YEAHKA (9923.HK) released its first-half 2026 results on August 27, marking a fourth consecutive year of year-on-year profit growth in the first half. During the period, the company continued to optimize its business structure and client mix, which steadily enhanced profitability across its payment operations. Meanwhile, its AI and overseas ventures have transitioned from a "reserve phase" into a "release phase," emerging as the primary catalysts for the firm's earnings improvement.

In the first half of 2026, YEAHKA's payment business gross profit climbed approximately 24.9% year-on-year to RMB 244 million, lifting the overall gross margin from 23.3% to 28.8%. Net profit for the period reached RMB 41.92 million, delivering the strongest half-year profit margin since 2023 and sustaining four consecutive years of first-half profit growth. This performance underscores the effectiveness of the company's strategy of balancing scale with profitability. Overseas operations also hit multiple record highs, with gross payment volume (GPV) from Hong Kong, Macau, and international markets reaching approximately RMB 6 billion, a surge of 293.8% year-on-year. The profit contribution from these regions to the overall payment business has increased further, and YEAHKA projects this share will rise to roughly 50% within the next three years. Although the current proportion remains modest, the GPV growth rate of 293.8% and the overseas gross margin of 43.5% point to a clear pathway for achieving this target. As non-cash payment penetration continues to climb in overseas markets, coupled with higher fee rates and gross margins compared to the domestic market, the international segment is well-positioned to become a key pillar of YEAHKA's future earnings growth.

Driven by confidence in its long-term growth prospects and robust financial position, YEAHKA disclosed its share buyback activities during the reporting period and announced an interim dividend. The company stated that its board holds strong conviction in the business's long-term development and will consider measures such as share repurchases and dividend payments to continuously enhance shareholder returns, underscoring its firm belief in the company's operational outlook.

Three Core Businesses Steadily Improve Quality, Strengthening Profitability

During the first half of 2026, YEAHKA continued to shift its domestic payment operations from a scale-driven approach to one that balances scale with profitability. By offering more targeted solutions, focusing on chain and branded merchants, and leveraging AI to boost operational efficiency, the company has consistently improved the operational efficiency and earnings resilience of its payment business. Gross profit from payment operations rose approximately 24.9% year-on-year to RMB 244 million, driving the overall gross margin up from 23.3% to 28.8%. The continuously expanding payment ecosystem has further cemented YEAHKA's leading position in the domestic payment market. According to company disclosures, YEAHKA maintains partnerships with over 20,000 SaaS providers, agents, and major banks across China, which strengthens channel collaboration, enhances coordination efficiency, fortifies its strategic framework, and deepens its competitive moat while improving overall profitability-centric performance.

Alongside the ongoing quality enhancement of its payment business, YEAHKA's value-added services beyond payments are accelerating commercialization. Merchant solutions, leveraging AI technology advantages, have sustained high profit levels and continue to diversify revenue streams. In the first half of 2026, AI-generated video transaction volume under commercial solutions jumped 207% year-on-year to RMB 244 million, with related products winning multiple marketing creativity and performance awards from platforms such as ByteDance. The in-store e-commerce business also maintained rapid growth, with net profit and transaction volume reaching record highs, making it another profit growth driver for YEAHKA. In the first half of 2026, this segment's GMV exceeded RMB 3.225 billion, up over 75% year-on-year; revenue grew 21.2% year-on-year to RMB 31.14 million, while gross profit increased 26.0% to RMB 22 million, with the gross margin improving from 68% to 70.7%. Benefiting from improved gross profit and margins in both one-stop payment and in-store e-commerce, YEAHKA achieved a net profit of RMB 41.92 million for the first half of 2026, recording its best half-year profit margin since 2023 and a fourth consecutive year of first-half profit growth, reflecting the sustained effectiveness of its profit-focused strategy.

Overseas GPV Surges 293.8%, Unlocking Long-Term Growth Potential

As the domestic payment market transitions into a phase of intensifying competition over existing share, overseas markets are becoming a key incremental focus for YEAHKA. In the first half of 2026, supported by localized operations and expanded strategic partnerships, multiple metrics across Hong Kong, Macau, and international operations reached all-time highs. Payment GPV in these regions reached approximately RMB 6 billion, up 293.8% year-on-year, with a take rate of 63.1 basis points. The profit contribution to the overall payment business has grown further, with client coverage spanning retail, dining, and luxury verticals, and high retention rates among top-tier brand clients, including TWG, Chateraise, and Stefano Ricci.

From a market perspective, the overseas payment sector still holds significant potential for digitalization and non-cash payment growth. According to Worldpay's 2026 Global Payments Report, the global acquiring market surpassed USD 36 trillion in 2025, with merchant demand for non-cash payment and digital operational technologies continuing to rise. Non-cash payment penetration in certain developed regions remains below that of China's domestic market, offering further room for growth in payment and related commercial services. For YEAHKA, the core advantage of its overseas business lies not only in payments themselves but also in the localized export of its years of accumulated technical expertise, business models, and merchant service experience. Currently, YEAHKA provides payment and business operation services to merchants in Hong Kong, Macau, and international markets through local teams and localized products, while continuously refining its ecosystem of international card organizations, banks, and fintech partners. The company revealed that after obtaining a digital currency payment license in Arizona, United States, it has completed product development and plans to launch online payment operations in the US and Asia. In the second half of this year, transaction volume from its Japan operations is also expected to begin significant growth. Over the next three years, YEAHKA aims to raise the profit contribution from Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas operations to approximately 50% of the overall payment business.

AI Drives Core Commercial Engine, Accelerating Global Expansion

For YEAHKA, AI is evolving from a simple efficiency tool into a core capability woven through payment, marketing, customer service, and business operations. As a payment-based technology platform, YEAHKA leverages transaction and business operation data accumulated from years of merchant service to build an integrated, full-domain commercial enablement system covering payment, marketing, customer service, and business operation tools. This facilitates a more complete business loop for merchants, from customer acquisition and transaction conversion to user retention. In this process, AI is becoming a critical technological infrastructure connecting different business scenarios. In the first half of 2026, AI-generated video transaction volume in commercial solutions grew 207% year-on-year to RMB 244 million, with related products adopted by platforms including JD.com, Ctrip, Taobao Mobile, Dewu, and Flash Purchase, and earning multiple marketing creativity and performance breakthrough awards from platforms such as ByteDance.

In the in-store e-commerce segment, AI has further penetrated daily operations for merchants and influencers, using AI tools to enhance content production, operational management, and customer service efficiency, driving simultaneous growth in business scale and profitability. In the first half of 2026, in-store e-commerce GMV grew over 75% year-on-year, while AI virtual employees streamlined service processes and reduced costs, lifting the segment's gross margin above 70%. More notably, AI is driving the export of YEAHKA's business model to overseas markets and building sustained competitive barriers. The company's subsidiary, Fuqi, continues to advance AI-driven merchant service innovation overseas, with its AI Agent providing merchants with automated operational tools covering online and offline product inquiries, ordering, after-sales service, and marketing applications. This AI-powered commercial engine helps brands improve customer acquisition efficiency, transaction conversion rates, and user retention, driving intelligent upgrades in merchant services. Fuqi currently serves more than 220 international chain brands, with operations expanded to markets including Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In the first half of 2026, YEAHKA further onboarded major clients such as Seoul Garden, Asia Grand, and Jumbo, helping these customers boost transaction volumes.

On the internal operations front, YEAHKA's administrative and R&D expenses declined by a combined 8.1% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, reflecting a leaner operational structure. As AI continues to integrate with its full-stack technology foundation, YEAHKA is well-positioned to further automate business processes and unlock the long-term value of its technology investments. From payment to marketing, and from customer service to business operations, AI is progressively threading through YEAHKA's entire business chain. On one hand, AI helps the company enhance internal operational efficiency and reduce costs; on the other, it is giving rise to new products and services while enabling the replication of proven business models into overseas markets.

Looking ahead, YEAHKA's Chairman and CEO, Liu Yingqi, stated that the company will accelerate global business expansion while consolidating its domestic leadership and continuously enhancing commercialization. The plan is to replicate its validated international operating model across more high-growth markets, expand into scenarios such as offline acquiring, online payments, and AI-agent-based payments, and leverage AI to help merchants increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Internally, AI will further elevate organizational and R&D productivity; externally, the company will continue to deliver higher-value products and experiences while deepening synergies between payment and value-added services.