According to a research report from China Galaxy Securities, the benefits brought by AI are primarily manifested in two more easily data-verified pathways: the platform side driving increases in user time, conversion rates, and commercialization efficiency; and the content and tools side enhancing production efficiency while reducing costs. Recommendations are to focus on: (1) Hong Kong-listed internet stocks; (2) AI applications and related industrial chains; and (3) the content sector. Furthermore, with the Lunar New Year approaching, it is advised to monitor publishing companies possessing dividend attributes, which maintain stable traditional operations while actively exploring new business ventures.

The broader film and television market experienced a pullback, warranting attention to the Spring Festival box office performance. According to Dengta Pro, China's national box office revenue for January 2026 reached 1.965 billion yuan (including service fees), representing a year-on-year decrease of 69.15% and a month-on-month decline of 47.08%. Regarding specific films, "Zootopia" achieved a single-month box office of 423 million yuan, accounting for 21.5% of the monthly total and making it the top-grossing film for the month. A total of 41 films were released in January, a 2.50% increase year-on-year but a 50.60% decrease month-on-month. As of January 31, 2026, 17 new films are expected to be released in February.

Domestic game user revenue reached a new historical high, while the expansion of game publishing overseas continues. For the full year of 2025, the actual sales revenue of the domestic game market was 350.789 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.68%; the user scale reached 683 million, growing 1.35% year-on-year, also setting a new record. Breaking down the market segments: the domestic mobile game market's actual sales revenue in 2025 was 257.076 billion yuan, up 7.92% year-on-year. The domestic client game market's actual sales revenue was 78.16 billion yuan, showing a significant year-on-year increase of 14.97%. Throughout 2025, the number of domestic game version licenses issued was 1,676, an increase of nearly 30% compared to 1,306 licenses issued in the same period last year. The game market is expected to receive sustained product supply support, further consolidating the industry's high-quality development structure.

Total marketing expenditure continues to grow, but structural differentiation is pronounced. According to CTR Media Intelligence data: from January to December 2025, overall advertising market spending increased by 5.4% year-on-year, with a single-month year-on-year growth of 5.9% in December, though it dipped slightly by 1.4% month-on-month. Examining changes in advertising spending by major industry categories from January to December 2025, the postal and telecommunications services, personal用品, entertainment and leisure, and IT products & office automation service industries increased their investments, with published rate spending rising by 89.1%, 72.6%, 20.7%, and 28.6% year-on-year, respectively. In contrast, spending for the food, pharmaceutical, alcoholic beverages, and cosmetics/bath products categories changed by -4.0%, -13.9%, -12.5%, and -4.6%, respectively. Advertising spending in the beverage industry remained largely stable.

The listings of AI firms Zhipu AI and Minimax in Hong Kong signal intensive catalysts for AI applications. Since January, catalysts have emerged simultaneously on the AI device-side entry point and the industrial chain supply side. On January 13, collaboration between Apple and Google progressed, with Gemini becoming a capability source for the new Siri, further strengthening the trend of AI integration at the system-level entry point. This is expected to drive terminal function upgrades and accelerate iteration within the application ecosystem. In capital markets, Zhipu AI listed on the Hong Kong Exchange on January 8, with share price gains of 13.2%, 20.6%, and 31.4% over the first three trading days, respectively. MiniMax listed on January 9, surging 109% on its first day, helping to elevate expectations regarding the pace of AI commercialization and application deployment. Additionally, Deepseek is expected to launch its new flagship AI model, DeepSeek V4, around mid-February, which promises significant enhancements in programming capabilities.

Risk warnings include the potential for AI implementation and commercialization progress to fall short of expectations, fluctuations in computing power supply and costs, risks associated with content regulation and censorship, and general industry competition risks.