Chinese food delivery giant Meituan (3690) on Friday swung to profit and exceeded revenue growth estimates as a year of bruising, subsidy-fuelled competition in China's one-hour delivery market showed further signs of easing.
Meituan's revenue growth and profits have faced pressure for more than a year 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 June 30 reached 104.6 billion yuan, a 14.4 percent rise from a year earlier, outpacing analyst expectations.
- Its adjusted net profit was 2.16 billion yuan after a 4.97 billion yuan loss in the first quarter. A year ago, Meituan posted a profit of 1.49 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.
Reuters
