Chinese food delivery leader Meituan 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 Taobao and JD.com 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 ($13.3 billion), a 4.1% 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.
On a post-earnings call with analysts, chief executive Wang Xing said the regulatory guidance is “already quite clear” regarding the instant retail war.
“The authorities are firmly against the so-called ‘neijuan’ competition and want to foster a healthy and orderly market,” Wang said. Neijuan, or involution, means people or companies are forced into ever harder competition that brings little benefit.
Earlier this week, Meituan shares jumped 14% 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.
($1 = 6.9072 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reuters
