Peixing has revised its full-year financial forecast for 2026 higher for two consecutive quarters. (Provided by Peixing)
[Reporter Fang Weijie/Taipei Report] Appier (Peixing Interactive Technology, TSE: 4180) has benefited from the growth of its core business and agent-based artificial intelligence (Agentic) AI) has improved operating efficiency and has revised its 2026 full-year financial forecast upwards for two consecutive quarters. It is estimated that the full-year operating profit will reach 5.9 billion yen (approximately NT$1.214 billion), an annual increase of 97%. The net profit will be 5 billion yen (approximately NT$1.029 billion), an annual increase of 95%. The fourth-quarter revenue will be 15.6 billion yen (approximately NT$3.21 billion).
Appier's third-quarter revenue was 13.9 billion yen (approximately NT$2.86 billion), an annual increase of 21.8%, a record high; gross profit was 8.5 billion yen (approximately NT$1.749 billion), an annual increase of 38%, and gross profit margin was 61.3%, a quarterly increase of 1.2 percentage points, an annual increase of 7.2 percentage points; operating profit was 2.1 billion yen (approximately NT$432 million), an annual increase of 104.7%, and the operating profit rate was 15.2%, an annual increase of 6.2 percentage points. Gross profit, gross profit margin and operating profit all reached record highs.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, Appier estimates revenue to be between 15.2 billion and 15.6 billion yen (approximately NT$3.128 billion to 3.21 billion), of which core business revenue is approximately 14.9 billion yen (approximately NT$3. 66 million yuan), an annual increase of approximately 25%, and operating profit is estimated to be 2.1 billion to 2.3 billion yen (approximately NT$432 million to NT$473 million), reflecting the continued development of core business growth momentum and operating leverage benefits.
Appier pointed out that based on the better-than-expected performance in the first three quarters and the optimistic outlook for the fourth quarter, the full-year gross profit forecast has been raised to 31.9 billion yen (approximately NT$6.564 billion), with a gross profit margin of 58.6%. The cash dividend per share forecast has been simultaneously raised to 2.50 yen (approximately NT$0.51). In the future, treasury shares will also be repurchased depending on the opportunity.
In terms of AI layout, Appier continues to improve research and development efficiency and algorithm performance through Agentic AI. In the third quarter, per capita gross profit increased by 45% year-on-year to 11.34 million yen (approximately NT$2.3333 million), a record high. Benefiting from the productivity improvements brought by AI, gross profit increased by 38% annually in the third quarter, which was higher than the 26% annual increase in operating expenses, pushing the operating expenses to gross profit ratio to a record low of 78%.
You Zhihan, CEO and co-founder of Appier, said that the standard for measuring AI should be how much actual return it creates, whether it is the results created for customers or reflected in its own operational performance. As customer business grows and cooperation deepens, the company has formed an AI growth model that does not require large capital investments and can self-circulate. This is also the reason for the continuous upward revision of its full-year profit forecast.
In terms of overseas markets, core business revenue in the United States and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) increased by 49% year-on-year, mainly benefiting from the infusion of new customers in the e-commerce and online travel industries; in Northeast Asia, driven by advertising business, core business revenue increased by 33% year-on-year. Appier also continues to expand the introduction of AI to enterprise customers, and has made initial gains in the Turkish market.
In addition, Appier's core free cash flow in the third quarter reached 1.9 billion yen (approximately NT$391 million), an annual increase of 501.3%. The cumulative core free cash flow in the first three quarters turned positive to 1.25 billion yen (approximately NT$257 million). It is expected to become positive for the first time throughout the year, further supporting R&D investment, business expansion and shareholder feedback.
