TAL Education Group Q1 2027 Earnings Call

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to TAL Education Group's fiscal 2027 first quarter earnings conference call. If you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please be informed today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Ms. Fang Liu, Investor Relations Director. Thank you. Please go ahead.

Thank you all for joining us today for TAL Education Group's first quarter fiscal year 2027 earnings conference call. The earnings release was distributed earlier today, and you may find a copy on the company's IR website or through the newsletter. During this call, you will hear from Mr. Alex Peng, President and Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Jackson Ding, Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Following the prepared remarks, Mr. Peng and Mr. Ding will be available to answer your questions. Before we continue, please note that today's discussions will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in our public filings with the SEC.

For more information about these risks and uncertainties, please refer to our filings with the SEC. Also, our earnings release and this call include discussions of certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our earnings release, which contains a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Alex Peng. Alex, please go ahead. Thank you, Fang, and thanks to everybody for joining today's conference call.

As we embark on fiscal year 2027, we remain focused on our key priorities of high-quality growth, disciplined execution, and continuous efficiency improvement. Our mission is to empower students and nurture their holistic development. Guided by this mission, we are further refining our offerings, strengthening our operational capabilities, and applying technology to address the evolving needs of students, their families, and the society. We believe this commitment will unlock the potential of individual learners while driving high-quality growth and sustainable profitability. Learning services remain the cornerstone of our business, delivering high-quality learning experiences to our users across both online and offline platforms. Alongside it, we are developing our content solutions business to reach more users with our proprietary and third-party content. Together, these two pillars create an integrated learning journey, fostering longer, deeper, and stronger user engagement.

Our first quarter performance reflected progress across both learning services and content solutions. Let me first discuss our offline learning services. We continue to see healthy growth in our offline Peiyou learning programs, building on our deep expertise, proven teacher development system, and strong organizational capabilities. What sets these programs apart is the face-to-face interaction between teachers and students, particularly the empathy, encouragement, and real connections that our teachers provide every day. These human-centric elements foster higher engagement, motivation, and a learning experience that other formats can't match. We have witnessed sustained demand for our offline programs. To serve this demand, we're expanding our learning center network with discipline. This quarter, we focused on strengthening our presence in existing cities to prepare for summer season. Today, we operate in 44 cities across Chinese mainland as well as select international markets with over 600 learning centers in total.

Our online enrichment learning business also made steady progress. We continue to refine our programs with enhanced course offerings and more interactive teaching approaches. This technology-empowered approach provides an engaging and personalized learning experience, helping sustain user engagement and foster greater interest in learning. Revenue from learning devices business grew year-over-year in the quarter, driven by our dual focus on strengthening product capabilities and enhancing go-to-market execution. In July, we launched the new T6 series, our latest flagship tablet model, featuring major upgrades across the AI experience, content, and hardware. These innovations set the direction of our ongoing product iteration by building learning devices that better understand students' needs, provide personalized guidance, and foster self-directed learning. As our learning device portfolio and user base continues to expand, key engagement metrics remained stable and healthy.

In the first quarter, weekly active learning devices exceeded 2 million units, with a weekly active rate of around 80%, an average daily active usage of about one hour per device. With that overview, let me turn to our financial performance for the quarter. We delivered robust top and bottom-line growth in the first quarter. Our net revenues were $758 million, or CNY 5,191,000, representing a year-over-year increase of 32% and 25% in U.S. dollar and RMB terms, respectively. Our non-GAAP income from operations was $149 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 492%. Our non-GAAP operating margin increased to 19.6% from 4.4% for the same period last year. This profitability improvement reflects greater operating leverage and lower sales and marketing costs, made possible by the strength of our services and products. Our non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL reached $420 million for the quarter.

These healthy results highlight our ability to optimize core operations and build a more efficient operating model, reinforcing our confidence in achieving high-quality growth and creating long-term value. I will now hand the call over to Jackson, who will provide more details on our operational developments across core business lines and review our financial results for the first fiscal quarter. Jackson, over to you. Thank you, Alex.

I will discuss our operating progress across our core business lines and then review our financial results for the first fiscal quarter. Let me start with our offline Peiyou enrichment programs. In the first quarter, Peiyou learning programs continued to deliver year-over-year revenue growth. Consistent service quality and broad user recognition drove steady year-over-year growth in student enrollment. Positive feedback from students and parents continues to reaffirm the value we provide. We continued to expand our learning center network at a measured pace during the quarter. Our priority is to maintain service quality and operating efficiency as we grow. We evaluate local demand, user receptivity, organizational capability, and overall business health when making expansion decisions. This allows us to serve more users while maintaining a healthy and sustainable operating model. In the first quarter, Peiyou's overall business and financial health remains solid.

We expect this business to continue growing at a steady pace while remaining an efficient operating model. Turning to online enrichment learning. We continued to leverage technology to improve how students learn and interact in online settings. During the quarter, we refined our products with enhanced course offerings and more interactive learning experiences tailored to students' online learning needs. These upgrades make the learning progress more responsive and engaging, driving a more personalized learning journey. Next, let me discuss our learning device business. It delivered year-over-year revenue growth, reflecting our continued progress in product development, user experience, and go-to-market execution. We remain focused on building a complete and differentiated product portfolio that meets users' diverse learning needs.

Recently, we launched the new T6 series to better support students' thinking process and inspire self-directed learning. A key upgrade is the enhanced AI learning companion for recorded courses, which provides pre-class guidance, real-time feedback, post-class summaries, and question and answer support. The companion also features AI-driven diagnostics, tailored study plans, and AI-generated notes, acting as both a learning partner and a personalized study coach. We have also enriched the content offerings for the T6 flagship international edition with expanded global educational resources and course materials. On the hardware front, the T6 series features upgraded ultra-high-resolution displays backed by 10 respected eye protection certifications. It is also the first learning device globally to receive SGS certification for natural lighting viewing, giving students a clearer and more comfortable experience. Next, I would like to walk you through our key financial results for the first fiscal quarter.

Please note that all financial data for the quarter are unaudited. Our net revenues were $658 million, or CNY 5,191,000,000, representing a year-over-year increase of 32% and 25% in U.S. dollar and CNY terms respectively. Cost of revenues increased by 23% year-over-year to $320 million. On a non-GAAP basis, excluding share-based compensation expenses, cost of revenues also increased by 24% year-over-year to $320 million. Gross profit increased by 39% year-over-year to $438 million. Gross margin for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 was 57.8%, compared to 54.9% in the same period of the prior year. Turning to operating expenses. Selling and marketing expenses decreased by 5% year-over-year to $172 million.

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding share-based compensation expenses, selling and marketing expenses also decreased by 5% year-over-year to $169 million, representing 22% of total net revenues, compared to 31% in the same period last year. General and administrative expenses increased by 7% year-over-year to $129 million. On a non-GAAP basis, excluding share-based compensation expenses, general and administrative expenses also increased by 7% year-over-year to $121 million, representing 16% of total net revenues, compared to 20% in the same period last year. Total share-based compensation expenses allocated to the related operating costs and expenses were $12 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, compared to $11 million in the same period last year.

Income from operations was $137 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, compared to $14 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP income from operations, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, was $149 million, compared to $25 million in the same period last year. Net income attributable to TAL was $408 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, compared to $31 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to TAL, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, was $420 million compared to $42 million in the same period last year. Moving on to our balance sheet.

As of May 31st, 2026, the company had approximately $1.6 billion of cash and cash equivalents, $1.2 billion of short-term investments, and $306 million in current and non-current restricted cash. Our deferred revenue balance was approximately $1.2 billion as of the end of the first fiscal quarter. Turning to our cash flow statement. Net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 was $478 million. Finally, I would like to briefly address our share repurchase program. In July 2026, the company's board of directors approved a 12-month extension of its share repurchase program, originally launched in July 2025. Under the extended program, the company may spend up to approximately $393.7 million to repurchase its common shares through July 28th, 2027.

Between April 23rd, 2026 and July 28th, 2026, the company repurchased approximately 1.2 million common shares at an aggregate consideration of approximately $41 million. In terms of overarching capital allocation strategy, we will continue to take a prudent and balanced approach, weigh our business development needs, investment opportunities with financial position and market conditions. That concludes my review. I will now turn the call back to Alex for his comments on our strategy and outlook. Alex, please go ahead. Thanks, Jackson.

I would like to share a few thoughts on our outlook and strategy. Looking ahead to the full fiscal year 2027, we'll continue to build on the progress we've made. Our priorities are unchanged: high-quality growth, disciplined execution, and continuous efficiency improvement. From an operational standpoint, we will keep strengthening execution across all of our businesses. This means refining our offerings, enhancing our go-to-market strategies, and further building our organizational capabilities. Technology will continue to play a key role, helping us improve the learning experience, streamline operations, and boost efficiency. Financially, we are focused on achieving sustainable, high-quality growth and stronger long-term competitiveness rather than pursuing growth for its own sake. Building on the solid progress we achieved in the first quarter, we remain committed to improving efficiency and operating margin for the full fiscal year.

In short, by balancing disciplined growth with continued efficiency gains, we aim to improve operating leverage, deliver sustained profitability improvement, and build a more efficient operating model for the long-term growth. That concludes my prepared remarks. Operator, we are ready to open the call for questions.

Yes. Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. Any time your question is addressed and you would like to withdraw it, please press star then two. At this time, we'll pause momentarily to assemble the roster. Today's first question comes from Jenny Yuan with UBS.

Thank you. Good evening. Thanks, management, for taking my question, and congrats on the strong quarter results. My question is regarding our Peiyou offline business. Could you please share some color on Peiyou's business momentum, including current revenue growth trends, overall business health, learning center expansion plans, and also summer enrollment performance? Looking ahead, how should we think about Peiyou's growth trajectory over the next two to three years? What are the key growth drivers behind? Thank you. Thanks, Jenny. This is Alex.

Let me take this question. In the first quarter, our Peiyou offline business really continued to deliver double-digit year-over-year growth. Right? That's the first thing I want to register. Consistent with the strategy, I think we've talked about the strategy previously, right? We really continue to prioritize the overall health of our Peiyou offline programs and the operating efficiency of our learning center network. If you take the Peiyou enrichment learning as an example, right? The retention rate, which is a key metric, it remained healthy at over 80% in the first quarter, which was consistent with the previous year. As we talked about this earlier, while technology and AI continue to shape the future of education We believe that human interaction really remains an essential part of the learning experience.

Building on this belief, we continue to strengthen our organizational capabilities around what we call the human intensity of that learning experience. The human intensity. But of course, we also leverage technology to enhance both the classroom experience and the efficiency of that delivery of the teaching. For example, we continue to upgrade and roll out our dual smart large and small screen solution in our enrichment learning center classrooms. Through the small screen, students can participate in interactive learning games. They earn points, they stay more engaged, and they stay more motivated throughout the class. They can also have the performance, that learning journey, recorded across the entire lesson.

We'll also continue to strengthen our curriculum development, something we've been very steadfast and committed to over the past decade, enhance our products, and improve our services as these remain the fundamental drivers of our long-term competitiveness. We're exploring offerings across different age groups and additional subjects based on demands and how we look at the future progress of what parents and students may need. We'll continue to develop our teaching talent, which again, is key to that human intensity, and expand our learning center network. We'll bring a broader range of offline learning programs to more students. Looking ahead, we remain confident that offline paid learning programs will continue to grow at a healthy pace over the longer term, supported by our product capabilities, solid demand for offline learning, and the still fragmented offline market. Joanne, I hope that answered your question.

Thanks, Alex. Very helpful. Thank you.

Thank you. The next question comes from Timothy Zhao of Goldman Sachs.

Great. Good evening, Alex and Jackson. Thank you for taking my question, congrats on the very strong results this quarter. My question is regarding the learning devices business. Just wondering, how do you view the overall demand trend for this fiscal year in this specific market? What are the strategic priorities and the profitability level of your learning device business? This year, we are seeing a softer consumer electronics market, including the learning devices demand, also the BOM cost increase quite a bit. Just wondering, what is your latest strategy in this business segment, how do you prioritize volume, pricing, and margins within this learning devices segment? Thank you. Thanks, Timothy. This is Alex.

Let me take this one as well. You asked a complex question about a very complex set of dynamics in the market. Let me try to unpack that. Let me first just share some color on our recent financial performance and the trends we see. Learning device revenue grew year-over-year in the first quarter. The business also saw an improvement in the bottom line. We think that really reflects the operational initiatives we've implemented, as well as the timing of deferred revenue recognition. Okay. As I said, there's a set of complex dynamics in the market. This performance was really achieved in the midst of that complex and evolving market. The learning device market continues to be shaped by respectable competition, shifting consumer sentiment, as you said, rising component costs.

We really see all of these result in increased market volatility. We expect these dynamics to persist into fiscal year 2027. For this fiscal year 2027, we'll continue to drive the overall margin profile of the learning devices business. In response to higher memory chip costs, we've taken some proactive measures to optimize our inventory, streamline SKUs, and refine our product portfolio. I think we are also driving greater operating efficiency and also greater discipline, I would say, across the organization. Together, if you look at these initiatives, they're really intended to mitigate the cost pressures while preserving our long-term competitiveness. If I take a step back and look at this from a longer-term strategic perspective. At their core, the learning devices, they really deliver strong value to users. They empower students with AI-driven personalization and self-directed learning, for example.

They also broaden access for the students to our proprietary and third-party content. Combined with our services, the learning devices, they really create a more integrated learning journey. They drive longer, deeper, stronger user engagement, right? I shared some of the numbers earlier on the call. We now have, as of first quarter, over 2 million devices. The weekly active usage is 80%, and we average about one hour per device per day. These really, let's say, they broaden access to more students, and they drive longer, deeper, and stronger user engagement. This is really why we remain committed to continue strategic investment in the space as we explore the, I would call the convergence of education and technology. Timothy, I hope that answered your question.

Sure. Thank you, Alex. Thank you.

The next question comes from Jing Yuan with CICC.

Good evening, Alex and Jackson. Thank you for taking my question. Congratulations on this strong quarter. We can see first quarter's revenue and profitability came in well ahead of our expectation. Could you provide more color on revenue growth and profitability? In addition, could you share any further color for the rest of this fiscal year? Thanks. Thank you for the question.

This is Jackson. Let me take this one. First, on top line revenue growth. I think we've discussed this a few times in the past few quarters. As the scale of the business expands, you have seen our growth rate normalizing over the last few quarters. We expect growth rate to continue to moderate in the next quarter. Let me offer a bit more color on business level growth. If you look at Peiyou, which by the way remains our largest revenue contributor, it delivered another quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth. This performance was driven by steady demand, consistent service quality, broad user recognition, and ongoing expansion of our learning centers.

As for our learning device business, as Alex talked about, we are operating in an evolving market shaped by changing competitive dynamics, shifting user sentiment, and rising component costs. We expect these trends to persist over the next several quarters. We expect market conditions to remain volatile. We are committed to serving more users and delivering more learning hours through our learning devices. Our priorities are to strengthen the product experience and to improve operating efficiency. We believe disciplined execution across both product and operations will position the business well for sustainable long-term growth. Now, as for profitability, improving our profitability remains an important priority for us in fiscal 2027. As always, we view profitability as the result of both value creation and operating efficiency.

This requires us to consistently deliver valuable products and services to our users while driving operational excellence across the company. At the company level, we're seeing operating leverage materialize as our business scale and as our business processes become more efficient year-over-year. This allows us to manage our expenses with greater discipline and improve overall profitability. Looking ahead, we remain committed to achieving improvement in profitability this year versus last. If you recall, if you compare our non-GAAP operating margin in fiscal 2026 versus fiscal 2025.

Our full year, our non-GAAP operating margin improved by approximately eight percentage points. This year in fiscal 2027, we aim to continue to achieve improvements in operating margin. I hope that answers your question.

Thank you, Jackson. That's helpful.

Thank you. The next question comes from Elsie Sheng with CLSA.

Thank you, Alex and Jackson and Sam. My question is, I noticed there is a big increase in other income this quarter. Could you explain on that as well as the significant increase in the long-term investments, if you look at the balance sheets? Thank you. Elsie, thank you for the question.

This is Jackson. Let me also take this one. I would say as a part of capital allocation strategy, we maintain an investment portfolio that's aimed at both enhancing shareholder returns and supporting business development. This portfolio ranges from traditional wealth management products to minority equity stakes, and occasionally, full-on acquisitions, as you have seen in the recent years. Elsie, you asked about other income. In this past quarter, valuations for some of our investment holdings increased. That's a primary driver of an increase in our other income. While these gains contributed positively to our financial results, I would just emphasize again that they are driven by market movements and may not recur in future. In terms of the increase in long-term investments on our balance sheet, that reflects two things. One is higher valuations for some of our investment holdings.

2, ongoing capital deployment into our portfolio. We remain disciplined in allocating capital to opportunities that align with our long-term objectives while managing risks accordingly. I hope that answers your question.

Thank you. It's very clear, and congratulations on the results.

Thank you. The next question comes from Eddie Wang with Morgan Stanley.

Hi, Alex, Jackson. Thank you for taking my question. My question is regarding the shareholder return. I want to ask, on top of the annual share buyback plan, do we have a more formal and holistic capital return policy? Especially, I think in the past six to 12 months, the pressure on the U.S.-listed Chinese stocks actually is pretty high. Share prices are very volatile. Sentiments have been changed a lot. Will we have any plan to increase the size or faster pace of share repurchase in the next year or in the longer term? Thank you. Eddie, thank you for the question.

This is Jackson. Let me also take this one. First of all, I would just say returning value to our shareholders remain an important part of our overall capital allocation framework. We take a prudent and balanced approach weighing our business development needs, investment opportunities, financial position, and market condition. Regarding share purchase programs, if you look at last year, we executed roughly $210 million in share buyback over the last 12 months. Was roughly $41 million of that in the past quarter. We expect to keep executing our share repurchase program in a prudent and disciplined manner, in line with our overall capital allocation priorities. Looking ahead, we intend to implement a more systematic and regular approach to returning capital to our shareholders.

Ultimately, our focus is on delivering an ongoing and relatively stable stream of value to reward those who hold long-term conviction in our company. As always, we'll continue to provide timely disclosures on our purchase activities and keep investors informed of our progress. Eddie, I hope that answers your question.

Thank you, Jackson. Thank you.

Thank you. This concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the comments back over to management for any closing comments.

Again, thanks to everybody for joining us today, and we'll see you again next quarter. Bye-bye. Thank you. The conference has now concluded.

Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.