Bilibili (哔哩哔哩) posts first full‑year profit — but rumours and a copyright loss cloud the win

Profit amid a storm of rumours

Bilibili (哔哩哔哩) surprised investors by reporting its first-ever full‑year profit in 2025, an eye‑catching result for a 17‑year‑old video platform operating in a long‑video market under pressure. Yet it has been reported that the company is battling a raft of damaging rumours — a viral claim of a 60% company‑wide layoff, mass strikes in research and development, and heavy cuts concentrated in games, live streaming and OGV. Those specific claims are unverified and reportedly hinge on anonymous screenshots; Bilibili has remained publicly silent, a stance that has only fanned the social‑media fire. How plausible is 60%? With roughly 8,423 employees at the end of 2025, such a cut would mean more than 5,000 departures — a move that, from a commercial logic standpoint, would be hard to justify for a freshly profitable company with a new headquarters near completion.

A legal blow on copyright

Compounding the reputational hit, it has been reported that South Korea’s MBC won a final appeal in a long‑running copyright dispute with Bilibili’s operator, a case that dates back to 2021 and was reported by Yonhap. Chinese courts have found the operator liable for “aiding” infringement by failing to take adequate measures against pirated uploads, and the ruling raises the spectre of large compensation payouts. The verdict forces a rethink: stricter content‑audit mechanisms and heavier takedown enforcement will raise operating costs and could suppress some of the platform’s user‑generated content that drives engagement in the short term.

Why this matters for China’s platforms

This episode isn't isolated. China’s online video market is fragmenting — long‑form viewing is slowing while short video and microdrama formats siphon attention — and authorities have steadily tightened intellectual‑property enforcement. Platforms that once leaned on so‑called “safe harbour” defences face increased legal risk from both domestic courts and foreign rights holders. At the same time, rapid adoption of large models and AI is reshaping hiring needs across the sector, giving companies new levers to cut costs without wholesale headcount purges. For Bilibili, the immediate tasks are twofold: defend against mounting IP liabilities and manage a trust crisis among employees and users triggered as much by silence as by substance.