Dec 31, 2019 20-F ↗ | FY 2018 Dec 31, 2018 20-F ↗ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating Margin (%) (%) |
-18.5%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Operating income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-254%)
|
-13.4%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Operating income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-211%)
|
-25.5%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Operating income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-313%)
|
-44.5%
Weak
Weak
Operating income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-471%)
|
-47.0%
Weak
Weak
Operating income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-492%)
|
— | — | — |
| Effective Tax Rate (%) (%) |
-12.5%
Excellent
↓
Excellent
Declining
Actual taxes paid relative to pre-tax income
Optimal:
15-25%
|
5.3%
Excellent
↑
Excellent
Improving
Actual taxes paid relative to pre-tax income
Optimal:
15-25%
|
-1.4%
Excellent
↓
Excellent
Declining
Actual taxes paid relative to pre-tax income
Optimal:
15-25%
|
-0.9%
Excellent
Excellent
Actual taxes paid relative to pre-tax income
Optimal:
15-25%
|
-0.4%
Excellent
Excellent
Actual taxes paid relative to pre-tax income
Optimal:
15-25%
|
— | — | — |
| Profit Margin (%) (%) |
-7.1%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Net income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-189%)
|
-4.7%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Net income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-159%)
|
-20.0%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Net income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-350%)
|
-43.8%
Weak
Weak
Net income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-647%)
|
-43.9%
Weak
Weak
Net income as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-649%)
|
— | — | — |
| FCF Margin (%) (%) |
-13.3%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Free cash flow as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-7.9%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Free cash flow as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-10.1%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Free cash flow as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-30.9%
Weak
Weak
Free cash flow as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-15.1%
Weak
Weak
Free cash flow as a percentage of revenue
Optimal:
> 10%
|
— | — | — |
| FCF / Net Income (x) |
1.87x
Excellent
↑
Excellent
Improving
Free cash flow relative to reported net income
Optimal:
> 1x
|
1.67x
Excellent
↑
Excellent
Improving
Free cash flow relative to reported net income
Optimal:
> 1x
|
0.51x
Weak
→
Weak
Stable
Free cash flow relative to reported net income
Optimal:
> 1x
|
0.71x
Caution
Caution
Free cash flow relative to reported net income
Optimal:
> 1x
|
0.34x
Weak
Weak
Free cash flow relative to reported net income
Optimal:
> 1x
|
— | — | — |
| Metric | FY 2025 Dec 31, 2025 20-F ↗ | FY 2024 Dec 31, 2024 20-F ↗ | FY 2023 Dec 31, 2023 20-F ↗ | FY 2022 Dec 31, 2022 20-F ↗ | FY 2021 Dec 31, 2021 20-F ↗ | FY 2020 Dec 31, 2020 20-F ↗ | FY 2019 Dec 31, 2019 20-F ↗ | FY 2018 Dec 31, 2018 20-F ↗ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on Invested Capital (%) |
-15.0%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Return earned on debt + equity capital invested
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-11.0%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Return earned on debt + equity capital invested
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-23.6%
Weak
→
Weak
Stable
Return earned on debt + equity capital invested
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-28.6%
Weak
Weak
Return earned on debt + equity capital invested
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-20.7%
Weak
Weak
Return earned on debt + equity capital invested
Optimal:
> 10%
|
— | — | — |
| Return on Capital (%) (%) |
-9.8%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Operating profit relative to total assets
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-8.4%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Operating profit relative to total assets
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-15.8%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Operating profit relative to total assets
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-20.9%
Weak
Weak
Operating profit relative to total assets
Optimal:
> 10%
|
-15.8%
Weak
Weak
Operating profit relative to total assets
Optimal:
> 10%
|
— | — | — |
| Return on Common Equity (%) (%) |
-5.1%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Profit generated per dollar of shareholder equity
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-134%)
|
-4.1%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Profit generated per dollar of shareholder equity
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-127%)
|
-18.3%
Weak
↑
Weak
Improving
Profit generated per dollar of shareholder equity
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-222%)
|
-27.9%
Weak
Weak
Profit generated per dollar of shareholder equity
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-286%)
|
-19.3%
Weak
Weak
Profit generated per dollar of shareholder equity
Optimal:
> 15%
vs Sector:
Below avg (-229%)
|
— | — | — |
| Metric | FY 2025 Dec 31, 2025 20-F ↗ | FY 2024 Dec 31, 2024 20-F ↗ | FY 2023 Dec 31, 2023 20-F ↗ | FY 2022 Dec 31, 2022 20-F ↗ | FY 2021 Dec 31, 2021 20-F ↗ | FY 2020 Dec 31, 2020 20-F ↗ | FY 2019 Dec 31, 2019 20-F ↗ | FY 2018 Dec 31, 2018 20-F ↗ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to Equity (x) |
0.01x
Excellent
Excellent
Total debt relative to shareholder equity
Optimal:
< 0.6x
vs Sector:
Below avg (-99%)
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Interest Coverage (x) |
-352.14x
Weak
Weak
Operating income divided by interest expense
Optimal:
> 5x
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net Debt (USD) | $-476.78M | $-547.88M | $-296.71M | $-656.19M | $-338.51M | — | — | — |
| Debt / EBITDA (x) |
-0.07x
Excellent
Excellent
Debt relative to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
Optimal:
< 2x
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Metric | FY 2025 Dec 31, 2025 20-F ↗ | FY 2024 Dec 31, 2024 20-F ↗ | FY 2023 Dec 31, 2023 20-F ↗ | FY 2022 Dec 31, 2022 20-F ↗ | FY 2021 Dec 31, 2021 20-F ↗ | FY 2020 Dec 31, 2020 20-F ↗ | FY 2019 Dec 31, 2019 20-F ↗ | FY 2018 Dec 31, 2018 20-F ↗ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working Capital (USD) | $495.29M | $542.51M | $624.29M | $796.69M | $1.01B | — | — | — |
| Total Equity (USD) | $543.98M | $566.65M | $647.87M | $819.71M | $1.06B | — | — | — |
| Metric | FY 2025 Dec 31, 2025 20-F ↗ | FY 2024 Dec 31, 2024 20-F ↗ | FY 2023 Dec 31, 2023 20-F ↗ | FY 2022 Dec 31, 2022 20-F ↗ | FY 2021 Dec 31, 2021 20-F ↗ | FY 2020 Dec 31, 2020 20-F ↗ | FY 2019 Dec 31, 2019 20-F ↗ | FY 2018 Dec 31, 2018 20-F ↗ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales/Revenue/Turnover (USD) | $393.10M | $493.05M | $591.40M | $522.66M | $464.38M | — | — | — |
| Depreciation Expense (USD) | $2.72M | $3.01M | $3.51M | $3.65M | $3.37M | — | — | — |
| Net Income, GAAP (USD) | $-27.91M | $-23.15M | $-118.25M | $-228.85M | $-203.82M | — | — | — |
| Operating Cash Flow (USD) | $-51.99M | $-38.38M | $-58.52M | $-161.65M | $-69.08M | — | — | — |
Secondary lens
Benchmark Lens
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Open lens
Benchmark Lens
Compare ZH against peers after checking the statement evidence.
Signals
Key bullish and bearish indicators for ZH
Debt to Equity is in the top quartile (lower is better)
Operating Margin (%) is in the bottom quartile
Profit Margin (%) is in the bottom quartile
Percentile Rankings
How ZH compares to all companies
Peer Comparison
ZH vs similar peers
Compare ZH with peers
Stack ZH against similar companies across every metric on this page.
north_east Open comparisonbar_chart Data from SEC EDGAR XBRL filings
Synced 1 week ago 8 years · 6 quarters