“外卖大战”三巨头，半年烧钱近800亿元

Core Insights - The three major players in the food delivery market, Meituan, Alibaba, and JD, reported significant financial losses in their recent quarterly earnings, attributed to intense competition and high subsidy expenditures [3][4][5] Financial Performance - Meituan reported a record net loss of 16 billion yuan in Q3, a stark contrast to a profit of 12.8 billion yuan in the same period last year [3] - Alibaba's net profit for the quarter was 20.99 billion yuan, down 52% year-on-year, with adjusted net profit dropping 72% to 10.35 billion yuan [3] - JD's net profit fell 55% to 5.3 billion yuan, with adjusted net profit down 56% to 5.8 billion yuan [3] Marketing Expenditures - Meituan's sales and marketing expenses surged by 90.9% to 34.3 billion yuan, primarily due to increased spending on promotions and user incentives in response to fierce competition [4] - JD's marketing expenses rose 110.5% to 21.1 billion yuan, with a significant portion allocated to new business initiatives, including food delivery [4] - Alibaba's sales and marketing expenses reached 66.5 billion yuan, up from 32.5 billion yuan year-on-year, indicating substantial investment in user experience and flash sales [4] Competitive Landscape - The intense subsidy war has led to a combined expenditure of nearly 800 billion yuan by the three companies in the second and third quarters, with Q3 alone seeing an increase of nearly 50% in spending [3][5] - Despite the high costs, Meituan's CEO expressed confidence that losses have peaked, although Q4 is expected to remain challenging for the food delivery business [3][5] - Alibaba's CEO indicated that the investment in flash sales would likely decrease in the next quarter, reflecting a strategic shift in response to market conditions [5] Market Dynamics - The competition has resulted in a mixed impact on order volumes and merchant revenues, with merchants experiencing increased order volumes but declining actual revenue due to aggressive pricing strategies [9] - The average daily order volume for merchants increased by 7%, but their actual revenue decreased by approximately 4%, indicating a challenging environment for profitability [9] - The ongoing subsidy war has raised concerns about market saturation and the sustainability of such aggressive pricing strategies in the long term [10][11]