Hello Group Bets on Global Growth as Chinese Users Fade

BEIJING – March 18, 2026 – Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO) today revealed a company in transition, posting financial results that highlight a dramatic strategic pivot towards international markets to offset significant headwinds and a shrinking user base in its native China.

While total net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2025 saw a slight decrease of 2.3% year-over-year to RMB2.58 billion (US$368.3 million), this figure masks a starkly diverging performance between its domestic and overseas operations. The company's international business has become its undisputed growth engine, with overseas revenues surging an explosive 70.3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter to RMB608.2 million (US$87.0 million).

This international success story helped bolster the bottom line, with net income attributable to Hello Group climbing to RMB237.3 million (US$33.9 million) in the quarter, a significant increase from RMB187.2 million in the same period of 2024. For the full fiscal year 2025, however, the picture was more subdued, with total revenues down 1.9% and net income falling to RMB804.0 million from RMB1.04 billion in 2024.

"Our overseas business has posted exceptional results over the past year, fueled by organic product incubation and targeted mergers and acquisitions," commented Yan Tang, Chairman and CEO of Hello Group, in the earnings release. He declared that the overseas business has now "solidified as an important revenue contributor for the Group and stands as the key engine for our future overall growth."

A Global Pivot Amid Domestic Pressure

Hello Group's aggressive international expansion is a calculated response to mounting challenges at home. The 70.8% full-year overseas revenue growth, bringing the total to RMB 2.0 billion (US$286.0 million), demonstrates a successful execution of this strategy. Overseas revenue now constitutes 24% of the company's total revenue, a significant jump from just 14% a year prior.

This growth is not accidental. It is the result of a multi-pronged approach that includes both building new products and acquiring established ones. The company has found fertile ground in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with audio- and video-based social apps like SoulChill, which reportedly generated around $120 million in bookings in 2025. This success is being replicated with newer apps like Yaha Live and Amar.

A key part of this global push was the acquisition of the well-known European dating app Happn in September 2025. The move provided Hello Group with an immediate and significant foothold in Europe and Latin America and is being leveraged for further expansion into Asia and Africa. The strategic separation of its Tantan app into distinct domestic and international versions in late 2025 further signals a long-term commitment to tailored global growth by removing previous operational constraints.

Looking ahead, the company has set an ambitious target to grow its overseas revenue to approximately RMB 3 billion in 2026, solidifying its diversification away from the volatile Chinese market.

The Fading Allure of Core Apps

While Hello Group celebrates its international victories, its foundational domestic business is showing clear signs of strain. The company's core social and dating apps, Momo and Tantan, are facing a user exodus.

The most telling metric is the sharp drop in paying users. The Momo app, once the company's crown jewel, saw its paying user count plummet to 3.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 5.7 million in the same period of 2024. Tantan, its dating-focused counterpart, saw its paying user base shrink to just 0.6 million from 0.9 million year-over-year.

The company attributes this decline to "external factors that influenced the operational focus of certain broadcasters and agencies as well as the weak consumer sentiment on Momo app." Deeper analysis points to a fiercely competitive domestic landscape where super-apps like Douyin (China's version of TikTok) and Kuaishou, each with hundreds of millions of daily active users, dominate the attention and wallets of Chinese consumers. These platforms offer a vast array of social and entertainment features, including live streaming and virtual gifting, which directly compete with Momo's and Tantan's core monetization models.

Furthermore, evolving user preferences and what some analysts term "dating fatigue" are creating challenges for the entire industry. This combination of intense competition and a shrinking user base has led to a significant drop in revenue from the Chinese mainland, which fell from RMB2.28 billion in Q4 2024 to RMB1.97 billion in Q4 2025.

Rewarding Shareholders Amid a Strategic Shift

Despite the domestic revenue contraction and a cautious outlook, Hello Group is making a concerted effort to reward its investors. The board of directors declared a special cash dividend of US$0.28 per American Depositary Share (ADS), amounting to a total payout of approximately US$42.6 million. This marks the eighth consecutive year the company has issued a dividend, a move likely intended to signal stability and confidence to the market.

In addition to the dividend, the company has been actively buying back its own stock. As of March 18, 2026, Hello Group has repurchased 60.3 million ADSs for US$378.9 million, with US$107.2 million remaining under its current authorization. These capital return initiatives are supported by a strong, albeit decreasing, cash position, which stood at RMB8.68 billion (US$1.24 billion) at the end of 2025.

This commitment to shareholder returns presents a stark contrast to the company's forward-looking guidance. For the first quarter of 2026, Hello Group expects total net revenues to be between RMB2.3 billion and RMB2.4 billion, representing a year-over-year decrease of 4.8% to 8.8%. This forecast reflects the ongoing pressures in its domestic business, which are expected to continue to decline by low to mid-teens percentage-wise throughout 2026, underscoring the critical importance of its global gamble for the company's future.