Hello Group Q2 2026 Earnings: Revenue Misses $366.4 Million Despite Profit Rebound

Quick Verdict

Hello Group Q2 2026 Earnings results showed that Hello Group reported Q2 2026 diluted EPS of $0.22 per ADS, or $0.26 on a non-GAAP basis, while revenue fell 5.1% year over year to $366.4 million. Earnings beat estimates, but revenue missed consensus, and softer Q3 guidance pressured shares, which fell about 7% in the September 3 session.

About Hello Group

Hello Group Inc. trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker MOMO and is a Beijing-headquartered operator of online social-networking, dating, and social-entertainment applications. The company was founded in July 2011 by Yan Tang, Yong Li, Xiao Liang Lei, and Zhiwei Li, and its primary consumer brands include Momo, Tantan, Soulchill, Hertz, and Happn. Its platforms help users meet new people, participate in location- and interest-based social activities, and form social or romantic connections.

Hello Group’s Q2 performance underscored a changing mix in its business: Chinese mainland revenue remained under pressure, while overseas social-entertainment and dating products grew rapidly. The company had approximately 1,400 employees, according to company-profile data. Shares were trading near $5.10 following the results, implying a valuation of roughly 4.5 times trailing earnings based on third-party market data; this is an indicative valuation reference rather than a company-reported figure.

Top Financial Highlights

1. Total Q2 net revenue was RMB2.486 billion ($366.4 million), down 5.1% from RMB2.620 billion in Q2 2025.
2. Revenue declined sequentially less sharply, rising approximately 4% from the prior quarter, according to the earnings-call summary.
3. Net income attributable to Hello Group shareholders was RMB237.4 million ($35.0 million), compared with a RMB140.2 million loss one year earlier.
4. GAAP diluted net income was RMB1.52 per ADS ($0.22), versus a diluted loss of RMB0.84 per ADS in Q2 2025.
5. Non-GAAP diluted earnings were RMB1.75 per ADS ($0.26), compared with a non-GAAP loss of RMB0.58 per ADS a year earlier.
6. Non-GAAP net income attributable to shareholders reached RMB273.9 million ($40.4 million), reversing a RMB96.0 million non-GAAP loss in Q2 2025.
7. Value-added-service revenue was RMB2.440 billion ($359.6 million), down 5.4% year over year and accounting for roughly 98% of total revenue.
8. Other-services revenue rose to RMB46.4 million ($6.8 million) from RMB41.1 million.
9. Chinese mainland revenue fell 16.7% to RMB1.813 billion ($267.2 million), reflecting continued Momo and Tantan weakness.
10. Overseas revenue increased 52.0% to RMB672.7 million ($99.1 million), driven by new audio- and video-based products in MENA and dating brands outside the region.
11. Cost and expenses increased 1.5% to RMB2.260 billion ($333.1 million), as overseas app marketing, payment-channel costs, and film production costs increased.
12. Income from operations declined 41.0% to RMB238.0 million ($35.1 million); implied GAAP operating margin was approximately 9.6%, down from about 15.4% a year earlier.
13. Net cash from operating activities improved to RMB642.3 million ($94.7 million), up from RMB250.1 million in Q2 2025.
14. Cash, cash equivalents, deposits, short-term investments, restricted cash, and long-term deposits totaled RMB8.542 billion ($1.259 billion) at June 30, 2026.
15. For Q3 2026, management guided for total revenue of RMB2.4 billion to RMB2.5 billion, implying a year-over-year decline of 9.4% to 5.7%.
16. As of September 3, the company had repurchased 68.0 million ADSs for $424.1 million at an average price of $6.22 per ADS; $62.0 million remained under the authorization.
17. Hello Group also named Jianhua Wen chief operating officer effective September 3, 2026; he previously served as chief technology officer.

Beat or Miss?

Hello Group’s adjusted EPS exceeded the estimate cited by third-party earnings trackers. However, revenue missed the cited forecast, and the company’s Q3 outlook pointed to a further year-over-year revenue contraction.

Interpretation: The quarter was operationally mixed. Hello Group demonstrated much stronger profitability and cash generation, helped substantially by a normalization in income-tax expense compared with the prior-year quarter, when it recorded an additional RMB547.9 million withholding-tax accrual. But investors appeared more focused on falling top-line performance, weaker domestic monetization, lower operating income, and cautious Q3 sales guidance.

What Leadership Is Saying

“The Group maintained steady business momentum in the second quarter of 2026. On the domestic front, Momo navigated external headwinds to sustain the healthy performance of our cash-cow business, while Tantan continued to strengthen its AI capabilities to enhance user experience and monetization efficiency. Overseas, our product portfolio shifted from single-product reliance to more balanced and diversified growth, with growing synergies across the portfolio.” — Yan Tang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hello Group

“Starting with the financials, for Q2 2026, total revenue was CNY 2.49 billion, down 5% year-over-year, but up 4% quarter-over-quarter.” — Ashley Jing, Head of Investor Relations, during the Q2 2026 earnings call

The published earnings release did not include a distinct CFO quote. The second quotation above is therefore from the company’s investor-relations representative during the earnings call, rather than being attributed to CFO Cathy Hui Peng.

Historical Performance

The headline swing from loss to profit should be viewed in context. Q2 2025 included the additional RMB547.9 million withholding-tax accrual tied to dividends from the company’s Chinese mainland WFOE to its Hong Kong parent. Excluding that unusual comparative effect, operating performance was less favorable: operating income fell sharply, while total revenue and value-added-services revenue both declined.

Competitor Comparison

Hello Group’s release does not provide financial results for named competitors. A direct, like-for-like Q2 2026 competitor table would require aligning reporting dates, currencies, and business models for social-networking, dating, and live-social-entertainment peers. The following table therefore shows the company’s internal business exposure rather than presenting unsupported competitor figures.

The contrast is material: overseas revenue rose to about 27% of Q2 revenue, while domestic revenue contracted. Momo’s paying-user count increased, whereas Tantan’s paying-user base continued to shrink, helping explain the company’s emphasis on AI-driven product and monetization improvements at Tantan.

How the Market Reacted?

MOMO shares fell about 7.0% during the September 3 trading session following the Q2 announcement, closing around $5.10 according to third-party market coverage. The adverse reaction came despite the profit rebound and adjusted EPS beat, suggesting the market put greater weight on the revenue miss, declining domestic sales, compressed operating profitability, and management’s outlook for another year-over-year revenue drop in Q3. Trading activity was reported to be unusually heavy, reinforcing the view that the earnings release triggered meaningful investor repositioning.

The central investment takeaway is that Hello Group’s international portfolio is becoming a more important growth engine, but the pace of overseas expansion has not yet offset the domestic revenue decline at the consolidated level. Its large cash balance, improved operating cash flow, and ongoing repurchase capacity provide financial flexibility; however, sustained re-rating would likely require evidence that domestic monetization stabilizes or that overseas growth becomes large enough to return the overall business to top-line growth.