Asian Equities Analyst, Logistics & Transport, Tracking Traffic

Daniel Hellberg

Asian Equities Analyst, Logistics & Transport

Tracking Traffic

Focusing on Asian logistics, transportation, and travel companies

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Going into FY24, ZTO aimed to focus on price,  cede volume share in support of margins</li>
<li>It hasn't worked: in Q324, adj EBITDA margin fell -290 bps Y/Y despite higher ASPs</li>
<li>Q324 results reveal weak earnngs growth, &amp; reduced FY24 volume target; AVOID</li>
</ul>


Going into FY24, ZTO aimed to focus on price,  cede volume share in support of margins
It hasn't worked: in Q324, adj EBITDA margin fell -290 bps Y/Y despite higher ASPs
Q324 results reveal weak earnngs growth, &amp; reduced FY24 volume target; AVOID


ZTO Express Q324 Results: Shift in Strategy Leads to Lower Core Margins & FY24 Guidance Cut | AVOID

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US listed China companies.</li>
<li>The Hong Kong visit was on the back of the 26th Aug 2022 announcement by PCAOB and CSRC that they had entered into an agreement with US authorities for access.</li>
<li>In this note, we'll talk about the latest developments, possible outcomes and implications.</li>
</ul>


PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US listed China companies.
The Hong Kong visit was on the back of the 26th Aug 2022 announcement by PCAOB and CSRC that they had entered into an agreement with US authorities for access.
In this note, we'll talk about the latest developments, possible outcomes and implications.


China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

<ul>
<li>SF Hldg had <em>slowest</em> Q125 revenue growth among China-listed express companies, STO <em>fastest</em>
</li>
<li>Only these two express firms reported margin expansion in Q125 -- how'd they do it?</li>
<li>Q125 results suggest two very different paths toward improved express profitability</li>
</ul>


SF Hldg had slowest Q125 revenue growth among China-listed express companies, STO fastest

Only these two express firms reported margin expansion in Q125 -- how'd they do it?
Q125 results suggest two very different paths toward improved express profitability


Chinese Express: SF, STO Enjoyed Margin Expansion in Q125; YTO, Yunda Saw Margins Contract

China New Economy Equity Analyst, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Robert McKay

China New Economy Equity Analyst

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

<ul>
<li>Amid fierce low-price competition in 1H24, low-end couriers  benefited from merchant demand for cheap logistics. However, new platform policies suggest greater emphasis on quality logistics and O2O in 2H24;</li>
<li>The shift towards higher-end logistics is manifesting through O2O. Spearheaded by Meituan, O2O is an experiment to copy Coupang's business model in China. We believe there is a sizable market;</li>
<li>We see ZTO as best positioned amid the changing environment, JDL least impacted, with J&amp;T and SFE in the least favorable positions.</li>
</ul>


Amid fierce low-price competition in 1H24, low-end couriers  benefited from merchant demand for cheap logistics. However, new platform policies suggest greater emphasis on quality logistics and O2O in 2H24;
The shift towards higher-end logistics is manifesting through O2O. Spearheaded by Meituan, O2O is an experiment to copy Coupang's business model in China. We believe there is a sizable market;
We see ZTO as best positioned amid the changing environment, JDL least impacted, with J&amp;T and SFE in the least favorable positions.


Logistics Shift to Quality Amid Evolved Ecommerce Plans

<ul>
<li>Headline numbers for ZTO in Q224 were +10% Revenue, +12% EBITDA</li>
<li>But gross margin in core express segment fell, as did Operating Cash Flow</li>
<li>ZTO left guidance unchanged for FY24; we recommend investors AVOID it</li>
</ul>


Headline numbers for ZTO in Q224 were +10% Revenue, +12% EBITDA
But gross margin in core express segment fell, as did Operating Cash Flow
ZTO left guidance unchanged for FY24; we recommend investors AVOID it


ZTO Express Q224 Results: Slow Top-Line Growth | Margin Compression in Core Express Business | AVOID

China

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. operates as an express delivery company. The Company provides express delivery service through their nationwide network, as well as other value-added logistics services. ZTO Express serves customers globally.

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ZTO Express Cayman (ZTO US)

ZTO Express Q324 Results: Shift in Strategy Leads to Lower Core Margins & FY24 Guidance Cut | AVOID

ZTO's focus on price over volume share gains simply hasn't worked so far in 2024. Until management developts a path towards a return to profitable...

Tracking Traffic

China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US...

Sumeet Singh

Chinese Express: SF, STO Enjoyed Margin Expansion in Q125; YTO, Yunda Saw Margins Contract

Chinese express companies SF Holding and STO Express followed two very disparate paths to Op Inc margin expansion in Q1 2025

Tracking Traffic

Logistics Shift to Quality Amid Evolved Ecommerce Plans

In 2H24, low-end couriers face shift towards quality logistics and O2O, with ZTO and Meituan best positioned and SFE most negatively affected

Blue Lotus Research Institute

ZTO Express Q224 Results: Slow Top-Line Growth | Margin Compression in Core Express Business | AVOID

ZTO's headline Q224 numbers look OK, but they don't paint an accurate picture of what's happening in the core express segment. We suggest investors...

Tracking Traffic

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

ZTO Express Q324 Results: Shift in Strategy Leads to Lower Core Margins & FY24 Guidance Cut | AVOID

ZTO's focus on price over volume share gains simply hasn't worked so far in 2024. Until management developts a path towards a return to profitable...

Tracking Traffic

China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US...

Sumeet Singh

Chinese Express: SF, STO Enjoyed Margin Expansion in Q125; YTO, Yunda Saw Margins Contract

Chinese express companies SF Holding and STO Express followed two very disparate paths to Op Inc margin expansion in Q1 2025

Tracking Traffic

Logistics Shift to Quality Amid Evolved Ecommerce Plans

​In 2H24, low-end couriers face shift towards quality logistics and O2O, with ZTO and Meituan best positioned and SFE most negatively affected

Blue Lotus Research Institute

ZTO Express Q224 Results: Slow Top-Line Growth | Margin Compression in Core Express Business | AVOID

ZTO's headline Q224 numbers look OK, but they don't paint an accurate picture of what's happening in the core express segment. We suggest investors...

Tracking Traffic

In 2H24, low-end couriers face shift towards quality logistics and O2O, with ZTO and Meituan best positioned and SFE most negatively affected