WB Weibo Corporation

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 6-K

 

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of November 2024

 

Commission File Number: 001-36397

 

 

Weibo Corporation

(Registrant’s Name)

 

 

8/F, QIHAO Plaza, No. 8 Xinyuan S. Road

Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027

People’s Republic of China

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

Form 20-F x      Form 40-F ¨

 

 

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit 99.1 – Press Release regarding Financial Results for the Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2024 issued by Weibo Corporation on November 19, 2024

 

 

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

	WEIBO CORPORATION
Date: November 19, 2024	By:	/s/ Fei Cao
		Fei Cao
		Chief Financial Officer

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

Weibo Announces Third Quarter 2024 Unaudited Financial Results

 

 

BEIJING, China – November 19, 2024 – Weibo Corporation (“Weibo” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: WB and HKEX: 9898), a leading social media in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

 

“We had a solid quarter,” said Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo. “On the user front, we continued to focus on the acquisition and engagement of high quality users. On the monetization front, our advertising business has exhibited a stabilized trend this quarter. We are pleased to see robust growth of ad revenues from certain key sectors, mainly driven by ad demand during the Summer Olympics. Our value-added services business also delivered strong momentum this quarter, benefiting from the upgrade of membership services catering to users’ social interactions on the platform.”

 

Third Quarter 2024 Highlights

 

·

Net revenues were US$464.5 million, an increase of 5% year-over-year or an increase of 3% year-over-year on a constant currency basis [1].

·

Advertising and marketing revenues were US$398.6 million, an increase of 2% year-over-year or flat year-over-year on a constant currency basis [1].

·

Value-added services (“VAS”) revenues were US$65.9 million, an increase of 25% year-over-year or an increase of 23% year-over-year on a constant currency basis [1].

·

Income from operations was US$141.3 million, representing an operating margin of 30%.

·

Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders was US$130.6 million and diluted net income per share was US$0.50.

·

Non-GAAP income from operations was US$164.5 million, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 35%.

·

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders was US$139.2 million and non-GAAP diluted net income per share was US$0.53.

·

Monthly active users (“MAUs”) were 587 million in September 2024.

·

Average daily active users (“DAUs”) were 257 million in September 2024.

 

^[1] We define constant currency (non-GAAP) by assuming that the average exchange rate in the third quarter of 2024 had been the same as it was in the third quarter of 2023, or RMB7.23=US$1.00.

 

 

Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

 

For the third quarter of 2024, Weibo’s total net revenues were US$464.5 million, an increase of 5% compared to US$442.2 million for the same period last year.

 

Advertising and marketing revenues for the third quarter of 2024 were US$398.6 million, an increase of 2% compared to US$389.3 million for the same period last year. Advertising and marketing revenues excluding advertising revenues from Alibaba were US$377.1 million, an increase of 3% compared to US$367.6 million for the same period last year.

 

VAS revenues for the third quarter of 2024 were US$65.9 million, an increase of 25% year-over-year compared to US$52.9 million for the same period last year, primarily driven by the growth of membership services and game-related revenues.

 

Costs and expenses for the third quarter of 2024 totaled US$323.2 million, an increase of 5% compared to US$308.2 million for the same period last year. The increase was mainly resulted from higher marketing spend and personnel related expenses.

 

Income from operations for the third quarter of 2024 was US$141.3 million, compared to US$134.0 million for the same period last year. Operating margin was 30%, same as last year. Non-GAAP income from operations was US$164.5 million, compared to US$163.9 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin was 35%, compared to 37% last year.

 

Non-operating income for the third quarter of 2024 was US$23.6 million, compared to non-operating loss of US$28.4 million for the same period last year. Non-operating income for the third quarter of 2024 mainly included (i) gain from fair value change of investments of US$16.8 million, which was excluded under non-GAAP measures; and (ii) net interest and other income of US$6.7 million.

 

Income tax expenses for the third quarter of 2024 were US$32.2 million, compared to US$25.4 million for the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to withholding tax accrued related to earnings to be remitted to Weibo Hong Kong Limited from its wholly-owned subsidiary in China.

 

Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the third quarter of 2024 was US$130.6 million, compared to US$77.5 million for the same period last year. Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the third quarter of 2024 was US$0.50, compared to US$0.32 for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the third quarter of 2024 was US$139.2 million, compared to US$136.6 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders for the third quarter of 2024 was US$0.53, compared to US$0.57 for the same period last year.

 

 

As of September 30, 2024, Weibo’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled US$2.2 billion. For the third quarter of 2024, cash provided by operating activities was US$124.2 million, capital expenditures totaled US$11.8 million, and depreciation and amortization expenses amounted to US$14.4 million.

 

Conference Call

 

Weibo’s management team will host a conference call from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time on November 19, 2024 (or 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM Beijing Time on November 19, 2024) to present an overview of the Company’s financial performance and business operations.

 

Participants who wish to dial in to the teleconference must register through the below public participant link. Dial in and instruction will be in the confirmation email upon registering.

 

Participants Registration Link:

https://register.vevent.com/register/BI53615081ba80427881ec0a24ad90968c

 

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of this conference call will be available at http://ir.weibo.com.

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

 

This release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders, non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders and adjusted EBITDA. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, measures of the Company’s financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures exclude stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, net results of impairment and provision on investments, gain/loss on sale of investments and fair value change of investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items on the share of equity method investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss attributable to non-controlling interests, income tax expense related to the amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and fair value change of investments (other non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items have no tax effect), and amortization of issuance cost of convertible senior notes, unsecured senior notes and long-term loans. Adjusted EBITDA represents non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders before interest income/expense, net, income tax expenses/benefits, and depreciation expenses.

 

 

The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in their financial and operating decision-making, because management believes these measures reflect the Company’s ongoing operating performance in a manner that allows more meaningful period-to-period comparisons. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in the following ways: (i) in comparing the Company’s current financial results with the Company’s past financial results in a consistent manner, and (ii) in understanding and evaluating the Company’s current operating performance and future prospects in the same manner as management does. The Company also believes that the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses, gains/losses and other items (i) that are not expected to result in future cash payments or (ii) that are non-recurring in nature or may not be indicative of the Company’s core operating results and business outlook.

 

Use of non-GAAP financial measures has limitations. The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures do not include all income and expense items that affect the Company’s operations. They may not be comparable to non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Accordingly, care should be exercised in understanding how the Company defines its non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures are set forth in the section below titled “Unaudited Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Results.”

 

About Weibo

 

Weibo is a leading social media for people to create, share and discover content online. Weibo combines the means of public self-expression in real time with a powerful platform for social interaction, content aggregation and content distribution. Any user can create and post a feed and attach multi-media and long-form content. User relationships on Weibo may be asymmetric; any user can follow any other user and add comments to a feed while reposting. This simple, asymmetric and distributed nature of Weibo allows an original feed to become a live viral conversation stream.

 

 

Weibo enables its advertising and marketing customers to promote their brands, products and services to users. Weibo offers a wide range of advertising and marketing solutions to companies of all sizes. Weibo generates a substantial majority of its revenues from the sale of advertising and marketing services, including the sale of social display advertisement and promoted marketing offerings. Weibo displays content in a simple information feed format and offers native advertisement that conform to the information feed on our platform. We are continuously refining our social interest graph recommendation engine, which enables our customers to perform people marketing and target audiences based on user demographics, social relationships, interests and behaviors, to achieve greater relevance, engagement and marketing effectiveness.

 

Safe Harbor Statement

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology, such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “confidence,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, Weibo’s expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans, as described, without limitation, in quotations from management in this press release, contain forward-looking statements. Weibo may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in the Company’s periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Weibo’s limited operating history in certain new businesses; failure to sustain or grow active user base and the level of user engagement; the uncertain regulatory landscape in China; fluctuations in the Company’s quarterly operating results; the Company’s reliance on advertising and marketing sales for a majority of its revenues; failure to successfully develop, introduce, drive adoption of or monetize new features and products; failure to compete effectively for advertising and marketing spending; failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses; risks associated with the Company’s investments, including equity pick-up and impairment; failure to compete successfully against new entrants and established industry competitors; changes in the macro-economic environment, including the depreciation of the Renminbi; and adverse changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government and its impact on the Chinese economy. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Weibo’s annual reports on Form 20-F and other filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date hereof, and Weibo assumes no obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

 

Contact:

 

Investor Relations

Weibo Corporation

Phone: +86 10 5898-3336

Email: ir@staff.weibo.com

 

 

WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
		Three months ended												Nine months ended
		September 30,				June 30,				September 30,				September 30,				September 30,
		2023				2024				2024				2023				2024
Net revenues:
Advertising and marketing		$	389,301			$	375,277			$	398,615			$	1,130,275			$	1,112,843
Value-added services			52,850				62,596				65,865				165,894				185,007
Net revenues			442,151				437,873				464,480				1,296,169				1,297,850
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenues (1)			93,998				89,790				92,381				274,123				268,992
Sales and marketing (1)			109,776				114,232				123,069				321,695				340,928
Product development (1)			82,764				71,689				80,411				266,385				232,826
General and administrative (1)			21,627				26,777				27,297				80,037				78,660
Total costs and expenses			308,165				302,488				323,158				942,240				921,406
Income from operations			133,986				135,385				141,322				353,929				376,444
Non-operating income (loss):
Investment related income (loss), net			(8,915	)			245				16,905				(6,950	)			12,180
Interest and other income (loss), net			(19,498	)			11,182				6,699				(5,459	)			(730	)
			(28,413	)			11,427				23,604				(12,409	)			11,450
Income before income tax expenses			105,573				146,812				164,926				341,520				387,894
Less: Income tax expenses			25,407				33,275				32,197				72,709				90,516
Net income			80,166				113,537				132,729				268,811				297,378
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests			474				471				545				1,287				1,564
Accretion to redeemable non-controlling interests			2,203				1,135				1,617				8,156				3,878
Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	77,489			$	111,931			$	130,567			$	259,368			$	291,936
Basic net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	0.33			$	0.47			$	0.55			$	1.10			$	1.23
Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	0.32			$	0.43			$	0.50			$	1.09			$	1.12
Shares used in computing basic net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders			235,842				237,124				237,499				235,307				237,107
Shares used in computing diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders			238,655				265,086				265,824				237,817				264,856
(1) Stock-based compensation in each category:
Cost of revenues		$	2,308			$	1,527			$	1,539			$	7,082			$	4,839
Sales and marketing			4,243				3,211				3,454				12,969				10,488
Product development			13,306				8,293				8,593				40,362				27,324
General and administrative			5,834				4,176				4,512				18,970				13,666

 

 

WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
		As of
		December 31,				September 30,
		2023				2024
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	2,584,635			$	1,203,977
Short-term investments			641,035				993,618
Accounts receivable, net			440,768				419,369
Prepaid expenses and other current assets			359,881				375,455
Amount due from SINA(1)			486,397				465,676
Current assets subtotal			4,512,716				3,458,095
Property and equipment, net			220,663				227,609
Goodwill and intangible assets, net			300,565				288,233
Long-term investments			1,320,386				1,445,467
Other non-current assets			926,028				1,205,712
Total assets		$	7,280,358			$	6,625,116
Liabilities, Redeemable Non-controlling Interests and Shareholders’ Equity
Liabilities:
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable		$	161,493			$	154,440
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities			666,833				638,826
Income tax payable			94,507				80,711
Deferred revenues			75,187				94,690
Unsecured senior notes			799,325				-
Current liabilities subtotal			1,797,345				968,667
Long-term liabilities:
Convertible senior notes			317,625				320,017
Unsecured senior notes			743,695				744,420
Long-term loans			791,647				794,395
Other long-term liabilities			112,430				119,676
Total liabilities			3,762,742				2,947,175
Redeemable non-controlling interests			68,728				42,377
Shareholders’ equity :
Weibo shareholders’ equity			3,398,735				3,583,469
Non-controlling interests			50,153				52,095
Total shareholders’ equity			3,448,888				3,635,564
Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interests and shareholders’ equity		$	7,280,358			$	6,625,116

 

(1) Included short-term loans to and interest receivable from SINA of US$445.2 million as of December 31, 2023 and US$423.5 million as of September 30, 2024.  

 

WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP TO GAAP RESULTS
(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
		Three months ended												Nine months ended
		September 30,				June 30,				September 30,				September 30,				September 30,
		2023				2024				2024				2023				2024
Income from operations		$	133,986			$	135,385			$	141,322			$	353,929			$	376,444
Add: Stock-based compensation			25,691				17,207				18,098				79,383				56,317
Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions			4,209				5,011				5,112				12,919				15,182
Non-GAAP income from operations		$	163,886			$	157,603			$	164,532			$	446,231			$	447,943
Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	77,489			$	111,931			$	130,567			$	259,368			$	291,936
Add: Stock-based compensation			25,691				17,207				18,098				79,383				56,317
Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions			4,209				5,011				5,112				12,919				15,182
Investment related gain/loss, net (1)			8,915				(245	)			(16,905	)			6,950				(12,180	)
Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items on the share of equity  method investments			19,430				(8,412	)			1,975				12,351				18,921
Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss attributable to non-controlling interests			(101	)			(435	)			(501	)			(414	)			(1,372	)
Tax effects on non-GAAP adjustments (2)			(645	)			(1,082	)			(1,112	)			(1,176	)			(3,297	)
Amortization of  issuance cost of convertible senior notes, unsecured senior notes and long-term loans			1,607				2,277				1,951				4,819				6,542
Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	136,595			$	126,252			$	139,185			$	374,200			$	372,049
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	0.57			$	0.48	*		$	0.53	*		$	1.57			$	1.42	*
Shares used in computing GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders			238,655				265,086				265,824				237,817				264,856
Shares used in computing non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo’s shareholders			238,655				265,086				265,824				237,817				264,856
Adjusted EBITDA:
Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders		$	77,489			$	111,931			$	130,567			$	259,368			$	291,936
Non-GAAP adjustments			59,106				14,321				8,618				114,832				80,113
Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders			136,595				126,252				139,185				374,200				372,049
Interest (income) expense, net			2,823				(9,410	)			(6,348	)			(5,554	)			(24,909	)
Income tax expenses			26,052				34,357				33,309				73,886				93,813
Depreciation expenses			9,354				9,169				8,985				29,917				27,571
Adjusted EBITDA		$	174,824			$	160,368			$	175,131			$	472,449			$	468,524
Net revenues		$	442,151			$	437,873			$	464,480			$	1,296,169			$	1,297,850
Non-GAAP operating margin			37	%			36	%			35	%			34	%			35	%

 

(1)

To adjust impairment and provision on investments, gain/loss on sale of investments and fair value change of investments.

 

(2)

To adjust the income tax effects of non-GAAP adjustments, which primarily related to amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and fair value change of investments. Other non-GAAP adjustment items have no tax effect, because (i) they were recorded in entities established in tax free jurisdictions, or (ii) full valuation allowances were provided for related deferred tax assets as it is more-likely-than-not they will not be realized.

 

*

Net income attributable to Weibo’s shareholders is adjusted for interest expense of convertible senior notes for calculating diluted EPS.

 

WEIBO CORPORATION
UNAUDITED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
		Three months ended												Nine months ended
		September 30,				June 30,				September 30,				September 30,				September 30,
		2023				2024				2024				2023				2024
Net revenues
Advertising and marketing
Non-Ali advertisers		$	367,633			$	342,868			$	377,112			$	1,063,558			$	1,036,380
Alibaba - as an advertiser			21,668				32,409				21,503				66,717				76,463
Subtotal			389,301				375,277				398,615				1,130,275				1,112,843
Value-added services			52,850				62,596				65,865				165,894				185,007
		$	442,151			$	437,873			$	464,480			$	1,296,169			$	1,297,850

 

---