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what it is
Sohu runs a Chinese web portal, media properties, search tools, and an online gaming business that pays most of the bills.
how it gets paid
Last year Sohu made $584M in revenue.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 2.4% last year. The number that mattered was the 77.5% gross margin.
what just happened
The latest reported quarter showed $0.32 EPS, while gross margin held at 77.5% even as the bigger annual story stayed ugly.
At a glance
n/a balance sheet
5/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
4.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$3.13 fy2024 eps est
$584M fy2024 rev (reported mix)
What they do
Sohu runs a Chinese web portal, media properties, search tools, and an online gaming business that pays most of the bills.
The moat is older and narrower than it used to be. Changyou generated about $509M on the same ~$584M consolidated base called out elsewhere as FY2024 in this feed—same reporting year for both lines, so the games business still funds almost everything else. That gives you cash flow today, but it also means leaving is painful for players, not for advertisers.
How they make money
$584M
annual revenue · revenue declined -2.4% last year
total revenue
$584M
2.4%
The products that matter
game publishing and operation
Changyou Online Games
$509M · ~87% of ~$584M sales
it generated about $509M in the same FY as the ~$584M total (FY2024 in the strip)—the business depends heavily on two TLBB titles. that's revenue concentration, not diversification.
core profit engine
online advertising and content
Sohu Media
$75M · -12%
this segment brought in $75M and fell 12%. when your smaller segment is still shrinking, it cannot offset franchise fatigue in games.
legacy media
search legacy and residual assets
Sogou legacy exposure
not material in current revenue base
the current revenue base is ~$584M in this snapshot, and Sogou is no longer a meaningful growth driver after deconsolidation. that chapter is mostly over.
not the thesis
Key numbers
-$3.13
FY2024 EPS loss
Earnings per share → profit or loss for each share → so what: Sohu lost $3.13 a share in 2024, worse than the $1.93 loss in 2023.
16.1%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit from the actual business before extras → a positive op margin in the feed can still sit under a net loss after tax, interest, and one-offs—reconcile to net EPS -$3.13.
$584M
annual revenue
Revenue → money coming in the door → so what: sales fell 2.4% vs. prior year, which is bad news when margins are already negative.
0.8
beta
Beta → how jumpy the stock is versus the market → so what: Sohu moves less than many tech names, but low drama does not fix a weak business.
Financial health
n/a
strength
- balance sheet grade n/a
- price stability 25 / 100
n/a — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for SOHU right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
The latest reported quarter showed $0.32 EPS, while gross margin held at 77.5% even as the bigger annual story stayed ugly.
EPS → profit per share → so what: the latest quarter was profitable, but the 2024 quarterly track record still summed to a $3.13 full-year loss. Gross margin → revenue left after direct costs → so what: 77.5% says the content itself is not the problem; overhead and a shrinking base are.
~$146M
Q revenue (approx.)
$0.32
eps
77.5%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was the 77.5% gross margin, because it says Sohu can still make money on what it sells even while the full company posts losses.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is two-title concentration in the TLBB franchise.
med
two games are carrying too much of the company
Changyou produced $509M of revenue and roughly 87% of the ~$584M total sales mix, with that performance tied to two TLBB titles. when a mature franchise slows, there is no diversification buffer.
a meaningful drop in spending on those titles would hit the main revenue engine directly.
med
reported profit was an accounting event
some annual prints can show large headline net income after tax reversals or other one-offs in a different fiscal year than the FY2024 ~$3.13/share loss this page leads with—match the period before you treat headline earnings as the operating story.
if you value the stock on headline earnings, you are likely overestimating the durability of those earnings.
med
the rest of the business is still shrinking
brand advertising generated $75M and fell 12%, while reported annual revenue sat around $584M in one company disclosure versus a $598M estimate in the snapshot data. either way, this is a flat business.
flat revenue plus no fresh content pipeline means even modest slippage can push the story from cheap to value trap.
a tax event inflated profit, while the operating business still depends on two games and a shrinking ad segment. that exposes most of the current revenue base, not some side business.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
gaming operating profit
$45M in Q4 versus $48M from a year ago is the cleaner signal than EPS. if that keeps sliding, the cheap multiple story gets weaker fast.
calendar
next earnings release
watch the next quarter for game revenue durability without help from a new launch. this is where management has to prove the old titles still have life.
risk
any change in TLBB engagement
when roughly 60% of sales rides on one franchise family, user fatigue is not a small issue. it is the operating thesis.
trend
media revenue direction
brand advertising fell 12%. if that decline stabilizes, it at least stops making the overall story worse. if it does not, games have to carry even more weight.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
5 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this earnings stream to behave consistently.
price stability
25 / 100
this stock has been jumpy. low stability means the quote can move harder than the business does.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for SOHU is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$16
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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