Tencent reported better-than-expected growth in its third-quarter results, increasing revenue by 15%. China’s largest social media and gaming company generated 192.9 billion yuan ($27.08 billion) in revenue, driven by strong gaming demand and rapidly expanding AI-powered services. Analysts had estimated 188.9 billion yuan according to LSEG data.
The company’s gaming revenue increased 15% domestically to 42.8 billion yuan, and 43% internationally to 20.8 billion yuan.
This growth was influenced by titles such as “Honor of Kings”, “Peacekeeper Elite”, and the newly released “Delta Force”. Advertising revenue also increased by 21% to 36.2 billion yuan, thanks to improved targeting capabilities due to artificial intelligence. Third-quarter capital expenditures reached 13 billion yuan. These investments coincide with a period of increased tension between China and the US, where export restrictions are making it difficult to acquire advanced AI chips from suppliers like Nvidia. Tencent previously stated that its stockpiled chips protected the company against these restrictions and that domestic alternative chips were also available. The company expanded AI integration across its entire ecosystem this year. Tencent integrated DeepSeek’s model into WeChat; this super application, with over 1 billion users, has a wide range of uses from messaging to payments. Furthermore, its ChatGPT-like chatbot, “Yuanbao,” has become one of the most popular AI assistants in China. Tencent also continues to develop its own technologies. In September, it introduced its “Hunyuan Image 3.0” text-to-image converter and launched its new services that convert text and images into 3D content. Tencent also continues to develop its own technologies. In September, it introduced its “Hunyuan Image 3.0” text-to-image converter and launched its new services that convert text and images into 3D content.
