HONG KONG – October 29, 2026 -- Meitu, Inc. (1357.HK) reported 19.83 million global paying subscribers as of September 2026, adding 1.39 million in the quarter, its largest quarterly net increase in four quarters. Management disclosed the figures at the company's Investor Day on October 26.
Core product revenue rises 28.2% to RMB1.0 billion in Q3
Unaudited third-quarter revenue from Meitu's core photo, video and design products reached RMB1.0 billion, up 28.2% year-on-year. Paying subscribers of its productivity applications grew 18.3% year-on-year to 2.39 million.
Annual recurring revenue (ARR) for AI-driven productivity applications reached RMB655 million, up 40.1% year-on-year.
Meitu concentrates resources on products with validated market fit
Management said its AI exploration has entered a new stage. The company will narrow its experimental scope and direct resources to core products that have validated product-market fit. Founder, Chairman and CEO Xinhong Wu compared the shift to Meitu's early mobile-internet period, when it committed long-term resources to a direction after many experiments.
Among newer products, Picchi's net billings ARR is close to US$1.4 million. MVLAND's is close to US$0.85 million, and its app is scheduled to launch in December. Meitu will unlock additional strategic resources for an innovative project when its ARR reaches US$2 million and again at US$5 million.
CFO prioritizes net profit over gross margin as AI credits lift ARPPU
Meitu will model its commercial strategy on fashion consumer goods, treating "features as products" and making paying subscribers its core target group. The company cited high computing costs in the AI era as a driver of this approach.
CFO Gary Ngan said more of Meitu's new businesses monetize through AI credit consumption, which offers greater ARPPU elasticity than traditional products. He described gross margin as an intermediate indicator and said the company focuses on growth in overall product revenue and net profit.
Kaipai and Vmake Labs more than double ARR as overseas push deepens
Kaipai, aimed at Mainland China, and Vmake Labs, aimed at international markets, each grew ARR by more than 100% year-on-year as of September 2026. Meitu now designs products for the global market from the research and project-inception phase.
Its globalization strategy has moved beyond "language-based regions" to add "cultural regions," such as the Latin American region represented by Brazil and Mexico. The company has built local operations teams and local effects design teams to match regional aesthetic preferences.
Meitu moves from productivity tools to end-to-end marketing services
CPO Jianyi Chen said AI Agent capabilities now let Meitu cover the full chain from marketing planning and content production to distribution and performance optimization. Users previously handled content creation and promotion themselves.
Chen said Meitu's business model may increasingly resemble that of an AI-driven marketing services company. In his words, customers are purchasing "marketing outcomes that help them increase sales."