The9 Surpasses 2004 Earnings Record with Strong Q1 Performance

The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) has reported its strongest quarterly performance since its initial public offering in 2004, with an unaudited net income of $23 million for the first quarter of 2026. The company's profitability was primarily driven by the receipt of 1.425 billion 9BIT tokens, which pushed its estimated total cryptocurrency holdings to approximately $110 million.

The9bit, the AI-powered game creation platform launched in August 2025, has surpassed 8 million registered users and enabled the creation of over 110,000 games. The company highlighted this significant growth as a major contributor to its success in the quarter.

As part of the broader cooperation agreement with the 9BIT Foundation, The9 is set to receive an additional 475 million tokens in April 2026, bringing the total allocation to roughly 1.9 billion 9BIT tokens. This move has been seen as a significant boost to the company's cryptocurrency holdings.

Additionally, the Board of Directors approved a new long-term incentive plan for senior management, which ties executive compensation to ongoing financial momentum. Executives may receive equity awards representing up to 12 percent of outstanding shares, but these will only vest if the company's quarterly net income exceeds first-quarter levels in each of the remaining quarters of 2026.