This article only represents the author's own views.
Zhihu Inc. (ZH.US; 2390.HK), an online Q&A platform often called the “Quora of China,” is fond of saying that “every question has its answer.” But the company’s management may be stumped to answer the big question on investors’ minds about when Zhihu will ever become profitable. The company has been mired in red ink for the last 12 quarters, piling up nearly 3.4 billion yuan ($495 million) in combined losses over that time.
After the release of its third-quarter financial report last December, founder and Chairman Zhou Yuan confidently said the company would strive to achieve profitability soon. But three months later, such ambitions have faded and Zhou simply said he “will continue to optimize the user experience across the community and strengthen the company’s multiple growth engines,” in discussing the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year results. Zhihu shares rose 4.2% in New York after it released its latest earnings report last Wednesday, and rose by a similar 4.73% the next day in Hong Kong. But shares in both markets quickly gave back most of the gains the next day, reflecting mixed investor feelings on the company’s prospects.