Meituan Lost $2.6B This Quarter — But Its Cash Pile Just Hit a Record High

SG Visual Research
08:30
$美团-W(03690)$  

Meituan’s core local commerce swung to a RMB 14.1bn operating loss in Q3, its first red ink in years. Not because demand collapsed—but because it’s fighting a three-way price war with Alibaba and JD.

Sales expenses doubled to RMB 34.3bn, yet revenue fell 2.8%. Management now says Q3 was likely the “peak of subsidies.” Going forward, they’ll shift to “precision investment”—focusing on orders above RMB 30, where they still hold ~70% share.

Most telling: cash + short-term investments hit RMB 141.2bn. That’s enough to sustain current losses for over 7 quarters.

This isn’t desperation—it’s discipline. The question isn’t whether Meituan can survive, but whether rivals can outlast it.

(One Chart to Understand below 👇)

One Chalet to Understand 

The Hong Kong stock options market is active, Meituan subscription contract transactions lead, and the Hang Seng Index and technology stocks rose significantly
In the Hong Kong stock options market, 371,783 contracts were traded in half a day, with Meituan's HK $110 subscription contract ranking first in trading volume. XPeng auto subscription contracts collectively rose sharply, indicating that the market is active. On December 19, 2025, the Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong stocks rose by 0.75%, and the Hang Seng Technology Index rose by 1.12%. Auto stocks rose in late trading, XPeng Motors rose by more than 7%, and Leapmotor rose by more than 5%; Many stocks such as brokerage stocks and China CDFG performed strongly, and the market as a whole showed a positive upward trend.
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