{
  "id": 3931293,
  "title": "Meituan snaps losing streak with profitable June quarter though Douyin threat looms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/meituan-snaps-losing-streak-with-profitable-june-quarter-though",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-28T09:10:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Tech",
    "slug": "scmp-tech",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3365595/meituan-snaps-losing-streak-profitable-june-quarter-though-douyin-threat-looms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meituan, the on-demand delivery behemoth headquartered in Beijing, returned to profit in the second quarter after a three-quarter losing streak. The company reported an adjusted net profit of 2.5 billion yuan, surpassing market expectations by a wide margin. Revenue also increased by 14.4% year-over-year to 105 billion yuan, beating the estimated 101 billion yuan. The company's Hong Kong-listed shares maintained a flat price of HK$77.50 following the earnings announcement.\n\nMeituan's surge in profitability stems from a shift in strategy as the fierce price war in China's food delivery market subsided. The company began scaling back subsidies and concentrating on high-value customers and larger orders, resulting in a 52.3% year-over-year increase in operating profit for its local commerce division, which primarily drives revenue through domestic food delivery and in-store services.\n\nHowever, Meituan faces an emerging threat from Douyin, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok. Li Chengdong, founder and chief analyst at Dolphin, an e-commerce consultancy, warns that Douyin's massive user engagement and promotional strategies could siphon traffic away from Meituan's transaction platform. Douyin, with over 1 billion monthly active users, is leveraging short-video algorithms and live streaming to attract restaurant chains and offer discounted meals, posing a structural, long-term challenge to Meituan's in-store business.\n\nDespite this challenge, Meituan is pursuing growth abroad and investing in artificial intelligence to pivot from a traditional transaction platform to a tech-driven services company. The company's expansion through the Keeta platform and advancements in AI, autonomous delivery, and embodied robotics could provide long-term valuation growth and diversify its offerings beyond traditional food delivery.",
  "summary": "On-demand delivery giant Meituan swung back to profitability in the second quarter as China’s price war in food delivery cooled, allowing the company to scale back subsidies and target higher-value customers. Beijing-based Meituan posted an adjusted net profit of 2.5 billion yuan (US$372 million) for the June quarter, snapping a three-quarter losing streak according to its earnings report on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}