China’s tech powerhouse Tencent Holdings announced strong financial results Wednesday, with fourth-quarter revenue jumping 13% as the company capitalized on booming gaming sales and growing artificial intelligence capabilities.
The Shenzhen-headquartered company generated 194.4 billion yuan ($28.3 billion) in revenue during the final quarter of 2024, narrowly surpassing Wall Street predictions of 193.5 billion yuan according to LSEG analyst surveys.
The social media and gaming giant also delivered quarterly profits of 58.26 billion yuan, topping average projections of 57.75 billion yuan.
Tencent has been ramping up its artificial intelligence investments using profits from its successful gaming division as it battles competitors like Alibaba and ByteDance for market dominance.
The tech company is integrating AI technology throughout its popular WeChat messaging and payment platform, cloud computing services, and gaming products, leveraging its massive user base of over one billion people worldwide.
Gaming revenues showed particularly strong performance, with domestic sales climbing 15% to reach 38.2 billion yuan and international gaming income soaring 32% to 21.1 billion yuan. Digital advertising revenues also grew substantially, rising 17% to 41.1 billion yuan thanks to AI-powered ad targeting improvements.
The gaming division’s success stemmed from popular new releases including “Delta Force” and “Valorant Mobile,” combined with continued strong performance from longtime favorites “Honor of Kings” and “Peacekeeper Elite.”
Tencent’s FinTech and Business Services division, encompassing cloud computing operations, saw revenues increase 8% to 60.8 billion yuan, though the company does not provide separate cloud revenue figures.
