iQIYI Inc (IQ)
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On Reddit, the ticker IQ is popping up again, and the math looks temptingly simple: China's streaming pioneer, $3.90 billion in annual revenue, on sale for barely more than a quarter of that. We read what iQIYI 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 July 2026: revenue that has been shrinking since 2023, a $1.7 billion hole in working capital, a debt wall in early 2028 with a built-in 30 percent premium — and a legal structure in which you do not buy a single share of the companies that run the business. Not investment advice — just the answer to what is actually inside the box on the bargain table.
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Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
Uses AIiQIYI setzt KI dokumentiert operativ ein — Large Language Models für Tagging und Suchintention, den KI-Agenten Taodou als Assistent, iQuickReel für automatische Kurzvideo-Erstellung sowie den seit März 2026 im offenen kommerziellen Test befindlichen Produktions-Agenten Nadou Pro; erklärtes Ziel laut Q1-2026-Bericht ist die Senkung der Produktionskosten und Beschleunigung der Produktionszyklen. Eine eigene KI-Umsatzquelle weisen 20-F und 6-K nicht aus (Erlössäulen: Abos, Werbung, Content-Distribution, Sonstiges) — daher „nutzt“, nicht „verkauft“.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„We have utilized large language models to enhance the accuracy of tagging and understanding search query intents."
Wir haben große Sprachmodelle eingesetzt, um die Genauigkeit der Verschlagwortung und das Verständnis von Suchanfrage-Absichten zu verbessern.
„Looking ahead, we are leveraging AI to reduce content production costs, accelerate production cycles, and expand our content ecosystem."
Mit Blick nach vorn nutzen wir KI, um die Kosten der Inhalteproduktion zu senken, Produktionszyklen zu beschleunigen und unser Content-Ökosystem auszubauen.
„The Company recently launched open commercial testing for Nadou Pro, its proprietary AI agents and the first in China designed specifically for professional long-form video generation."
Das Unternehmen hat kürzlich den offenen kommerziellen Test von Nadou Pro gestartet, seinen eigenen KI-Agenten und den ersten in China, der speziell für die professionelle Erstellung von Langform-Videos entwickelt wurde.
Filings Reviewed: 20-F 2026-03-16 · 20-F 2025-03-27 · 6-K 2026-07-02 · 6-K 2026-05-18 · 6-K 2026-03-30 · 6-K 2026-02-26
Rated on July 15, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 0.25 | -59.00 | 7,439 | -4.70 | 0.90 | 411 | 383 |
| 2024: Q3 | 0.50 | -21.90 | 7,246 | -9.60 | 3.20 | 243 | 243 |
| 2024: Q4 | -0.06 | -108.60 | 6,613 | -14.20 | -2.90 | 519 | 474 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.31 | -64.40 | 7,187 | -9.30 | 2.50 | 339 | 317 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.02 | -92.00 | 916 | -87.70 | -2.00 | -13 | -34 |
| 2025: Q3 | -0.15 | -130.00 | 934 | -87.10 | -3.70 | -268 | -290 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.01 | 116.70 | 6,794 | 2.70 | -0.10 | 46 | 0 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.24 | -177.40 | 6,226 | -13.40 | -4.70 | 186 | 110 |
- 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
China's streaming pioneer with $3.90 billion of 2025 revenue, a leading position in long-form series (domestic viewership market leadership per the Q1 2026 report) and genuine side options: a growing overseas business, theme parks (iQIYI LAND since February 8, 2026), AI video production (Nadou Pro) — but the core business is shrinking for the second year.
Revenue down 7 percent in both 2024 and 2025, down 13 percent in Q1 2026 — all four revenue pillars declining; RMB 1.93 billion of net income (2023) became a 2025 loss of RMB 206.3 million and minus RMB 294.6 million in Q1 2026; 2025 free cash flow just RMB 10.0 million (annual and interim reports).
A working capital deficit of RMB 11.8 billion ($1.7 billion) as of December 31, 2025, gross debt of $2.11 billion; in early 2028, roughly $1.03 billion can come due within eleven weeks (PAG notes incl. the 30 percent premium, put of the 2030 notes) — against $578.4 million of cash, with $636.6 million tied up as a loan to creditor PAG (March 31, 2026).
Per the annual report, buyers expressly acquire no equity in the operating VIE companies, only in a Cayman holding with contractual claims; regulatory shifts threaten "severe penalties" up to the loss of those claims. Add the HFCAA shadow (already on the SEC list in 2022); the filed Hong Kong secondary listing (March 30, 2026) is insurance, but not secured.
Baidu holds 45.1 percent of the shares but 89.1 percent of the votes (February 28, 2026) and, since July 2, 2026, also supplies the CFO in Ying Tian (previously CFO of Baidu AI Cloud); free ADS buyers hold 10.9 percent of the voting weight combined. The PAG entanglement ($636.6 million lent to the company's own creditor, collateral released) is an additional concentration risk.
Positive operating cash flow in every year since 2022, the 2026 and 2028 notes almost fully retired (residual $0.1 million and $0.3 million as of March 31, 2026), a buyback program of up to $100 million and record overseas membership revenue (Q1 2026) — the company acts instead of merely hoping.
iQIYI is no empty box: billions in revenue, market leadership in Chinese long-form series, positive operating cash flow and real options from Southeast Asia to the theme park. But the bargain-table price of about $1.09 billion (July 15, 2026) buys a Cayman shell with no equity in the operating companies, a $1.7 billion working-capital deficit, a debt wall in early 2028 with a contractual 30 percent premium, and a majority owner holding 89.1 percent of the votes. Cheap the stock undeniably is — a bargain only if the content cycle, the refinancing and two governments all cooperate at once. Not investment advice.
- IQ landed on our research list through our Reddit hype scanner (ApeWisdom data): 9 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 Chinese ADR by design.
- iQIYI is registered as a foreign private issuer and files Forms 20-F (annual report, filed for 2025 on March 16, 2026) and 6-K (interim reports) instead of 10-K/10-Q; quarterly figures are unaudited attachments to 6-K filings.
- The market value figure is dated July 15, 2026 (about $1.09 billion); 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; 03/31/2026: 6.8980 RMB per USD).
About the Company
iQIYI, Inc. provides online entertainment video services in the People's Republic of China. The company operates a platform that provides a collection of internet video content, such as professionally produced content licensed from professional content providers and self-produced content. It also engages in the production, aggregation, and distribution of online long-form videos, micro dramas, micro animations, micro variety shows, edited video clips, and video blogs; and provision of experience services, online mobile games, comics, and others. In addition, the company provides membership, online brand and performance-based advertising, and content distribution services. Further, it is involved in the talent agency and IP licensing activities. The company was formerly known as Qiyi.com, Inc. and changed its name to iQIYI, Inc. in November 2017. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. iQIYI, Inc. is a subsidiary of Baidu Holdings Limited.
| IPO Year | 2018 |
|---|
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.