IQIYI, Inc., Beijing time, August 12, 2021 (US Eastern time, August 12)(NASDAQ: IQ) released unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021. IQIYI, Inc. 's total revenue reached 7.6 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the second quarter of 2021, close to the upper limit of previous company guidelines, according to the financial report. By the end of the second quarter, iQIYI, Inc. 's subscription membership had reached 106.2 million.

"the performance in the second quarter is basically in line with our expectations." Gong Yu, founder, director and CEO of iQIYI, Inc., said, "although the second quarter is an off-season in the traditional sense, driven by the launch of popular original dramas this quarter, the number of our subscription members has increased to 106.2 million. IQIYI, Inc. continues to lead the market in a number of operational indicators. At the same time, we also see the extremely fast version of iQIYI, Inc., which is aimed at users in low-line cities in China, as well as the company's overseas business showing encouraging momentum of development. At present, we are still in the early stage of film and television industrialization, and we are making continuous efforts to promote the development of the industry in order to achieve long-term growth. With a deep understanding of users, highly innovative in-house studios and leading technology, we believe we are able to meet current challenges and seize future market opportunities. "

"the total revenue in the second quarter is close to the upper limit of our guidance," said Wang Xiaodong, chief financial officer of iQIYI, Inc.. "our membership has further increased, while relying on the company's high-quality content and large user base, we continue to promote the diversification of monetization. Thanks to the implementation of a rigorous investment strategy, our net loss fell for five consecutive quarters compared with the same period last year. Looking ahead, we are committed to providing more diversified content in the second half of the year to drive further revenue growth. "

IQIYI, Inc. 's total revenue reached 7.6 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the second quarter of 2021, up 3 per cent from the same period in 2020. Of this total, revenue from membership services is 4 billion yuan ($618.4 million). Revenue from online advertising services reached 1.8 billion yuan ($282.7 million) in the second quarter, an increase of 15% compared with the same period in 2020, mainly driven by a continued rebound in the budget of brand advertisers amid China's macroeconomic recovery. The content release generated revenue of 687.9 million yuan ($106.5 million) for iQIYI, Inc. in the current quarter. Other revenue reached 1.1 billion yuan ($170.7 million), an increase of 20% over the same period in 2020, mainly due to strong growth in some lines of business.

IQIYI, Inc. 's revenue cost was 6.9 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in the second quarter of 2021. Among them, as an important part of revenue cost, content cost expenditure is 5.1 billion yuan ($794.8 million). Both figures are basically the same as in the same period in 2020.

IQIYI, Inc. posted an operating loss of 1.1 billion yuan ($173.7 million) in the second quarter, compared with an operating loss of 1.3 billion yuan in the same period in 2020. The operating loss rate for the current quarter was 15%, which was further narrowed compared with the operating loss rate of 17% for the same period in 2020.

As of June 30, 2021, the company had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments totaling 12.3 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).

IQIYI, Inc. looks forward to results for the third quarter of 2021: total revenue is expected to range from 7.62 billion yuan ($1.18 billion) to 8.05 billion yuan ($1.25 billion), up 6 to 12 percent from a year earlier. (the outlook only represents a preliminary forecast based on the current situation and does not rule out the possibility of future adjustments.)