Zhihu (ZH) Cash Flow: Operating & Free Cash Flow

Zhihu Cash Flow Statement Analysis

Values in billions CNY

Income Statement Balance Sheet Cash Flow Ratios

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Cash flow statement showing operating, investing, and financing activities for Zhihu Inc. (ZH) - Annual data in billions CNY
Breakdown	FY 2025	FY 2024	FY 2023	FY 2022	FY 2021	FY 2020	FY 2019
Period ending	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020	Dec 2019
Operating Activities
Net Income	-0.20	-0.17	-0.84	-1.58	-1.30	-0.52	-1.00
Depreciation & Amortization	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.02
Deferred Income Tax	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Stock Based Compensation	0.09	0.06	0.09	0.37	0.55	0.18	0.18
Change in Working Capital	0.24	-0.08	-0.17	-0.13	0.29	-0.01	0.09
Change in Accounts Receivable	0.09	0.21	0.06	-0.13	-0.37	-0.26	-0.06
Change in Inventory	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.04	0.05
Change in Accounts Payable	-0.15	-0.18	-0.25	-0.09	0.52	0.21	0.04
Change in Other Working Capital	0.03	-0.11	-0.01	0.01	0.11	-0.01	0.06
Other Operating Activities	-0.10	-0.10	-0.01	0.20	0.00	0.08	0.00
Net Cash from Operating Activities	-0.36	-0.28	-0.36	-1.11	-0.44	-0.24	-0.72
Investing Activities
Capital Expenditures	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	-0.01	0.00	-0.01
Acquisitions	-0.06	0.01	-0.06	-0.06	-0.03	0.00	0.00
Purchases of Investments	-14.17	-9.81	-14.17	-14.26	-11.38	-8.48	-4.71
Sales/Maturities of Investments	14.06	12.36	14.06	17.81	8.29	8.91	2.62
Other Investing Activities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Cash from Investing Activities	-0.12	2.56	-0.12	3.49	-3.14	0.43	-2.10
Financing Activities
Debt Repayment	0.00	0.00	-0.16	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Common Stock Issued	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.85	0.00	0.00
Common Stock Repurchased	-0.17	-0.40	-0.17	-0.13	0.00	0.00	0.00
Other Financing Activities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.02	0.01	3.00
Net Cash from Financing Activities	-0.13	-0.40	-0.13	-0.11	4.88	0.01	3.00
Summary
Effect of Forex Changes on Cash	-0.02	0.01	-0.02	0.10	-0.10	-0.14	0.01
Net Change in Cash	-0.63	1.89	-0.63	2.37	1.20	0.06	0.19
Cash at Beginning of Period	4.53	2.11	4.00	2.16	0.96	0.90	0.71
Cash at End of Period	2.11	4.00	3.37	4.53	2.16	0.96	0.90
Free Cash Flow	-0.36	-0.28	-0.37	-1.12	-0.45	-0.25	-0.72

Source: Company financial statements from annual and quarterly filings. Data as of Jun 30, 2026. Data sources and methodology

Frequently Asked Questions About Zhihu Cash Flow

What is Zhihu's free cash flow?

Zhihu had negative free cash flow of CNY 364.92M in fiscal 2025 (fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025), operating cash flow of −CNY 363.61M minus CNY 1.32M of capital expenditures.

How much does Zhihu spend on capital expenditures?

Zhihu spent CNY 1.32M on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, compared with CNY 2.73M a year earlier.

Does Zhihu pay dividends or buy back shares?

Yes. In fiscal 2025 Zhihu returned CNY 167.06M in share buybacks to shareholders, according to its cash flow statement.

What is free cash flow?

Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. It is the cash a company has left for dividends, buybacks, debt repayment or acquisitions after funding its operations and investment. Full definition