Tencent revenue climbs as AI investments grow

Tencent Holdings reported a 13% increase in fourth-quarter revenue, driven by strong gaming demand and expanding artificial intelligence services, reinforcing its position as China’s leading social media and gaming company.

The Shenzhen-based firm posted revenue of 194.4 billion yuan ($28.3 billion) for the three months ending December 31, slightly above analysts’ expectations of 193.5 billion yuan, according to LSEG data, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Net profit reached 58.26 billion yuan, also beating estimates of 57.75 billion yuan.

Tencent has been ramping up investments in AI, largely funded by its gaming business, as it competes with rivals such as Alibaba and ByteDance. The company is integrating AI across its ecosystem, including the WeChat messaging and payments platform, cloud services, and gaming, reaching more than one billion users.

Domestic gaming revenue rose 15% to 38.2 billion yuan, while international gaming revenue jumped 32% to 21.1 billion yuan. Online advertising revenue increased 17% to 41.1 billion yuan, supported by AI-driven ad targeting.

Growth in gaming was fueled by new titles such as “Delta Force” and “Valorant Mobile,” along with established hits like “Honor of Kings” and “Peacekeeper Elite.”

Tencent’s FinTech and Business Services segment, which includes cloud computing, grew 8% to 60.8 billion yuan, though the company does not separately disclose cloud revenue.

To strengthen its AI capabilities, Tencent has intensified hiring efforts, including recruiting former OpenAI researcher Yao Shunyu to lead development of its Hunyuan large language model.

The company also spent 1 billion yuan promoting its Yuanbao AI chatbot during the Lunar New Year to capture market share in China’s competitive AI sector.

Earlier this month, Tencent launched its “OpenClaw” AI product suite, which includes QClaw for individual users, Lighthouse for developers, and WorkBuddy for enterprise clients, as competition grows in AI agent technologies.

Capital expenditure for 2025 reached 79.2 billion yuan, up from 76.8 billion yuan in 2024.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev