BOSS Zhipin (Minutes): Customer Renewal Rebounds, Growth Rate Bottoms Out and Recovers

The following is organized by Dolphin Research$Kanzhun(BZ.US) FY25Q3 Earnings Call Minutes, for earnings interpretation please visit《BOSS Zhipin: Lacking Surprises, but Strength Remains》

I. Review of Core Financial Data

Performance Overview:

Revenue: Total revenue for the third quarter was RMB 2.16 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%.

Profit: According to US GAAP, net profit was RMB 780 million, a year-on-year increase of 67.2%, with a net profit margin of 35.8%; adjusted operating profit increased by 49.3% year-on-year.

Users and Clients: Verified monthly active users reached 53.82 million; the number of corporate clients over the past 12 months reached 6.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%.

Cash Flow and Reserves: Net cash flow from operating activities was RMB 1.2 billion; cash reserves reached RMB 19.2 billion.

II. Detailed Information from the Call

2.1 Key Information from Executive Statements

1. Growth Drivers: The primary driver is the continuous growth of EBIT supported by increased penetration and market share expansion, with user scale growth accompanied by strong user activity.

The second growth driver comes from the release of demand on the corporate side, enhancing data monetization capabilities;the simultaneous increase in daily active users and job seekers on the corporate side marks the first synchronized growth in three years.

The balance of supply and demand on the platform continues to optimize the ratio of corporate users to job seekers, with quarterly active user payment rates achieving growth both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.

2. Current Status of Corporate Service Demand:

Industry Dimension:Manufacturing remains the strongest sector,achieving revenue growth for five consecutive quarters; transportation, logistics warehousing, and solar industries show steady growth; the white-collar sector is led by industries such as artificial intelligence, internet services, lifestyle services, and new retail.

Geographical Perspective: Demand in first-tier cities is recovering, while revenue contributions from third and fourth-tier cities continue to increase.

Enterprise Scale:Mutual-benefit enterprises with a scale of [500 to 9999 people] are growing the fastest.

3. Review and Strategy: Three years ago, the company's recruitment strategy for manufacturing job seekers was divided into three stages: improving the online job-seeking environment for blue-collar workers, developing user scale platforms, and pursuing commercial benefits in renewable scale; in 2022, the platform was launched to provide cultural authenticity, job and salary information for blue-collar workers, and enhance tracking functions.

4. Product and Technology Progress:

The job-seeking system is fully open to all job seekers, recommending positions based on user inquiries and providing income optimization advice; the product was fully implemented in the third quarter, with significant quarter-on-quarter growth in user interactions with job-seeking assistants.

The AI interview culture function continues to be optimized, with the number of job seekers completing in-depth interviews increasing compared to the first quarter, improving activity and conversion rates.

5. Recruiter Services: Multiple AI products are gradually being launched, equipped with full-process data tracking capabilities; AI communication functions are integrated into existing products, increasing the average two-way conversion rate by 7%; AI rapid recruitment products are being promoted in the first batch, enhancing matching accuracy; AI temporary functions are extended to multiple well-known clients, supporting multi-scenario and customized resume template generation.

Exploring AI bulk recruitment services and AI intelligent job matching solutions for diverse scenarios such as high-end white-collar, gold-collar, and manufacturing, which have gradually shown benefits.

6. Cautious Attitude: Allowing job seekers to know they are communicating with an AI system and providing a button to terminate the service at any time; continuously observing the impact of AI intervention on neutrality and the recruitment ecosystem.

7. Financial Outlook: Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 is expected to continue the growth momentum, reaching RMB 2.05 billion to RMB 2.07 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.4% to 13.5%.

2.2 Q&A Session

Q: What is the recent overall recruitment demand? Is the improvement in unemployment rate a seasonal factor or a leading indicator of macro recovery? What factors contributed to the acceleration of your company's growth in the third quarter?

A:From the data, corporate recruitment activities mainly recovered in the third quarter.For example, the job-seeking demand of this year's graduates decreased year-on-year, while the number of positions released by companies for graduates achieved double-digit growth. The cumulative employment pressure over the years was greatly released in the third quarter, with the ratio of job seekers to recruiters among active users on the platform improving year-on-year, and the number of new positions also increasing quarter-on-quarter. The number of new white-collar positions increased significantly quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Based on these observations, it can be concluded that the improvement in recruitment demand drove our growth.

Q: As the end of the year approaches, what is your perception of current client renewal intentions? Are there any noticeable trends in client renewal rates or renewal amounts?

A: The company's contracts are renewed at different times. Since the beginning of this year, we have witnessed continuous improvement in contract renewal rates, especially in the third quarter.The company's net dollar retention rate at the company level has started to rebound for the first time in the past two years, indicating a potential turning point.This situation is not only occurring among key clients but also among small and medium-sized enterprises. The company's renewal situation has improved both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, once again proving that recruitment demand is recovering healthily.

Q: How much can the company's share in corporate recruitment budgets increase? How do you maintain growth above peers? If macro improvements occur next year, will you consolidate your leading position or face more intense competition? What is your view on the profit margin trend for next year? What are the main investment areas? Will you continue to prioritize profit or lean towards investing in growth?

A:Our number of paid corporate clients increased by 13.3% to 6.8 million, most of which are small enterprises.With over 40 million market entities in China, our proportion of paid clients is still small, so even in such a macro environment, we have ample room for market share growth. When demand improves, we can enjoy faster revenue growth. In terms of competition, clients are more inclined to choose providers with better return on investment and service flexibility, where we have an advantage.

Regarding profit margins, the current high profit margin is a strategic choice of the company, reflecting effective bilateral network effects, deep market penetration, and efficient and smooth internal management operations. It can be predicted that profit margins will continue to improve next year, but we will not pursue profit at the expense of revenue growth. Our strategy is to better serve users, achieving higher revenue growth compared to pursuing profit margins as a higher priority.We plan to serve 35 million new verified users next year.

Q: What progress has been made in exploring different recruitment verticals? What potential impact does this have on our services and long-term amortization?

How does management view the competitive landscape between traditional recruitment platforms and general AI companies like OpenAI entering the recruitment industry?

A: In experiments combining AI with human activities, we have found some interesting insights. For example, when clients know the other party is AI, they control their emotions and do not use intense language. In AI interactive products, many job seekers repeatedly use the service. These findings tell us that when applying technology to scenarios such as recruitment matching, we need to be very cautious. For more than two years, there has not been a killer application in the industry, which actually gives us more time to think about how to integrate with new technologies.

In specific segments of blue-collar and white-collar recruitment, such as full-cycle or half-cycle recruitment services, we have been actively but very cautiously trying. Some results have been achieved, but it is not yet at the stage of large-scale promotion of new functions.

Regarding leading technology companies with AI capabilities entering the recruitment industry, we believe that the combination of new technology and the industry may bring revolutionary changes. The key bottleneck in combining AI with recruitment services is not computing power; high-quality data is crucial. In this regard, existing participants in the industry have a certain degree of advantage.

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