ZTO EXPRESS-Why Is ZTO Express Cayman (ZTO) Down 4.7% Since Last Earnings Report?

Core Insights - ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. has experienced a 4.7% decline in share price over the past month, underperforming the S&P 500 index [1] - The company reported a year-over-year increase in Q1 2024 earnings, with earnings per share at 37 cents and total revenues reaching $1.37 billion [2] Operational Performance - Revenue from the core express delivery business increased by 11% year over year, driven by a 13.9% rise in parcel volume, despite a 2.5% decrease in parcel unit price [3] - KA revenue, which includes delivery fees from direct sales organizations, decreased by 7.1% due to a shift towards higher-value customers [3] - Freight forwarding services revenue grew by 5.2% year over year [3] - Sales of accessories, primarily thermal paper for digital waybills, surged by 31.5% [3] - The gross profit improved by 19% year over year, with gross margin increasing to 30.1% from 28.1% [4] Financial Position - Total operating expenses for the first quarter were RMB735.4 million ($ 101.8 million), up from RMB573.0 million in the previous year [4] - ZTO Express ended Q1 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of RMB12.58 billion, slightly up from RMB12.33 billion at the end of December 2023 [4] Future Outlook - The company anticipates parcel volumes for 2024 to be between 34.73 billion and 35.64 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 15-18% [5] - Analysts have not made any earnings estimate revisions in the past two months [5]