BILI vs HUYA: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
BILI is the larger of the two ($7.99B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (14.15x forward earnings, beta 0.69). HUYA is the smaller challenger ($562.99M), priced similarly on forward earnings (12.75x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
BILI vs HUYA: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | BILI | HUYA | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $7.99B | $562.99M | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 14.15 | 12.75 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Beta | 0.69 | 0.69 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 16% of range | 11% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 3.47 | 0.81 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how BILI and HUYA affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. BILI and HUYA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined BILI and HUYA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Bilibili (BILI) do?
Bilibili Inc. runs one of China's best-known online video and content communities, built around long-form, user-generated and professional videos, live streaming, and its signature scrolling "bullet" comments. It skews toward Gen Z and younger millennial users and monetizes that engaged audience across four main lines: advertising, value-added services (live streaming and premium memberships), mobile games, and intellectual-property merchandise. Because it sells attention and digital content rather than a physical product, its results track user engagement, advertiser demand, and the hit-or-miss nature of game releases.
What does HUYA (HUYA) do?
HUYA Inc. runs China's largest game-focused live-streaming platform, where users watch and broadcast video-game and esports content, alongside DouYu as the two dominant players in the sector. It listed on the NYSE in 2018 and, since 2020, Tencent has been its controlling shareholder with a stake reported around two-thirds of the company. Historically almost all of HUYA's money came from live streaming, where viewers buy virtual gifts for streamers. That business has been under pressure: live-streaming revenue has declined year over year through 2025 and into 2026 amid a weak macro backdrop and a tougher regulatory and competitive environment for online entertainment in China.
BILI vs HUYA: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- BILI drivers: Advertising growth and AI-driven efficiency; Path to sustained profitability and margin expansion.
- HUYA drivers: Business-mix shift toward game services and ads; Large net-cash balance sheet funding shareholder returns.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The dominant risks are structural to any US-listed Chinese ADR. For HUYA, the defining risks are those common to Chinese ADRs.
BILI or HUYA: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick BILI if you believe its drivers more; HUYA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the BILI and HUYA guides.
BILI vs HUYA: the full fundamentals
BILI. Figures are approximate, reported in Chinese renminbi, and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers and the current ADR price before acting. Bilibili trades as an ADR, so valuation also reflects the market's discount for China-ADR, VIE, and regulatory risk, which can widen or narrow independently of the underlying results. Analyst views have generally warmed on the advertising and AI story, but those targets are a bet on both continued execution and a stable US-China regulatory backdrop.
HUYA. Figures are approximate, reported in renminbi, and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. HUYA is often discussed as much for its balance sheet as for its operating results, so the key questions are how fast game services can offset the live-streaming decline, whether cash returns continue, and how large a discount to apply for China regulatory, VIE, and delisting risk. Standard earnings multiples can be misleading for a company whose reported profit is heavily influenced by investment income on a large cash pile.
Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): BILI shows q1 2026 revenue ~RMB7.5 billion, up roughly 7% year over year, profitability Returned to net profit (small positive) versus a year-earlier loss; adjusted net profit up more than 60%, advertising Grew around 30%, the largest and fastest-growing segment; gaming declined roughly 12% on a tough comparison, margins Gross margin in the high-30s percent range, extending a multi-quarter expansion trend; HUYA shows revenue trend Total revenue returned to growth in 2025 (up roughly 7% to about RMB6.5 billion) after prior declines, with Q1 2026 total revenue up in the mid-teens year over year; verify the latest figures before acting., revenue mix Live-streaming revenue is still declining year over year, while game-related services, advertising, and other revenue is the growth driver (up more than 40% in 2025 and roughly 69% year over year in Q1 2026)., profitability Bottom-line results have been thin and can swing between small profits and losses across quarters; investment income on the large cash balance can be a meaningful part of reported earnings. Treat any single quarter's number with caution., balance sheet Large net-cash position (cash and short- and long-term deposits of roughly RMB3.8 billion at year-end 2025) with little debt; the cash pile is large relative to market value, a defining feature of the valuation debate..
The bottom line: BILI vs HUYA
BILI and HUYA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined BILI and HUYA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how BILI or HUYA fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Bilibili with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how BILI fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between BILI and HUYA?
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Bilibili Inc. HUYA Inc. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is BILI or HUYA the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. BILI is the larger incumbent; HUYA is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, BILI or HUYA?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), BILI trades at 14.15x and HUYA at 12.75x, so HUYA is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both BILI and HUYA?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of BILI vs HUYA?
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BILI: The dominant risks are structural to any US-listed Chinese ADR. Bilibili operates through VIEs, which contributed a majority of 2025 revenue, so investors own a claim on offshore contracts rather than the onshore business directly, and Chinese authorities could challenge that structure. A large share of net assets sits inside China and cannot be freely moved offshore, constraining dividends and reinforcing reliance on onshore reinvestment. US delisting risk under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act eased after audit-inspection access was restored, but the company warns trading could again be barred if access is lost. Chinese regulation of online gaming, data, content, and AI adds approval and compliance uncertainty. On the business side, gaming is volatile and hit-dependent, and advertising competes fiercely with short-video platforms like Douyin for both user time and advertiser budgets. HUYA: The defining risks are those common to Chinese ADRs. HUYA operates through a variable interest entity (VIE) structure, a contractual arrangement rather than direct ownership that Chinese courts have never fully endorsed, so a challenge to it could impair the value foreign shareholders actually hold. As a US-listed China company it is exposed to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA): delisting risk was suspended after the PCAOB gained audit-inspection access, but a future breakdown in that access could renew the threat of being forced off US exchanges. Beyond structure, HUYA faces direct China regulatory risk over online content, live-streaming rules, data, and antitrust, the last of which already blocked its DouYu merger in 2021. Operationally, live-streaming revenue is still declining, profitability has been thin or negative in some periods, and results are reported in renminbi, adding currency risk. Any of these can move the stock independently of the underlying operating trends.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell BILI or HUYA; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.