Meituan posts another quarterly loss as food delivery wars bite

Chinese food delivery leader Meituan (3690) posted a second quarterly loss in a row and fell just shy of revenue growth estimates on Thursday after a year of bruising, subsidy-fuelled competition in China's one-hour delivery space.

Meituan has seen its revenue growth and profits pressured for several quarters since e-commerce giants Alibaba-owned (9988) Taobao and JD.com (9618) launched new "instant retail" platforms in early 2025.

Instant retail or quick commerce refers to online purchases - often of food, bubble tea and daily use items - delivered within 60 minutes.

In good news, the early months of 2026 have brought signs the instant retail price war - which has been criticised by Chinese regulators as a "race to the bottom" - might be abating.

Meituan's revenue for the quarter ended December 31 reached 92.1 billion yuan, a 4.1 percent rise from a year ago, compared with 92.2 billion yuan expected by analysts.

Its adjusted net loss narrowed to 15.1 billion yuan from 16 billion yuan in the third quarter. A year earlier, Meituan posted a profit of 9.8 billion yuan.

Earlier this week, Meituan shares jumped 14 percent after a state media editorial urging an end to China's food delivery price wars was republished by Chinese regulators, which was interpreted by industry watchers as an official endorsement.