Tencent Music’s Q2 Revenue Tops $1.3 Billion on Subscription Growth, Ximalaya Acquisition
Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) reported second-quarter revenue of RMB 8.93 billion ($1.32 billion), up nearly 6% year-on-year, boosted by the completion of its $2.4 billion acquisition of podcast platform Ximalaya and continued double-digit growth in its core music services business. The deal, first announced last June, is intended to help TME move beyond music streaming into podcasts and audiobooks, positioning it to compete more directly with Spotify and Amazon, though music remains the company's principal growth driver for now.
Music-related services revenue rose 11% year-on-year to RMB 7.61 billion ($1.12 billion), driven by an 8.1% increase in membership (subscription) revenue to RMB 4.79 billion ($706 million), while Ximalaya added RMB 407 million ($60 million) to the quarter. Gross profit margin expanded to 44.9%, adjusted EBITDA rose 5.2% to RMB 3.25 billion ($480 million), and net profit attributable to shareholders grew 4.4% to RMB 2.69 billion ($396 million), or RMB 1.70 per share. TME also introduced new features during the quarter, including expanded freemium access, video feeds and a TikTok-style vertical swipe format for music discovery, as CEO Ross Liang highlighted growing SVIP membership and deepening user engagement.
In short
- TME's Q2 revenue rose almost 6% to $1.32 billion
- Ximalaya acquisition completed, adding $60 million in revenue
- Membership subscription revenue grew 8.1% to $706 million
Explained simply
Tencent Music Entertainment runs music streaming services in China, where listeners can pay for subscriptions or use free, advertising-supported features. Its music business remains its main source of growth, with paid memberships an important part of its revenue. The company is led by chief executive Ross Liang.
Ximalaya is a Chinese platform for podcasts and audiobooks. Tencent Music’s acquisition gives it a larger presence in spoken audio, alongside music, and broadens the range of services it can offer. This puts it in closer competition with international audio companies such as Spotify and Amazon.
Asia Entertainment Music TV World