JD.com's Supply-Chain Tech Unit to Raise Up to $420 Million in Hong Kong IPO

By Adria Calatayud

China's JD.com said it gained majority ownership of German electronics retailer Ceconomy at the end of an additional acceptance period for its 2.23 billion-euro ($2.59 billion) takeover offer.

The Beijing-based e-commerce company said Tuesday that it secured about 59.8% of the share capital and voting rights of Ceconomy after the additional offer period, up from 45.5% at the end of the initial acceptance period.

This, combined with a stake retained by JD.com's future partner Convergenta, will bring their combined shareholding to 85.2%, up from 70.9% after the initial offer period. Convergenta is the holding company of the Kellerhals family, founders of MediaMarktSaturn, and was the biggest shareholder in Ceconomy before JD.com's offer.

JD.com in late July agreed to launch a takeover offer for Ceconomy, with the support of the German company's supervisory and management boards, as part of a push into overseas markets at a time it is confronting stiff competition in China.

Closing of the deal is expected to take place in the first half of next year, subject to regulatory clearances, JD.com said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

By Tracy Qu

Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan swung into the red for the first time in nearly three years, buckling under the costs of a brutal price war.

The Beijing-based company on Friday reported a third-quarter net loss of 18.63 billion yuan, equivalent to $2.63 billion, compared with profit of 12.86 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.0% to 95.49 billion yuan.

Both figures fell short of expectations. Analysts had predicted a net loss of about 15.68 billion yuan on revenue of 97.69 billion yuan, according to FactSet consensus estimates.

"Market competition has remained overheated," Meituan said in its earnings report. Overseas expansion also dragged on profit, it said. That led the company to expect continued operating losses in the fourth quarter for its core local commerce segment and business overall.

Meituan, a longtime leader in China's food-delivery industry, has been under increasing pressure from rivals like Alibaba Group and e-commerce platform JD.com.

The Chinese shopping-and-delivery platform has been aggressively offering discounts to attract customers, a move seen as necessary to defend its market share. Soft Chinese demand has only fueled the competition with JD.com and Alibaba's Ele.me. In the latest quarter, JD.com's profit slumped 55%, partly due to its costly push into food delivery. Alibaba this week reported a halving in profit due to heavy spending on food delivery and artificial intelligence.

Meituan said Friday that "continuous intensified competition in food delivery" caused its core local commerce segment to swing to an operating loss of 14.1 billion yuan in the third quarter, with revenue falling 2.8% from the previous year.

As for the new initiatives business, the company said operating loss widened to 1.3 billion yuan due to its overseas push, although revenue increased 16%.

The price war has drawn the ire of Beijing, with China's top market regulator earlier this year calling for the companies to engage in "rational" competition.

Analysts at Jefferies said Chinese e-commerce companies' quick-commerce losses likely peaked in the September quarter, suggesting that the hit to earnings could start to moderate. The key period to watch is the June quarter next year, as unit economics tend to be better following the Lunar New Year in the first quarter, they wrote in a report this week.

Sentiment remains subdued for now as Meituan and other platforms continue to grapple with a relatively weak Chinese economy, which has led to muted consumer spending. Shares in the Hong Kong-listed company have lost about one-third of their value this year, compared with the benchmark Hang Seng Index's nearly 30% gain over the same period.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

By Tracy Qu

Meituan reported a quarterly net loss for the first time in nearly three years as a brutal price war took a toll on the Chinese food-delivery giant.

Net loss for the third quarter was 18.63 billion yuan, equivalent to $2.63 billion, swinging from profit of 12.86 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said Friday. Analysts had expected a 15.68 billion yuan loss, according to a FactSet consensus estimate.

Revenue climbed 2% to 95.49 billion yuan, weaker than analysts' estimate of 97.69 billion yuan.

Meituan, a longtime leader in China's food-delivery industry, has been under increasing pressure from rivals like Alibaba Group and e-commerce platform JD.com.

The Chinese shopping-and-delivery platform has been aggressively offering discounts to attract customers, a move seen as necessary to defend its market share against Alibaba's Ele.me and JD.com. In the latest quarter, JD.com's profit slumped 55%, partly due to its costly push into food delivery. Alibaba this week reported a halving in profit due to heavy spending on food delivery and artificial intelligence.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

Chinese e-commerce companies' quick-commerce losses likely peaked in the September quarter, Jefferies analysts say in a research note. Alibaba management noted that its unit-economics losses in quick commerce could fall significantly in the December quarter on a better order mix. Jefferies says 2Q 2026 could be a key quarter to watch as unit economics tend to be better following the Lunar New Year in 1Q. Investors should watch the stocks of JD.com and Meituan, which also have quick-commerce operations. Alibaba's shares are down 1.5%, JD.com gains 2.4% and Meituan rises 5.95%. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

Alibaba is the biggest winner in China's on-demand delivery price war this year, though Meituan should continue to hold a dominant share of the pie, Morningstar analysts Chelsey Tam and Junhao Yang say in a note. They expect improvement in profit per order for Alibaba and JD.com to come from higher average order value, and lower subsidies and rider costs over time. Meituan is expected to maintain its lead in gross transaction and order volumes, supported by its large rider base, data accumulation, low-cost offerings and membership program. "We believe investors are overly focused on the short-term earnings impact of the food delivery price war, which we expect to conclude by the end of 2027," they say, viewing Alibaba, JD and Meituan as undervalued.(jason.chau@wsj.com)