Weibo Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2018 Unaudited Financial Results

BEIJING, March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Weibo Corporation ("Weibo" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: WB), a leading social media in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

"We closed the year 2018 with a solid quarter," said Gaofei Wang, CEO of Weibo. "Weibo continued to expand user base and enhance user engagement amid fierce industry competition, with MAUs adding approximately 70 million during the year and reaching 462 million in December, and average DAUs crossing the 200 million mark," said Mr. Wang. "Heading into 2019, Weibo will continue to invest in platform development in multi-dimension, reinforce social content ecosystem to empower content creators, and capture higher wallet share in digital advertising budget as well as diversify monetization opportunities in the long run," Mr. Wang concluded.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights

• Net revenues were $481.9 million, an increase of 28% year-over-year.
• Advertising and marketing revenues were $417.0 million, an increase of 25% year-over-year.
• Value-added service ("VAS") revenues were $64.9 million, an increase of 44% year-over-year.
• Net income attributable to Weibo was $166.5 million, an increase of 27% year-over-year, and diluted net income per share was $0.73, compared to $0.58 for the same period last year.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo was $183.6 million, an increase of 26% year-over-year, and non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.80, compared to $0.64 for the same period last year.
• Monthly active users ("MAUs") were 462 million in December 2018, a net addition of approximately 70 million users on year over year basis. Mobile MAUs represented 93% of MAUs.
• Average daily active users ("DAUs") were 200 million in December 2018, a net addition of approximately 28 million users on year over year basis.

Fiscal Year 2018 Highlights

• Net revenues totaled $1.72 billion, an increase of 49% year-over-year.
• Advertising and marketing revenues were $1.50 billion, an increase of 50% year-over-year.
• VAS revenues were $219.3 million, an increase of 43% year-over-year.
• Net income attributable to Weibo was $571.8 million, an increase of 62% year-over-year, representing a net margin of 33%, compared to 31% in 2017. Diluted net income per share was $2.52, compared to $1.56 in 2017.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo was $624.2 million, an increase of 54% year-over-year, representing a non-GAAP net margin of 36%, compared to 35% in 2017. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $2.73, compared to $1.80 in 2017.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

For the fourth quarter of 2018, Weibo's total net revenues were $481.9 million, an increase of 28% compared to $377.4 million for the same period last year.

Advertising and marketing revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $417.0 million, an increase of 25% compared to $332.3 million for the same period last year, primarily driven by an increase of $91.5 million, or 31% growth in advertising and marketing revenues from small & medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") and key accounts.

VAS revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $64.9 million, an increase of 44% year-over-year compared to $45.1 million for the same period last year, mainly attributable to the incremental revenues from the newly acquired live broadcasting business in the fourth quarter 2018.

Costs and expenses for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $298.8 million, compared to $232.2 million for the same period last year. Other than the inclusion of marketing expenses related to barter transactions under the new revenue guidance as illustrated below, the increase in costs and expenses was primarily due to the incremental costs of revenue share incurred by the newly acquired live broadcasting business as well as the increase in personnel related costs and expenses. Non-GAAP costs and expenses were $295.5 million, compared to $220.0 million for the same period last year.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $183.0 million, compared to $145.3 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP income from operations was $186.4 million, compared to $157.5 million for the same period last year.

Non-operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $1.9 million, compared to a non-operating income of $1.7 million for the same period last year, mainly resulted from the impairment on investments of $12.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2018.

Income tax expenses were $14.9 million, compared to $17.0 million for the same period last year.

Net income attributable to Weibo for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $166.5 million, compared to $131.0 million for the same period last year. Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $0.73, compared to $0.58 for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $183.6 million, compared to $146.0 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $0.80, compared to $0.64 for the same period last year.

As of December 31, 2018, Weibo's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $1.83 billion. For the fourth quarter of 2018, cash provided by operating activities was $164.0 million, capital expenditures totaled $10.4 million, and depreciation and amortization expenses amounted to $5.8 million.

Fiscal Year 2018 Financial Results

For fiscal year 2018, Weibo's total net revenues were $1.72 billion, an increase of 49% compared to $1.15 billion in 2017.

Advertising and marketing revenues for 2018 were $1.50 billion, an increase of 50% compared to $996.7 million in 2017. Advertising and marketing revenues from SMEs and key accounts were $1.38 billion, an increase of 51% compared to $912.1 million for 2017, while advertising and marketing revenues from Alibaba was $117.7 million, compared to $84.7 million for 2017.

VAS revenues for 2018 were $219.3 million, an increase of 43% compared to $153.3 million for 2017. The increase was mainly attributable to the growth in membership revenues and revenues from the live broadcasting business.

Costs and expenses for 2018 totaled $1.11 billion, compared to $742.5 million for 2017. Other than the inclusion of marketing expense related to barter transactions under the new revenue guidance as illustrated below, the increase in costs and expenses was primarily resulted from the increase of sales and marketing expenses for user acquisition and channel investment, as well as the increase in personnel related costs and expenses. Non-GAAP costs and expenses were $1.06 billion, compared to $693.8 million for 2017.

Income from operations for 2018 was $609.3 million, compared to $407.6 million for 2017. Non-GAAP income from operations was $662.2 million, compared to $456.2 million for 2017.

Non-operating income for 2018 was $59.6 million, compared to $9.6 million in 2017, mainly resulted from the increase in interest income and fair value change of investments.

Income tax expenses were $96.2 million, compared to $66.7 million for the same period last year. The increase was mainly attributable to higher profits generated in the fiscal year 2018.

Net income attributable to Weibo for 2018 was $571.8 million, compared to $352.6 million in 2017. Diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo for 2018 was $2.52, compared to $1.56 in 2017. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo for 2018 was $624.2 million, compared to $405.7 million in 2017. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo for 2018 was $2.73, compared to $1.80 in 2017.

Financial Impact from New Revenue Guidance

As the Company adopted new revenue guidance ASC Topic 606 on January 1, 2018, results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2018 are presented under Topic 606 ('New Basis'), while results for prior periods are not adjusted and continue to be reported under Topic 605 ('Old Basis'), the Company's historic accounting method.

The Company's current period reported results which reflected the impact from the adoption of the new revenue guidance are as follows:

Business Outlook

For the first quarter of 2019, Weibo estimates its net revenues to be between $395 million and $405 million, or an increase of 20.5% year over year to 23.5% year over year on a constant currency basis. This forecast reflects the currency translation risks and assumes an average exchange rate of RMB 6.75 to US$1.00. This forecast also reflects Weibo's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call

Weibo's management team will host a conference call from 6AM - 7AM Eastern Time on March 5, 2019 (or 7 PM - 8 PM Beijing Time on March 5, 2019) to present an overview of the Company's financial performance and business operations. A live webcast of the call will be available through the Company's corporate website at http://ir.weibo.com.

The conference call can be accessed as follows:

A replay of the conference call will be available from 22:00 China Standard Time on March 6, 2019 to 20:59 China Standard Time on March 13, 2019. The dial-in number is +61 2-8199-0299. The passcode for the replay is 9178871.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP costs and expenses, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP net income attributable to Weibo, non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to Weibo 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, goodwill and acquired intangibles impairment, net results of impairment on, gain/loss on sale of and fair value change of investments, non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items for the income/loss attributable to non-controlling interests, provision for income tax related to the amortization of intangible assets and fair value change of investments (other non-GAAP to GAAP reconciling items have no tax effect), and amortization of convertible debt issuance cost. Adjusted EBITDA excludes interest income, net, income tax expenses, 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. It 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. Weibo has developed and is continuously refining its social interest graph recommendation engine, which enables its 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 Relations
Weibo Corporation
Phone: +86 10 5898-3336
Email: ir@staff.weibo.com