PR Newswire | Nov 11, 2021 04:45AM EST

11/11 03:45 CST

Weibo Reports Third Quarter 2021 Unaudited Financial Results BEIJING, Nov. 11, 2021

BEIJING, Nov. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Weibo Corporation ("Weibo" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: WB), a leading social media in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.

"We delivered another solid quarter, with sustained user growth and top line expansion," said Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo. "In September, both our MAUs and DAUs continued to grow from prior quarter, driven by a greater focus on Weibo's core positioning in social media, strong execution ability?effective channel investment strategies and the Olympic Game effect. We are committed to responding positively to the new regulatory requirements, and are confident that the new regulatory environment will benefit the internet sector, and empower Weibo's user growth and monetization in the long run." Mr. Wang concluded.

Third Quarter 2021 Highlights

* Net revenues were $607.4 million, an increase of 30% year-over-year or an increase of 23% year-over-year on a constant currency basis [1]. * Advertising and marketing revenues were $537.6 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year. * Value-added service ("VAS") revenues were $69.8 million, an increase of 42% year-over-year. * Income from operations was $213.0 million, an increase of 32% year-over-year, representing an operating margin of 35%. * Net income attributable to Weibo was $181.7 million and diluted net income per share was $0.78. * Non-GAAP income from operations was $248.7 million, an increase of 39% year-over-year, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 41%. * Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo was $209.6 million and non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.90. * Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 573 million in September 2021, a net addition of 62 million users on a year-over-year basis. Mobile MAUs represented 94% of MAUs. * Average daily active users ("DAUs") were 248 million in September 2021, a net addition of 23 million users on a year-over-year basis.

^[1] On a constant currency (non-GAAP) basis, we assume that the exchange ratein the third quarter of 2021 had been the same as it was in the third quarterof 2020, or RMB 6.92=US$1.00.

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

For the third quarter of 2021, Weibo's total net revenues were $607.4 million, an increase of 30% compared to $465.7 million for the same period last year.

Advertising and marketing revenues for the third quarter of 2021 were $537.6 million, an increase of 29% compared to $416.7 million for the same period last year. Advertising and marketing revenues excluding ad revenues from Alibaba were $516.8 million, an increase of 33% compared to $387.5 million for the same period last year, primarily attributable to solid advertising demand from key industries as well as strong sales execution.

VAS revenues for the third quarter of 2021 were $69.8 million, an increase of 42% year-over-year compared to $49.1 million for the same period last year, mainly attributable to the incremental revenues derived from the interactive entertainment company acquired in November 2020, while partially offset by decrease of revenue from live streaming business.

Costs and expenses for the third quarter of 2021 totaled $394.4 million, an increase of 29% compared to $304.8 million for the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to higher personnel-related cost and marketing expense.

Income from operations for the third quarter of 2021 was $213.0 million, an increase of 32% compared to $161.0 million for the same period last year. Operating margin was 35%, same as last year. Non-GAAP income from operations was $248.7 million, an increase of 39% compared to $179.4 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating margin was 41%, compared to 39% last year.

Non-operating income for the third quarter of 2021 was $0.2 million, compared to a non-operating loss of $97.5 million for the same period last year. Non-operating income for the third quarter of 2021 mainly included (i) a $36.4 million net gain on fair value change of investments, which is excluded under non-GAAP measures; (ii) a $36.0 million impairment charge on equity investments, which is excluded under non-GAAP measures; and (iii) a $0.5 million net interest and other expense.

Income tax expenses for the third quarter of 2021 were $31.4 million, compared to $30.0 million for the same period last year.

Net income attributable to Weibo for the third quarter of 2021 was $181.7 million, compared to $33.8 million for the same period last year. Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo for the third quarter of 2021 was $0.78, compared to $0.15 for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo for the third quarter of 2021 was $209.6 million, compared to $152.9 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo for the third quarter of 2021 was $0.90, compared to $0.66 for the same period last year.

As of September 30, 2021, Weibo's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $2.71 billion. For the third quarter of 2021, cash provided by operating activities was $226.0 million, capital expenditures totaled $8.3 million, and depreciation and amortization expenses amounted to $14.1 million.

Business Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2021, Weibo estimates its net revenues to increase by 15% to 20% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. This forecast reflects Weibo's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call

Weibo's management team will host a conference call from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time on November 11, 2021 (or 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Beijing Time on November 11, 2021) to present an overview of the Company's financial performance and business operations.

Please register in advance of the conference call using the link provided below. Upon registering, you will be provided with dial-in numbers, passcode and unique registrant ID by email. To join the conference, please use the conference access information provided in the email received at the point of registering.

PRE-REGISTER LINK: http://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/7755478

Additionally, a live webcast of the call will be available through the Company's corporate website at http://ir.weibo.com.

A telephone replay will be available from 22:00 China Standard Time on November 11, 2021 to 20:59 China Standard Time on November 19, 2021. To access the recording, please use the following dial-in information listed below:

United States: +1 855 452 5696

Hong Kong: 800 963 117

Mainland China: 400 602 2065

International: +61 2 8199 0299

Replay PIN: 7755478

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders, non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo's shareholders and adjusted EBITDA. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, measures of the Company's financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The Company's non-GAAP financial measures exclude stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, non-cash compensation cost to non-controlling interest shareholders, net results of impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value change of investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items on the share of equity method investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss attributable to non-controlling interests, provision for income tax primarily related to the amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and fair value change of investments, and amortization of convertible debt and unsecured senior notes issuance cost. Adjusted EBITDA excludes interest income, net, income tax expenses (benefit), and depreciation expenses.

The Company's management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in their financial and operating decision-making, because management believes these measures reflect the Company's ongoing operating performance in a manner that allows more meaningful period-to-period comparisons. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in the following ways: (i) in comparing the Company's current financial results with the Company's past financial results in a consistent manner, and (ii) in understanding and evaluating the Company's current operating performance and future prospects in the same manner as management does, if they so choose. The Company also believes that the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses, gains (losses) and other items (i) that are not expected to result in future cash payments or (ii) that are non-recurring in nature or may not be indicative of the Company's core operating results and business outlook.

Use of non-GAAP financial measures has limitations. The Company's non-GAAP financial measures do not include all income and expense items that affect the Company's operations. They may not be comparable to non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Accordingly, care should be exercised in understanding how the Company defines its non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the Company's non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures are set forth in the section below titled "Unaudited Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Results."

About Weibo

Weibo is a leading social media for people to create, share and discover content online. Weibo combines the means of public self-expression in real time with a powerful platform for social interaction, content aggregation and content distribution. Any user can create and post a feed and attach multi-media and long-form content. User relationships on Weibo may be asymmetric; any user can follow any other user and add comments to a feed while reposting. This simple, asymmetric and distributed nature of Weibo allows an original feed to become a live viral conversation stream.

Weibo enables its advertising and marketing customers to promote their brands, products and services to users. Weibo offers a wide range of advertising and marketing solutions to companies of all sizes. The Company generates a substantial majority of its revenues from the sale of advertising and marketing services, including the sale of social display advertisement and promoted marketing offerings. Designed with a "mobile first" philosophy, Weibo displays content in a simple information feed format and offers native advertisement that conform to the information feed on our platform. To support the mobile format, we have developed and continuously refining our social interest graph recommendation engine, which enables our customers to perform people marketing and target audiences based on user demographics, social relationships, interests and behaviors, to achieve greater relevance, engagement and marketing effectiveness.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to, among other things, Weibo's expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans (as described, without limitation, in the "Business Outlook" section and in quotations from management in this press release. Weibo may also make forward-looking statements in the Company's periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology, such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "confidence," "estimates" and similar statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Weibo's limited operating history in certain new businesses; failure to grow active user base and the level of user engagement; the uncertain regulatory landscape in China; fluctuations in the Company's quarterly operating results; the Company's reliance on advertising and marketing sales for a majority of its revenues; failure to successfully develop, introduce, drive adoption of or monetize new features and products; failure to compete effectively for advertising and marketing spending; failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses; risks associated with the Company's investments, including equity pick-up and impairment; failure to compete successfully against new entrants and established industry competitors; changes in the macro-economic environment, including the depreciation of the Renminbi; and adverse changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government and its impact on the Chinese economy. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Weibo's annual report on Form 20-Fs and other filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date hereof, and Weibo assumes no obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

Contact:Investor RelationsWeibo CorporationPhone: +86 10 5898-3336Email: ir@staff.weibo.com

WEIBO CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)

Three months ended Nine months ended

September 30, June 30, September 30,

2021 2020 2021 2021 2020

Net revenues:

Advertising and marketing $ 537,620 $ 416,672 $ 502,338 $ 1,429,969 $ 1,032,678

Value-added service 69,814 49,067 72,128 210,827 143,843

Net revenues 607,434 465,739 574,466 1,640,796 1,176,521

Costs and expenses:

Cost of revenues ^(1) 102,978 77,198 92,548 275,296 214,892

Sales and marketing ^(1) 140,839 105,263 154,393 439,207 316,483

Product development^(1) 118,821 83,511 101,419 316,806 233,881

General and administrative^(1) 31,747 38,813 32,869 94,597 86,111

Total costs and expenses 394,385 304,785 381,229 1,125,906 851,367

Income from operations 213,049 160,954 193,237 514,890 325,154

Non-operating income (loss):

Impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value 646 (103,787) (76,814) (134,368) 10,654 change of investments, net

Interest and other income(expense), net (489) 6,311 11,474 24,489 34,301

157 (97,476) (65,340) (109,879) 44,955

Income before income tax expenses 213,206 63,478 127,897 405,011 370,109

Provision of income taxes (31,405) (30,003) (46,910) (93,260) (86,630)

Net income 181,801 33,475 80,987 311,751 283,479

Less: Net income (loss) attributable to 63 (323) (41) (835) (843) non-controlling interests

Net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders $ 181,738 $ 33,798 $ 81,028 $ 312,586 $ 284,322

Basic net income per share attributable to Weibo's $ 0.79 $ 0.15 $ 0.36 $ 1.37 $ 1.25 shareholders

Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo's $ 0.78 $ 0.15 $ 0.35 $ 1.36 $ 1.25 shareholders

Shares used in computing basic net income

per share attributable to Weibo's shareholders 228,675 227,110 228,099 228,185 226,728

Shares used in computing diluted net income

per share attributable to Weibo's shareholders 237,183 227,793 229,555 229,765 227,352

(1) Stock-based compensation in each category:

Cost of revenues $ 2,450 $ 1,407 $ 1,827 $ 5,690 $ 3,909

Sales and marketing 4,700 2,623 3,298 10,249 6,886

Product development 11,047 8,438 10,137 29,260 22,890

General and administrative 6,840 5,129 5,206 16,059 14,100

WEIBO CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands of U.S. dollars)

September 30, December 31,

2021 2020

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,828,691 $ 1,814,844

Short-term investments 878,487 1,682,048

Accounts receivable, net 683,710 492,010

Prepaid expenses and other current assets 944,044 296,757

Amount due from SINA^(1) 515,534 548,900

Current assets subtotal 4,850,466 4,834,559

Property and equipment, net 64,396 60,632

Goodwill and intangible assets, net 299,332 208,688

Long-term investments 1,195,549 1,179,466

Other non-current assets 588,293 51,772

Total assets $ 6,998,036 $ 6,335,117

Liabilities, Redeemable Non-controlling Interests and Shareholders' Equity

Liabilities:

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable $ 177,647 $ 149,509

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 736,924 562,333

Deferred revenues 132,468 143,684

Income tax payable 115,241 102,844

Current liabilities subtotal 1,162,280 958,370

Long-term liabilities:

Convertible debt 895,505 892,399

Unsecured senior notes 1,537,840 1,536,112

Other long-term liabilities 71,998 61,906

Total liabilities 3,667,623 3,448,787

Redeemable non-controlling interests 74,170 57,714

Shareholders' equity :

Weibo shareholders' equity^ 3,226,943 2,812,425

Non-controlling interests 29,300 16,191

Total shareholders' equity 3,256,243 2,828,616

Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interests and $ 6,998,036 $ 6,335,117 shareholders' equity

(1) Included short-term loans to and interest receivable from SINA of $487.9million as of September 30,2021 and $547.9 million as of December 31, 2020.

WEIBO CORPORATION

UNAUDITED RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP TO GAAP RESULTS

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)

Three months ended Nine months ended

September 30, June 30, September 30,

2021 2020 2021 2021 2020

Income from operations $ 213,049 $ 160,954 $ 193,237 $ 514,890 $ 325,154

Add: Stock-based compensation 25,037 17,597 20,468 61,258 47,785

Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business 5,478 836 4,876 14,873 2,480 acquisitions

Non-cash compensation cost to non-controlling interest 5,140 - 4,649 18,420 - shareholders

Non-GAAP income from operations $ 248,704 $ 179,387 $ 223,230 $ 609,441 $ 375,419

Net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders $ 181,738 $ 33,798 $ 81,028 $ 312,586 $ 284,322

Add: Stock-based compensation 25,037 17,597 20,468 61,258 47,785

Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business 5,478 836 4,876 14,873 2,480 acquisitions

Non-cash compensation cost to non-controlling interest 5,140 - 4,649 18,420 - shareholders

Net results of impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value (646) 103,787 76,814 134,368 (10,654) change of investments

Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items on the share of equity (1,715) (3,658) (8,091) (10,881) (5,554) method investments

Non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss (233) (21) (198) (72) 94 attributable to non-controlling interests

Tax effects on non-GAAP adjustments^(1) (6,856) (1,062) 1,648 (12,356) 11,992

Amortization of convertible debt and unsecured senior notes 1,611 1,595 1,611 4,834 4,333 issuance cost

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders $ 209,554 $ 152,872 $ 182,805 $ 523,030 $ 334,798

Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo's $ 0.90 * $ 0.66 * $ 0.79 * $ 2.25 * $ 1.47 * shareholders

Shares used in computing GAAP diluted net income per share 237,183 227,793 229,555 229,765 227,352 attributable to Weibo's shareholders

Add: The number of shares for dilution resulted from convertible - 6,753 6,753 6,753 6,753 debt^(2)

Shares used in computing non-GAAP diluted net income per share 237,183 234,546 236,308 236,518 234,105 attributable to Weibo's shareholders

Adjusted EBITDA:

Net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders $ 181,738 $ 33,798 $ 81,028 $ 312,586 $ 284,322

Non-GAAP adjustments 27,816 119,074 101,777 210,444 50,476

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders 209,554 152,872 182,805 523,030 334,798

Interest income,net (701) (4,340) (3,848) (8,488) (30,324)

Income tax expenses 38,261 31,065 45,262 105,616 74,638

Depreciation expenses 8,141 6,894 8,204 24,254 18,942

Adjusted EBITDA $ 255,255 $ 186,491 $ 232,423 $ 644,412 $ 398,054

(1) To exclude the provision for income tax primarily related to amortizationof intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and fair value changeof

investments. The Company considered the tax implication arising fromthe reconciliation items and part of these items recorded in entities in taxfree

jurisdictions were without relevant tax implications. For impairment oninvestments, valuation allowances were made for those differences as theCompany

does not expect they can be realized in the foreseeable future.

(2) To adjust the number of shares for dilution resulted from convertible debtwhich were anti-dilutive under GAAP measures.

* Net income attributable to Weibo's shareholders is adjusted for interestexpense of convertible debt for calculating diluted EPS.

WEIBO CORPORATION

UNAUDITED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

(In thousands of U.S. dollars)

Three months ended Nine months ended

September 30, June 30, September 30,

2021 2020 2021 2021 2020

Net revenues

Advertising and marketing

Non-Ali advertisers $ 516,818 $ 387,517 $ 462,372 $ 1,335,901 $ 940,210

Alibaba - as an advertiser 20,802 29,155 39,966 94,068 92,468

Subtotal 537,620 416,672 502,338 1,429,969 1,032,678

Value-added service 69,814 49,067 72,128 210,827 143,843

$ 607,434 $ 465,739 $ 574,466 $ 1,640,796 $ 1,176,521

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SOURCE Weibo Corporation