In the first quarter, JOYY's globally diversified ecosystem continued to take shape, with its three business pillars—social entertainment, advertising, and e-commerce—bolstering one another in a self-reinforcing strategic flywheel. The Company's total revenues for the quarter grew 12.4% year over year to US$555.7 million, the highest year-over-year growth rate the Company has delivered in recent years. Social entertainment revenue was US$400.4 million, up 3.2% year over year, while the Company's second growth engine, BIGO Ads ad tech and SHOPLINE e-commerce, continued to scale with strong momentum. BIGO Ads contributed US$124.8 million, up 55.6% year over year, while SHOPLINE revenue increased 16.1% year over year to US$30.5 million. In the first quarter, non-GAAP[1] operating income and non-GAAP[1] EBITDA came in at US$38.0 million and US$45.7 million, up 22.5% and 13.2% year over year, respectively. Operating cash inflow for the quarter was US$46.0 million.
Simultaneously, JOYY announced a new share repurchase program, under which the Company is authorized to repurchase up to US$600 million of its shares until the end of 2028, and a new quarterly dividend program, under which a total of approximately US$900 million in cash will be distributed on a quarterly basis between 2026 and 2028. The new shareholder return program, totaling US$1.5 billion, represents a significant increase compared to the previous program (US$900 million) announced in 2025. From January 1 to May 22, 2026, JOYY had returned a total of US$156.8 million to shareholders through US$87.9 million in share repurchases and US$68.9 million in dividends, under its 2025 program.
Ms. Ting Li, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of JOYY, commented, "We delivered a strong start to 2026. Total revenues for the first quarter reached US$555.7 million, up by 12.4% year over year, our strongest year-over-year growth rate in recent years. This quarter marks the first time we are reporting results under our new three-segment structure: Social Entertainment, BIGO Ads, and SHOPLINE. Our AI-driven globally diversified ecosystem is taking shape with social entertainment, advertising, and e-commerce reinforcing one another in a powerful ...
