Insta360's revenue soared by 83%, but its profit was halved. The founder issued a shareholder letter for the first time to explain the reasons.
On the evening of April 28th, Insta360 simultaneously disclosed its annual report for 2025 and its first - quarter report for 2026. The company's annual revenue was approaching the 10 - billion - yuan mark, and the growth trend continued in the first quarter. However, the net profit attributable to the parent company declined in both periods. In his first letter to shareholders after the company's listing, Liu Jingkang, the founder of the company, stated bluntly that the company was sacrificing short - term profits to build long - term technological barriers.
The annual report data shows that Insta360 achieved a revenue of 9.741 billion yuan in 2025, a year - on - year increase of 74.76%, reaching a record high. The global market shares of its panoramic cameras and thumb cameras reached 66% and 57% respectively, firmly establishing its leading position in the niche markets. However, the net profit attributable to the parent company was 929 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 6.62%, and the net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non - recurring gains and losses was 850 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 10.09%. There was an obvious divergence between revenue and profit.
Core performance data of Insta360 in 2025
In 2026, this trend intensified. In the first quarter, the company's revenue was 2.481 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 83.11%, continuing the explosive growth. However, the net profit attributable to the parent company was only 84.6202 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 52.02%, almost halved. The net profit after deducting non - recurring gains and losses was 62.255 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 61.27%. The pressure on the profit side continued to be prominent.
Revenue and net profit of Insta360 in the first quarter
The core reason for this highly contrasting performance lies in Insta360's almost "aggressive" R & D investment, and the investment continued to increase in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
Throughout 2025, Insta360's R & D expenses reached as high as 1.53 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 96.95%. The R & D expense ratio rose to 15.70%. The investment scale exceeded the total of the three years from 2022 to 2024. The funds were mainly invested in the development of three new product categories: two types of drones, gimbal cameras, and wireless lapel microphones, as well as three custom - made chips. The investment in the above - mentioned items alone reached 762 million yuan, accounting for about 80% of the net profit in the same period.
In the first quarter of 2026, the pace of R & D investment did not slow down. The R & D expenses in a single quarter were 465 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 100.59%. The proportion of R & D expenses in revenue further increased. The strategic investment was 262 million yuan, more than three times the net profit in the current period. High - intensity R & D directly eroded short - term profits.
In response, Liu Jingkang, the founder of the company, explained in the letter to shareholders that Insta360 "saw extensive and far - from - satisfied customer needs." "Our cameras are no longer just for taking pictures. They can sense the scene, understand the content, and assist in creation. In the future, shooting and editing will be deeply integrated. The competition in the industry will no longer be just about hardware, but about the overall ability of hardware + software + data," Liu Jingkang said.
Liu Jingkang admitted that he felt some pressure from short - term storage costs, which might further increase in the future and affect the company's gross profit margin. "Several custom - made chips still require investment to ensure the company's future development and competitiveness. In addition, the in - depth integration of AI and the organization requires us to increase investment in IT and data infrastructure. These are part of the reasons for the short - term pressure on profits."
However, he also emphasized that the improvement of R & D and marketing efficiency, product design, and supply - chain integration would bring significant cost savings. The three new product categories, including gimbal cameras, microphones, and drones, are expected to be launched within the next year, transforming from "investment" to "revenue" and increasing profits.
According to Liu Jingkang's explanation, the decline in Insta360's profit is not due to a decline in competitiveness but is an inevitable cost of the company's expansion cycle.
In June 2025, Insta360 was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, entering a new stage of capitalization. In December of the same year, it launched the world's first 249g panoramic drone, "Yingling," entering the blue - ocean market. At the same time, the two - year intellectual property lawsuit with GoPro was resolved, removing obstacles in the overseas market.
In terms of channels, the number of the company's offline stores soared from 36 at the beginning of last year to nearly 300. The sales volume per store increased by nearly 50%. The global sales network covers more than 70 countries and regions, and the overseas revenue accounts for 69.03%. However, the expansion of channels also led to a simultaneous increase in marketing expenses. In 2025, the sales expenses were 1.679 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 103.31%, further squeezing the profit margin.
In addition, the increase in the prices of raw materials such as storage chips also had an impact on the company's gross profit margin. In 2025, the company's gross profit margin was 45.74%, showing a year - on - year decline. Multiple factors together led to pressure on profits.
In 2025, the net cash flow from operating activities of the company was 1.386 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 18.27%, showing a certain "self - generating ability." In addition, the company proposed a profit - distribution plan for 2025, planning to distribute 2.35 yuan in cash for every 10 shares, with a total cash distribution of 94.235 million yuan.
The financial report shows that currently, Insta360 has a total of 1,120 patents, and there are 2,180 R & D personnel, accounting for 55.16% of the total number of employees. AI has been fully integrated into R & D, customer service, and other aspects.
Liu Jingkang mentioned that AI is profoundly reshaping the company's organization. Insta360 has introduced AI Agents in various aspects such as R & D, marketing, supply chain, and users, continuously improving the organizational collaboration efficiency and promoting the upgrade of the organization from "human - driven" to "human - machine collaboration."
In the first quarter of 2026, 43% of Insta360's code was generated by AI. In 2025, more than 50% of the online customer - service volume was handled by AI, saving the company more than 10 million yuan. However, in Liu Jingkang's view, this is both a huge opportunity and a huge crisis. AI will comprehensively re - define the organizational structure, job skills, talent selection, cultivation, utilization, retention, and incentive design of many technology companies, and thus greatly affect the organizational efficiency of the company. A "company" will become more and more like a "product." Whether a technology company can deeply understand AI and organizational design and integrate them well will not only determine the upper limit of the company but also its survival.
Since its listing, Insta360's stock price soared from the issue price of 47.27 yuan to a high of 377.77 yuan, and its market value exceeded 100 billion yuan. However, since September 2025, the stock price has entered an adjustment period. As of the close on April 28, 2026, the stock price was reported at 189.62 yuan, with a total market value of 76.038 billion yuan, showing a significant decline from the high point.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Jiemian News," written by Song Jianan and published by 36Kr with authorization.