Beijing, November 9th / PRNewswire / -- Sohu Corporation ( NASDAQ : SOHU ) („Sohu“ or „Company“) today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2026. Sohu is a leading Chinese online media platform and gaming business group.

Key Points of the Third Quarter [1]

• Total revenue amounted to 133 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 26% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%.
• Marketing service revenue amounted to 15 million US dollars, representing a year-on-year increase of 10% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%.
• Online game revenue amounted to 114 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 30% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%.
• The net loss of GAAP, which belongs to Sohu Company, was 15 million US dollars, while in the third quarter of 2025 it had a net profit of 9 million US dollars, and in the second quarter of 2026 it had a net profit of 200,000 US dollars.
• The non-GAAP net loss attributable to Sohu Corporation was 15 million US dollars, while in the third quarter of 2025 it was a net profit of 9 million US dollars, and in the second quarter of 2026 it was a net profit of 500,000 US dollars.

Zhang Chaoyang, Chairman and CEO of Sohu Corporation, stated: "In the third quarter of 2026, our marketing service revenue reached the upper end of our guidance range, and both online gaming revenue and bottom-line performance met our expectations. Regarding Sohu's social media platform, we have continuously strengthened social features through numerous landmark events to foster genuine connections among users and enhance interactions among active users in various vertical fields. We also continue to leverage our integrated product matrix, combined with innovative and customized marketing strategies, to unlock monetization potential. For online gaming, we continue to launch new content to maintain players' interest while providing tailored gaming experiences to meet the ever-changing needs of our players."

Third Quarter Financial Results

Income

Total revenue amounted to 133 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 26% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%.

Marketing service revenue amounted to 15 million US dollars, representing a year-on-year increase of 10% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%.

Online game revenue amounted to 114 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 30% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%.

Revenue and Cost

The total revenue and cost for both GAAP and non-GAAP are both $32 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 9% and a month-on-month increase of 9%.

The marketing service revenue costs for both GAAP and non-GAAP are both $15 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 23% and a month-on-month increase of 11%.

The revenue costs for both GAAP and non-GAAP online games are $14 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 33% and a month-on-month increase of 2%.

Operating Expenses

The operating expenses for both GAAP and non-GAAP are $120 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 9% and a month-on-month decrease of 4%.

Operating Profit/(Loss)

Both GAAP and non-GAAP incurred operating losses of $18 million each, while in the third quarter of 2025 there was an operating profit of $14 million, and in the second quarter of 2026 there was an operating loss of $18 million.

Income tax expense/(income)

The income tax expenses for both GAAP and non-GAAP are $4 million each, while in the third quarter of 2025, the income tax expense was $17 million, and in the second quarter of 2026, the income tax revenue was $7 million. The income tax revenue in the second quarter of 2026 included a reversal of about $13 million in taxes due to a change in uncertain tax positions.

Net profit/(loss)

The net loss attributable to Sohu Company's GAAP was 15 million US dollars, resulting in a net loss of 0.60 US dollars per share when calculated on a fully diluted basis of ADS; whereas in the third quarter of 2025, the net profit was 9 million US dollars, and in the second quarter of 2026, the net profit was 200,000 US dollars. Each ADS represents one ordinary share of Sohu.

The non-GAAP net loss attributable to Sohu Corporation amounted to 15 million US dollars, resulting in a net loss of 0.59 US dollars per share when calculated on a fully diluted basis of ADS; whereas in the third quarter of 2025, there was a net profit of 9 million US dollars, and in the second quarter of 2026, there was a net profit of 500,000 US dollars.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of September 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, and long-term time deposits totaled approximately $1.2 billion.

Explore additional performance information [3]

Operational Performance for the Third Quarter of 2026

• In terms of gaming, the total average monthly active accounts [4] ( MAU ) were 2.6 million, a year-on-year decrease of 4%, but stable month-over-month. The total quarterly active paid accounts [5] ( APA ) were 1 million, a year-on-year decrease of 8%, but an increase of 4% month-over-month. The year-on-year decline is mainly due to the natural decline in Changyou's older games, including the PC version of "Tianlong Bawu" ( TLBB PC ) and "Tianlong Bawu: Return" ( TLBB : Return ); the latter was launched in the third quarter of 2025.
• In terms of mobile games, the total average MAU was 1.4 million, a year-on-year decrease of 24% and a month-on-month decrease of 16%. The quarterly total APA was 200,000, a year-on-year decrease of 25% and a month-on-month decrease of 4%. The year-on-year and month-on-month declines in MAU and APA were mainly due to the natural decline in the popularity of Changyou's older games.

Unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2026

Total revenue amounted to 115 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 30% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%. Online gaming revenue was 114 million US dollars, also a year-on-year decrease of 30% and a month-on-month decrease of 2%. The year-on-year decline in online gaming revenue is mainly due to the high base effect; this is because TLBB PC underwent content updates in the third quarter of 2025, and TLBB : Return was launched in the same quarter of 2025.

The total revenue and cost for both GAAP and non-GAAP are $14 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 33% and a month-on-month increase of 2%.

The operating expenses for both GAAP and non-GAAP are $42 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 23% and a month-on-month decrease of 12%. The year-on-year decline is mainly due to reduced expenditures on salaries and benefits, as well as decreased spending on online game marketing and promotion. The month-on-month decline is primarily caused by a reduction in licensing fees related to product development.

GAAP reported a operating profit of 58 million US dollars, which increased to 87 million US dollars in the third quarter of 2025 and 55 million US dollars in the second quarter of 2026.

Non-GAAP had an operating profit of 59 million US dollars, while in the third quarter of 2025 it was 88 million US dollars, and in the second quarter of 2026 it was 56 million US dollars.

Recent Progress

In accordance with the previously announced repurchase plan for ADS with a maximum amount of $150 million, as of November 5, 2026, Sohu has repurchased 10.1 million shares of ADS, at a cumulative cost of approximately $134 million.

Business Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2026, Sohu expects:

• Marketing service revenue is expected to be between $13 million and $14 million; this represents a year-over-year decrease of 18% to 24%, and a month-over-month decrease of 6% to 13%.
• Online game revenue is expected to be between $111 million and $121 million; this represents a year-over-year decrease of 8% to an increase of 1%, and a month-over-month decrease of 3% to an increase of 6%.
• The non-GAAP and GAAP net losses attributable to Sohu Corporation will be between 17 million and 27 million US dollars.

For the guidance for the fourth quarter of 2026, the company assumes an exchange rate of RMB 6.73 per US dollar; in contrast, the actual exchange rate for the fourth quarter of 2025 was approximately RMB 7.08 per US dollar, and for the third quarter of 2026 it was RMB 6.78 per US dollar.

This forecast reflects the current and preliminary views of Sohu's management, and there is considerable uncertainty involved.

Revealed by non-GAAP

To supplement the unaudited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), Sohu’s management uses non-GAAP indicators such as operating profit/(loss), net profit/(loss), net profit attributable to Sohu Company, and diluted net profit per ADS, which are adjusted after excluding the impact of equity incentive expenses based on the GAAP results. The aforementioned indicators should be considered alongside the GAAP results, but they should not be regarded as a substitute for or superior to the GAAP results.

Sohu's management believes that excluding equity incentive expenses helps both the company and investors understand its financial performance. Furthermore, the impact of equity incentive expenses cannot be predicted in advance by management or business leaders, and these expenses are not included in the annual budgets and quarterly forecasts provided to analysts and investors. These budgets and forecasts serve as a basis for guiding future operational performance. Since equity incentive expenses do not involve subsequent cash outflows and are not reflected in the cash flow at the equity transaction level, Sohu does not take their impact into consideration when evaluating and approving expenditures or deciding on the allocation of resources across different business segments. Therefore, generally speaking, internal monthly financial results, as well as any performance indicators used for commissions and bonuses, are based on non-GAAP financial indicators that exclude equity incentive expenses.

Non-GAAP financial indicators are intended to help investors gain a more comprehensive understanding of Sohu's current financial performance and future prospects. The limitations of using non-GAAP operating profit/(loss), net profit/(loss), net profit attributable to Sohu Company, and diluted net profit per ADS attributable to Sohu Company after excluding equity incentive expenses are that such expenses exist continuously and are expected to continue in the future. To mitigate these limitations, Sohu provides specific information regarding the amounts of GAAP that are excluded from these various non-GAAP indicators. The attached table lists the reconciliation details between the GAAP financial indicators and the presented non-GAAP financial indicators.

Financial Information Explanation

Except for the information marked as non-GAAP in this press release, all other financial information is derived from Sohu's unaudited financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. It is currently anticipated that the business outlook will not be updated prior to Sohu's next quarterly earnings announcement; however, Sohu reserves the right to update the business outlook at any time for any reason. Statements that are not historical facts, including those regarding Sohu's beliefs and expectations, are considered forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates, and projections and should not be relied upon excessively. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We remind you that various important factors could lead to significant differences between actual results and the content of any forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: global financial and credit market instability and their potential impact on the Chinese economy; exchange rate fluctuations and their potential impact on the Chinese economy and Sohu's results reported in US dollars; fluctuations in Sohu's quarterly operating results; Sohu's inability to recoup its investments in content, or its inability to successfully develop a series of successful games for mobile platforms, or to monetize the mobile games it develops or acquires; as well as Sohu's dependence on marketing services and online game revenue. For more information regarding these and other risks, please refer to Sohu's annual report Form 20-F for the year ending December 31, 2025, as well as other documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the information provided thereon.

Teleconference and online live broadcast

Sohu's management team will hold a teleconference after the release of the quarterly earnings report on November 9, 2026, at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time (8:30 p.m. Beijing Time/Hong Kong Time on November 9, 2026). Participants can click here to register for the teleconference, and will then be directed to the registration website. After registration, participants will receive details of the teleconference, including the dial-in number and a unique access code PIN. Please dial in 10 minutes before the meeting begins.

Live webcast and replay of the teleconference will be available on Sohu's Investor Relations website at https :// investors.sohu.com.

About Sohu

Sohu Corporation ( NASDAQ : SOHU ) was founded in the 1990s by Dr. Zhang Chaoyang, one of the pioneers of the Chinese Internet. Sohu operates one of China's leading online media platforms and is also engaged in the online gaming business on the Chinese mainland. Sohu has established one of the most comprehensive matrices of Chinese-language online assets, including Sohu News App, Sohu Video App, the mobile portal m.sohu.com, the PC portal www.sohu.com, as well as the online gaming platforms www.changyou.com / en.

As a mainstream media platform with social features, Sohu has become an indispensable part of the daily lives of millions of Chinese users. It provides a network composed of web products and community-based products that offer a wide range of content, including news and information presented in the form of text, images, videos, and live broadcasts. Sohu also encourages users to actively participate in content production and distribution, as well as to interact actively on the platform. Sohu's online gaming business is carried out by its subsidiary, Changyou, which develops and operates a diversified portfolio of PC and mobile games, such as the well-known TLBB PC and Legacy TLBB Mobile.

For inquiries from investors and the media, please contact:

Sohu Corporation

Christensen Advisory