Agora Inc (API)
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On Reddit, the ticker API is making the rounds, and the math sounds like a gift: Agora, the company behind the video and voice APIs inside many apps, holds more cash than the entire firm costs on the stock exchange — the business comes free, arithmetically. We read what Agora itself reported to the U.S. securities regulator — in the annual report for foreign private issuers (20-F) for 2025 and the interim reports (6-K) through June 2026: a genuine turnaround with six profitable quarters in a row, but also an operating loss that only interest income covers, a tax trap called PFIC, a Shanghai headquarters project the size of half the company's market value — and a founder holding 86.2 percent of the votes. Not investment advice — just the recount of whether the stock market ever really gives something away.
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AI Rating
Sells AIKI ist bei Agora eine dokumentierte Umsatzquelle: Die im März 2025 gestartete Conversational-AI-Engine ist ein eigenes, nutzungsbasiert abgerechnetes Produkt (Voice-AI-Agenten für Kundenservice, Lern-Apps, smarte Geräte), das die Firma im 20-F als Kern der Wachstumsstrategie führt; im Q1 2026 kam mit Agent Studio eine No-Code-Plattform dazu. Die Berichte weisen Conversational-AI-Produkte ausdrücklich in Kosten- und Margenkommentaren aus (Umsatzkosten +29,9 % u. a. wegen "costs related to conversational AI products"; Bruttomarge gedrückt, weil die KI-Produkte "at a sub-scale stage" laufen) — die Firma bezeichnet sich selbst als "a pioneer and leader in conversational AI and real-time engagement technology".
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„In March 2025, we launched our conversational AI engine, empowering developers to build voice AI agents that converse with humans naturally. Our conversational AI engine has been adopted in various scenarios, including customer service, online learning and tutoring, and smart devices such as companionship toys."
Im März 2025 haben wir unsere Conversational-AI-Engine gestartet, mit der Entwickler Voice-AI-Agenten bauen können, die natürlich mit Menschen sprechen. Unsere Conversational-AI-Engine wird bereits in verschiedenen Szenarien eingesetzt, darunter Kundenservice, Online-Lernen und -Nachhilfe sowie smarte Geräte wie Begleit-Spielzeuge.
„During the quarter, we enhanced our conversational AI portfolio with the launch of Agent Studio, a no-code platform that enables customers to rapidly build, deploy, and scale voice AI agents, alongside purpose-built agent templates for customer service and outbound marketing."
Im Laufe des Quartals haben wir unser Conversational-AI-Portfolio mit dem Start von Agent Studio erweitert — einer No-Code-Plattform, mit der Kunden Voice-AI-Agenten schnell bauen, ausrollen und skalieren können, ergänzt um vorgefertigte Agenten-Vorlagen für Kundenservice und Outbound-Marketing.
„Cost of revenues was $13.8 million in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 29.9% from $10.6 million in the same period last year, primarily due to increases in bandwidth and server costs and costs related to conversational AI products."
Die Umsatzkosten lagen im ersten Quartal 2026 bei 13,8 Millionen US-Dollar, ein Anstieg um 29,9 Prozent gegenüber 10,6 Millionen im Vorjahreszeitraum — vor allem wegen gestiegener Bandbreiten- und Serverkosten sowie Kosten im Zusammenhang mit den Conversational-AI-Produkten.
Filings Reviewed: 6-K 2026-06-01 · 6-K 2026-05-28 · 6-K 2026-03-03 · 6-K 2025-11-20 · 20-F 2026-04-15 · 20-F 2025-04-15
Rated on July 15, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | -0.10 | 77.80 | 34 | 0.50 | -27.00 | -8 | -12 |
| 2024: Q3 | -0.26 | -13.10 | 32 | -9.80 | -76.60 | -5 | -17 |
| 2024: Q4 | 0.00 | 105.30 | 35 | -4.40 | 0.50 | 5 | -9 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.00 | 104.00 | 33 | 0.80 | 1.20 | 18 | 7 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.01 | 114.90 | 34 | 0.10 | 4.30 | 0 | -4 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.03 | 110.70 | 35 | 12.00 | 7.80 | 1 | -12 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.05 | 3,081.30 | 38 | 10.70 | 12.90 | 9 | 5 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.01 | 195.00 | 38 | 13.80 | 2.90 | 6 | -4 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
A pioneer and, by its own account, leading provider of real-time engagement APIs with a genuine AI option (conversational AI engine since March 2025, Agent Studio since Q1 2026, TEN framework with 9,400+ GitHub stars) — but split in two: the Agora brand grows (+16.1 percent in 2025), the Shengwang brand in China shrinks (−3.5 percent, net retention 89 percent).
Restructuring delivered: first profitable year since 2018 ($9.5 million net in 2025 after −$120.4 million in 2022), six profitable quarters in a row, operating cash flow +$27.2 million (2025), growth accelerating to +13.5 percent in Q1 2026, Q2 2026 guidance of +13.7 to +16.6 percent (annual and interim reports).
The net profit hangs on the interest drip: 2025 operating result −$9.4 million against $15.1 million of interest income, Q1 2026 operating −$1.6 million against $3.4 million of interest; the interest source is falling ($18.8 → $15.1 million, 2023–2025), and the AI products press on the gross margin (63.4 after 68.0 percent in Q1 2026).
Liquidity of $366.1 million (March 31, 2026) above the market value (~$357 million, July 15, 2026), equity of $562.8 million, barely any financial debt beyond $80.4 million of construction borrowings; only 10 percent of deposits in mainland China — but part of the cash is migrating into the Shanghai headquarters (land approx. RMB 2.5 billion).
A Cayman holding filing as a foreign private issuer (20-F/6-K), the Shengwang business under sweeping oversight by Beijing (quoted in the risk chapter), the HFCAA delisting scenario and a likely PFIC status for 2025 with adverse U.S. tax consequences. On the plus side: the former VIE structure was terminated in January 2025 — one link fewer in the chain.
Founder Tony Zhao holds, via all Class B shares (20 votes each), 86.2 percent of the votes on 27.0 percent of the capital (March 31, 2026) — a "controlled company" with effectively zero say for outside holders. At the same time he acts shareholder-friendly: $156.2 million of buybacks, share count −25 percent, a personal purchase plan of up to $20 million (June 1, 2026).
Agora is no empty hype ticker: the restructuring is delivered, growth is picking back up, the cash exceeds the market value, and instead of dilution there are a quarter fewer shares. But the supposed gift has footnotes: the profit comes from interest on the cash, not from the business; the structure stays wedged between Beijing's oversight and Washington's delisting clause; the likely PFIC status scares off U.S. buyers; and everything is decided by a founder with 86.2 percent of the votes — most recently in favor of a headquarters project the size of half the market value. The stock looks cheap for good reasons; it is a gift only if the operating result breaks through zero before the interest source dries up. Not investment advice.
- API landed on our research list through our Reddit hype scanner (ApeWisdom data): 6 mentions in 24 hours as of July 15, 2026. Forum mentions are sentiment signals, not quality signals. Our fundamental scanners (Russell 3000 universe) do not cover the Cayman-incorporated ADR by design.
- Agora is registered as a foreign private issuer and files Forms 20-F (annual report, filed for 2025 on April 15, 2026) and 6-K (interim reports) instead of 10-K/10-Q; quarterly figures are unaudited attachments to 6-K filings. The former VIE structure was terminated in January 2025.
- The market value figure is dated July 15, 2026 (about $357 million); analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument. RMB amounts follow the period-end rates stated in the filings (12/31/2025: 6.9931 RMB per USD).
About the Company
Agora, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of a real-time engagement platform-as-a-service in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and internationally. Its RTE-PaaS platform enables real-time engagement for concurrent end users which offers real-time engagement offerings, such as video calling, voice calling, live streaming, chat, signaling, conversational AI engine, and convo AI device kit. The company also provides extensions, including analytics, media services, Interactive whiteboard, Real-time speech-to-text, and Real-time translation. It operates under the Agora and Shengwang brands. Agora, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
| IPO Year | 2020 |
|---|
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 20, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.