Incorporated in the Cayman Islands in July, 2013, Meitu has grown into a global creative technology powerhouse united by a singular mission: to combine art and technology. The company operates through three reportable segments: Photo, Video and Design Products; Advertising; and Others, serving a diverse creator community spanning everyday users, key opinion leaders, professional designers, and small businesses.

With operations anchored in the People's Republic of China and expanding across international markets, Meitu has built a comprehensive portfolio of world-class creative applications designed to simplify photo, video and design production, while delivering exceptional user experiences.

Over FY 25, Meitu's paying subscriber base surged 34.1% y/y to 16.9 million, with productivity tools emerging as the star performer. The productivity segment alone captured 2.2 million subscribers, rocketing 67.4% y/y as merchants and professionals embraced AI-driven workflows that deliver outcomes comparable to traditional agencies at substantially lower costs.

International markets proved to be particularly fertile ground: paying subscribers from regions outside Mainland China more than doubled over the year, with subscription rates for productivity tools jumping 310bp to 9%. The company's monthly active user (MAU) base reached 276 million, with international MAU crossing the symbolic 100 million threshold—a testament to Meitu's product localization prowess and global execution agility.

The company achieved a technical milestone in FY 25 by integrating AI agent capabilities across most of its product portfolios, including flagship offerings: Designkit, Kaipai and Vmake. These domain-specialist agents, powered by fine-tuned meta prompts and industry-specific workflows, function as creative assistants that dynamically orchestrate foundational models and traditional editing tools.

International momentum accelerated in H2 25, with most new paying subscribers originating from high-average revenue per user (ARPU) regions including Europe, the Americas and East Asia—a strategic win that enhances monetization sustainability. Meitu further demonstrated its advertising innovation chops through GenAI-powered branded campaigns with McDonald's and Visa, delivering interactive content that strengthened brand engagement across France, Japan and Singapore.

A shining topline

This extensive AI rollout across Meitu's portfolio led to a robust hike of 28.8% y/y, totaling FY 25 revenue to CNY 3.9bn ($570m), up 30% from CNY 3bn in FY 24. The advance was also propelled almost entirely by the Photo, Video and Design Products segment, which surged 41.6% y/y to CNY 3bn and now commands 76.6% of the total revenue mix. In addition, Advertising revenue experienced a minor decline of 1.3% y/y to CNY 842.6m, while legacy businesses contributed CNY 62.1m.

Net profit attributable to owners from continuing operations declined 12.7% y/y to CNY 697.6m, weighed down by increased investment spending. Subsequently, EPS fell to CNY 0.12 from CNY 0.18 in FY 24.

Discounted optimism

Despite robust subscriber growth and international expansion, Meitu's equity has stumbled 11.4% over the trailing 12 months as investors digested the bottom-line contraction, leaving the company valued at CNY 17bn ($2.5bn). The stock now trades at a forward FY 26 P/E of just 14.2x, a dramatic compression from its 3-year average of 36.2x.

Analysts' stance is unanimous: all 11 analysts covering the stock have 'Buy' ratings on it, with a consensus target price of CNY 8.4, implying an impressive 125% upside potential from the share's current price of CNY 4.3.

The looming clouds

Meitu's aggressive pivot into AI-driven productivity tools has reshaped its revenue profile and unlocked international markets, yet the path forward isn't without landmines. Sustaining margin discipline while scaling infrastructure remains delicate, and intensifying competition from well-funded rivals could pressure pricing power.

Regulatory headwinds in key geographies and the inherent volatility of subscription retention add layers of uncertainty. For patient capital willing to look past near-term earnings volatility, the company's technology moat and global traction offer intriguing asymmetry—but execution missteps could quickly deflate the analyst community's bullish consensus.