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Meitu Inc. reported its business update for the third quarter of 2026, with net paid subscriber additions of about 1.39 million, a four-quarter high, bringing the total to 19.83 million. Paid subscriber growth in international markets continued to outpace mainland China. ARR for AI productivity applications reached CNY 655 million (approximately $98.2 million), up 40.1% year over year, with ARR at Kaipai and Vmake Labs each more than tripling from a year earlier. Revenue from the core imaging and design products business rose 28.2% year over year to CNY 1 billion (approximately $149.9 million). Productivity application revenue grew 42.3% and accounted for about 20% of the total, while lifestyle application revenue grew 27.9% and accounted for about 80%. The group exited its copyright photo album business before the end of 2025, and productivity application growth is calculated on a comparable basis.
Key Elements
Meitu Inc. (1357.HK) reported its latest business update for the third quarter of 2026, with net paid subscriber additions of about 1.39 million in the quarter, setting a new high for the past four quarters. As of the end of September this year, the group’s total paid subscribers reached 19.83 million, with paid subscriber growth in international markets continuing to outpace that in mainland China.
On revenue, annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Meitu’s AI productivity applications reached CNY 655 million (approximately $98.2 million), up 40.1% year over year. Notably, ARR at its Kaipai and Vmake Labs products each more than tripled from a year earlier, becoming the main drivers of growth in the overall productivity application business.
Productivity Applications Emerge as Growth Engine as Revenue Mix Continues to Shift
Revenue from Meitu’s core imaging and design products business (unaudited) grew 28.2% year over year in the third quarter to CNY 1 billion (approximately $149.9 million). Breaking down the business mix, productivity application revenue rose 42.3% year over year and accounted for about 20% of imaging and design product revenue, while lifestyle application revenue grew 27.9% and accounted for about 80%. The group said the lifestyle application figures reflect continued user demand and monetization momentum in that segment.
Exit From Copyright Photo Album Business Raises Comparable Base
Regarding the high growth rate for productivity applications, Meitu noted specifically that the group exited its copyright photo album business before the end of 2025. The 42.3% year-over-year increase is calculated on a comparable basis, excluding CNY 13.7 million (approximately $2.1 million) in revenue contributed by that legacy business in the third quarter of 2025, in order to more accurately reflect the underlying growth trend of the productivity applications themselves.
Looking over a longer horizon, Meitu’s operating focus in recent quarters has clearly shifted from pure imaging tools toward AI-integrated commercial productivity use cases. Net paid subscriber additions of 1.39 million in the quarter, a four-quarter high, combined with 40% ARR growth in productivity applications, show that the company is gradually building a scaled revenue base in subscription monetization and AI application deployment.
International Markets Lead Growth, a Key Focus Going Forward
One focus for the market is that paid subscriber growth in Meitu’s international markets continues to outpace the mainland China market. Amid intense competition and high traffic costs in mainland China’s consumer app market, rising subscription penetration in overseas markets is seen as a keye
From a <a href="https://bitcomme.com/why-bread-financial-bfh-stock-is-down-today/” title=”Why Bread Financial (BFH) stock is down today”>financial structure perspective, productivity applications currently account for only 20% of imaging and design product revenue, but their growth rate is clearly higher than that of lifestyle applications. If the trend continues, their revenue share is expected to rise gradually and help improve the overall ARPU (average revenue per user) structure. However, the productivity application user base is relatively small, and whether it can expand absolute scale while maintaining high growth remains a metric to track in coming quarters.
Overall, Meitu delivered third-quarter results featuring record net paid user additions for the past four quarters and 40% year-over-year ARR growth in AI productivity applications. Combined with international markets outpacing mainland China, this provides new growth support for its subscription-based business model. Changes in the revenue mix between productivity applications and lifestyle applications will be the main gauge for judging the progress of the group’s transformation.
