China's Tencent posts forecast-beating Q1 revenue on gaming growth
Shenzhen-based Tencent is the operator of China's multifunctional app WeChat and a major player in the global gaming industry.
The firm also has a presence in cloud computing, entertainment and AI -- the latter of which has seen a boost in interest among Chinese tech giants following the shock release of advanced chatbot DeepSeek this year.
Tencent's revenue in the three months ended March 31 was 180.0 billion yuan ($25.0 billion), a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed, up 13 percent compared to the same period last year.
The figure came in slightly higher than a Bloomberg estimate of 175.7 billion yuan.
In a breakdown of sales, Tencent said that revenue from domestic games increased 24 percent year-on-year, while international games saw a 23 percent rise.
Net profits also charted a moderate increase during the first quarter, the results showed, jumping 14 percent year-on-year to reach 47.8 billion yuan.
"AI capabilities already contributed tangibly to our businesses, such as performance advertising and evergreen games," the firm said in a statement.
Tencent added that it has ramped up spending on "new AI opportunities", including integrated features within the WeChat app.
Chinese tech giants have been funnelling resources into the competitive field of AI since the release of DeepSeek's chatbot in January.
The little-known Chinese company caused a global stir because it appeared to have developed the chatbot at a fraction of the price of Western industry leaders such as the United States's OpenAI.
Tencent this year began trialling its own AI model which it says can outpace DeepSeek.
Tencent was among the tech firms caught up in a sweeping domestic crackdown that began in 2020 with officials calling off the massive, planned listing of Alibaba-linked fintech company Ant Group.
Beijing has signalled renewed friendliness toward tech firms in recent months, but broad restrictions on video game access for minors still stand.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
China 'firmly rejects' US claims of violating sweeping tariffs deal
China said Monday it "firmly rejects" US claims that it had violated a sweeping tariffs deal, as tensions between the two economic superpowers showed signs of ratcheting back up. Beijing and Washington last month agreed to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other for 90 days after talks between top officials in Geneva. But top Washington officials last week accused China of violating the deal, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Beijing was "slow-rolling" the agreement in comments to "Fox News Sunday". China hit back Monday, saying Washington "has made bogus charges and unreasonably accused China of violating the consensus, which is seriously contrary to the facts". "China firmly rejects these unreasonable accusations," its commerce ministry said in a statement. US President Donald Trump said last week that China had "totally violated" the deal, without providing details. 03:04 Beijing's commerce ministry said it "has been firm in safeguarding its rights and interests, and sincere in implementing the consensus". It fired back that Washington "has successively introduced a number of discriminatory restrictive measures against China" since the Geneva talks. The ministry cited export controls on artificial intelligence chips, curbs on the sale of chip design software and the revocation of Chinese student visas in the United States. "We urge the US to meet China halfway, immediately correct its wrongful actions, and jointly uphold the consensus from the Geneva trade talks," the ministry said. If not, "China will continue to resolutely take strong measures to uphold its legitimate rights and interests," it added. Trump-Xi talks? US officials have said they are frustrated by what they see as Chinese foot-dragging on approving export licences for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips. But Washington's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looked to ease the pressure on Sunday, saying the two sides could arrange a call between their respective heads of state to resolve their differences. "I'm confident... this will be ironed out" in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bessent said on CBS's "Face the Nation". He added, however, that China was "withholding some of the products that they agreed to release", including rare earths. On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: "I believe we will see something very soon." China has been less forthcoming, and the commerce ministry's statement on Monday did not mention any planned conversations between the two leaders. The Geneva deal was "an important consensus reached by the two sides on the principle of mutual respect and equality, and its results were hard-won", the ministry said. It warned Washington against "going its own way and continuing to harm China's interests". Global stocks finished mixed on Friday after Trump made his social media post accusing Beijing. The Hong Kong stock exchange was down around 2 percent shortly after opening on Monday.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
China 'firmly rejects' US claim that it violated tariff deal
Beijing and Washington last month agreed to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other for 90 days after talks between top officials in Geneva. But top Washington officials last week accused China of violating the deal, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Beijing was "slow-rolling" the agreement in comments to "Fox News Sunday". China hit back Monday, saying Washington "has made bogus charges and unreasonably accused China of violating the consensus, which is seriously contrary to the facts". "China firmly rejects these unreasonable accusations," its commerce ministry said in a statement. US President Donald Trump said last week that China had "totally violated" the deal, without providing details. Beijing's commerce ministry said it "has been firm in safeguarding its rights and interests, and sincere in implementing the consensus". It fired back that Washington "has successively introduced a number of discriminatory restrictive measures against China" since the Geneva talks. The ministry cited export controls on artificial intelligence chips, curbs on the sale of chip design software and the revocation of Chinese student visas in the United States. "We urge the US to meet China halfway, immediately correct its wrongful actions, and jointly uphold the consensus from the Geneva trade talks," the ministry said. If not, "China will continue to resolutely take strong measures to uphold its legitimate rights and interests," it added. Trump-Xi talks? US officials have said they are frustrated by what they see as Chinese foot-dragging on approving export licences for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips. But Washington's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looked to ease the pressure on Sunday, saying the two sides could arrange a call between their respective heads of state to resolve their differences. "I'm confident... this will be ironed out" in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bessent said on CBS's "Face the Nation". He added, however, that China was "withholding some of the products that they agreed to release", including rare earths. On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: "I believe we will see something very soon." China has been less forthcoming, and the commerce ministry's statement on Monday did not mention any planned conversations between the two leaders. The Geneva deal was "an important consensus reached by the two sides on the principle of mutual respect and equality, and its results were hard-won", the ministry said. It warned Washington against "going its own way and continuing to harm China's interests". Global stocks finished mixed on Friday after Trump made his social media post accusing Beijing. The Hong Kong stock exchange was down around 2 percent shortly after opening on Monday.
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
US, China trade row could ease after Trump-Xi talks: Treasury chief
Trump on Friday accused Beijing of violating a deal reached last month in Geneva -- negotiated by Bessent -- to temporarily lower staggeringly high tariffs they had imposed on each other, in a pause to last 90 days. China's slow-walking on export license approvals for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips have fueled US frustration, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday -- a concern since confirmed by US officials. But Bessent seemed to take the pressure down a notch, telling CBS's "Face the Nation" that the gaps could be bridged. "I'm confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call that this will be ironed out," Bessent said, however noting that China was "withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement." When asked if rare earths were one of those products, Bessent said, "Yes." "Maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system. Maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the president speaks with" Xi, he said. On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: "I believe we will see something very soon." Since Trump returned to the presidency, he has slapped sweeping tariffs on most US trading partners, with especially high rates on Chinese imports. New tit-for-tat levies on both sides reached three digits before the de-escalation this month, where Washington agreed to temporarily reduce additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent. China, meanwhile, lowered its added duties from 125 percent to 10 percent. In an interview with ABC's "This Week," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said China was "slow-rolling the deal," adding: "We are taking certain actions to show them what it feels like on the other side of that equation."
