China’s JD.com topped quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday, as the e-commerce giant benefited from steady consumer spending thanks to government subsidies and lower prices.
JD.com saw growth in both user base and customer shopping frequency in the July-September quarter, CEO Sandy Xu told analysts on a results call, adding annual active customers hit 700 million in October.
As China’s top home appliances retailer, JD.com has benefited from government-backed trade-in policies that began in September last year.
However, this has created a high baseline for future growth, which will put pressure on JD.com‘s growth rate in what Xu said was an “industry-wide challenge”.
“The electronics and home appliances category has been faced with a high base since the second half of Q3, which has been weighing on its growth momentum,” said Xu.
“We are working closely with brands and manufacturers to navigate through it,” she said.
Discounts fuel Singles’ Day sales
Chinese retailers are using heavy discounts and price cuts to lure shoppers who are keeping a tight leash on their spending due to worries over job and income security.
Over the Singles’ Day shopping festival, which ended on Tuesday after about a month, JD.com said it had set a new record for sales, without disclosing details.
Data from Beijing-based tech and commerce consulting firm Analysys showed that during the shopping event, JD.com saw sales rise 8.3%, while Alibaba’s platforms and Pinduoduo saw growth of 9.3% and 11.7%, respectively.
Investments in new business segments are showing signs of paying off, JD.com said. It reported steady growth in order volume in its food delivery unit, where it competes with market leaders Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me, which was rebranded earlier this month to Taobao Shangou.
However, Morgan Stanley downgraded JD.com to “underweight” from “equal-weight” over the weekend, saying that “tapering trade-in effects and incessant investment in new businesses are set to significantly slow JD’s revenue growth and structurally erode its margins … in the long term.”
M Science analyst Vinci Zhang expected JD will reduce food delivery investments, citing “very aggressive moves” from larger rival Alibaba with which JD.com is not able to compete.
“So it’s a smart move to just not invest because they’re not going to win either way,” he said.
JD.com reported a 14.9% rise in third-quarter revenue to 299.1 billion yuan ($41.99 billion), beating estimates of 294.05 billion yuan, LSEG-compiled data showed.
Adjusted profit of 3.73 yuan per American Depositary Share topped expectations of 2.79 yuan.
Reuters
