Joyoung's IP New Path Underway: Derivatives GMV Doubled

How AI Technology Becomes the Key to Growth in Web Novel IP Derivatives

Author | Huang Yu

While the content industry is anxious about whether “AI will replace creators,” Yuewen Group has presented a new approach to solving this puzzle.

On March 17, Yuewen Group (00772.HK) released its 2025 full-year financial report, showing that over the past year, this “IP leader” has been attempting to transform from a “literature platform” into a “global IP factory” by deeply integrating AI technology with the entire industry chain amid industry adjustments.

Data shows that in 2025, Yuewen achieved revenue of 7.37 billion yuan, a 9.3% decrease year-over-year. Although revenue fluctuated due to the downturn in film and television, the “second growth curve” hidden in the detailed financial data demonstrated remarkable explosive growth: AI comic dramas revenue exceeded 100 million yuan, and GMV of IP derivatives doubled.

Amid revenue fluctuations, Yuewen’s profitability was also impacted by non-recurring factors.

In 2025, Yuewen recorded a loss of 776 million yuan. However, this was mainly due to an impairment loss of 1.8 billion yuan related to New Lili Media’s goodwill. Excluding such impacts, Yuewen’s Non-IFRS net profit attributable to the parent was 860 million yuan.

In terms of revenue composition, online business contributed 4.05 billion yuan last year, roughly the same as 2024. Although copyright operation revenue decreased to 3.19 billion yuan due to project delays, its internal structure is undergoing a qualitative change—an increasing proportion of short dramas, comic dramas, and derivatives.

This reflects a industry consensus: in the era of stock competition, simple traffic monetization has reached a ceiling. How to deeply explore the marginal value of individual IP is the real “life and death line” for giants in long-form video and digital publishing.

Under the “IP + AI” strategy, Yuewen’s AI comic drama business made a breakthrough last year. Since its launch in the second half of 2025, nearly 1,000 AI comic dramas have been released, including 12 titles like “Daming Virtuous Son-in-Law” and “Eerie Fate Mark,” each with over 100 million views, rapidly driving this business’s revenue past 100 million yuan.

Meanwhile, Yuewen’s IP derivatives business continued to grow rapidly, with annual GMV surpassing 1.1 billion yuan, more than double that of 2024, setting a new record.

To accelerate IP monetization, Yuewen’s IP derivatives business experienced a systematic explosion in 2025.

Driven by product, channel, operation, and ecosystem engines, the GMV of IP derivatives last year exceeded 1.1 billion yuan, more than double 2024, reaching a historic high. Main IPs like “The King’s Avatar” and “The Mystical Lord” are continuously converting traffic into real revenue.

According to the financial report, the deep application of AI technology has also become a “super accelerator” for Yuewen’s overseas expansion. By the end of 2025, the number of AI-translated WebNovel works under Yuewen exceeded 17,000, contributing over one-third of the platform’s total revenue.

Regarding future development, Yuewen Group CEO and President Hou Xiaonan clarified three core strategies for 2026 in an internal letter: “Evergreen Content, IP + AI, and Globalization.”

He believes that the faster AI develops, the more valuable original content becomes, and the value of good stories will be amplified. Yuewen’s goal is not only to produce blockbuster hits but also to extend the lifecycle of IP through film and TV adaptations, derivatives, and trendy toys, creating “long-lasting IP.”

On the path to maximizing IP value, Yuewen still faces industry cycle challenges. It is unavoidable to consider how to maintain “quality” in the high-growth short drama track and how to balance technological efficiency with the originality of literature and art amid the AI wave—these are the essential questions for management.