Meituan posts another quarterly loss, though food delivery wars are beginning to abate

Chinese food delivery leader Meituan (3690) on Monday posted a third consecutive quarterly loss and met revenue growth estimates as a year of bruising, subsidy-fuelled competition in China's one-hour delivery space showed signs of easing.

Meituan's revenue growth and profits have faced pressure for several quarters since e-commerce giants Taobao, owned by Alibaba (9988), 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 other daily use items - that are delivered within 60 minutes.

Since early 2026 - following repeated criticism by Chinese regulators who dubbed the instant retail battle a "race to the bottom" - discounting activity on food delivery platforms has subsided as the industry enters a more normal phase of growth.

• Meituan's revenue for the quarter ended March 31 reached 91 billion yuan (US$13.45 billion), a 5.6 percent rise from a year earlier, in line with analyst expectations.
• Its adjusted net loss narrowed to 4.97 billion yuan from a 15.1 billion yuan loss in the fourth quarter. A year earlier, Meituan posted a profit of 10.9 billion yuan.
• In April, China's market regulator fined seven e-commerce platforms - including Meituan - a combined 3.6 billion yuan over food delivery safety violations.
• Last week, China's State Administration for Market Regulation instructed local regulators to carry out a special inspection campaign until December on companies operating in sectors from live-streaming to food delivery in an effort to prevent what it calls "involution"-style price wars.

Reuters

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