Xin Lang Cai Jing·2025-11-30 01:17Group 1 - The core point of the article highlights the significant financial losses reported by the three major players in the food delivery industry, namely Meituan, Alibaba, and JD.com, due to intense competition and high marketing expenditures [2][3][4] - Meituan reported a record net loss of 16 billion yuan in Q3, marking its largest loss since its IPO, compared to a profit of 12.8 billion yuan in the same period last year [2] - Alibaba's net profit for the same quarter fell by 52% to 20.99 billion yuan, while JD.com saw a 55% decline in net profit to 5.3 billion yuan [2][3] Group 2 - The marketing expenses for Meituan surged by 90.9% to 34.3 billion yuan in Q3, primarily due to increased spending on promotions and user incentives in response to fierce competition [3] - JD.com's marketing expenses rose by 110.5% to 21.1 billion yuan, with a significant portion allocated to its new food delivery business [3] - Alibaba's sales and marketing expenses reached 66.5 billion yuan, up from 32.5 billion yuan year-on-year, indicating substantial investment in its e-commerce operations [3] Group 3 - The total expenditure on food delivery by the three companies in Q2 and Q3 is estimated to exceed 74.4 billion yuan, with Q3 alone accounting for 44.4 billion yuan, reflecting a 48% increase in spending [4] - Despite the high expenditures, the competitive landscape remains challenging, with companies like Alibaba indicating a potential reduction in spending in the upcoming quarters [4][5] - Meituan's CEO expressed that while losses may have peaked, the company will continue to invest to maintain its market leadership without engaging in price wars [2][4] Group 4 - The intense competition has led to a situation where merchants experience increased order volumes but decreased actual revenue, indicating a "growth without profit" scenario [7] - The average daily order volume for merchants increased by 7%, but their actual revenue declined by approximately 4%, highlighting the adverse effects of the subsidy wars [7] - The ongoing subsidy competition has raised concerns about market saturation and the sustainability of such aggressive pricing strategies in the long term [9]