Chinese video streaming platform Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI) saw its market cap increase by USD 480 million to USD 9.5 billion on May 5 after a National Youth Day ad campaign stirred heated discussion on Chinese social media in the past few days, coinciding with a boost in Bilibili’s share price from a decline since mid-April.
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The campaign video, titled “The Next Wave: A speech by Bilibili for the new generation”, features a speech from a 52-year-old well-known Chinese actor He Bing and a video montage showcasing a very curated version of Chinese youth’s lives. The short film is the most-played video on Bilibili since its release, with over 11 million views as of the morning of May 6.
The Nasdaq-listed company’s stock has been sliding since it surpassed a market cap benchmark of USD 10 billion on April 17.
Back in 2019, Bilibili CEO Chen Rui set an internal goal to reach that market cap within three years, but the company has exceeded those expectations and surpassed USD 10 billion in market value less than one year since Chen’s proclamation.
The video content platform enters 2020 with strong confidence from its investors as the average stock price in 2020 is higher than the peak price in 2019.
The increase in Bilibili’s stock price may have been aided by increased content consumption in China throughout over three months of home isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the significant early-April investment from Sony.
Previously known for its rich anime, cartoon, and video game-related content, Bilibili is trying to reach a broader audience and diversify its revenue structure in recent years by providing more mainstream videos, lowering the barrier to entry for subscribers, and even pioneering e-commerce initiatives following Alibaba’s investment.
