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>ZTO Express reported another set of weak results after the US close on November 19</li>
<li>Although Q3 unit prices rose slightly, unit costs increased by much more, crushing margins</li>
<li>On both sides of the price-volume tradeoff, ZTO continues to lose profitability | AVOID</li>
</ul>


ZTO Express reported another set of weak results after the US close on November 19
Although Q3 unit prices rose slightly, unit costs increased by much more, crushing margins
On both sides of the price-volume tradeoff, ZTO continues to lose profitability | AVOID


ZTO Express Q325 Results | Revenue, ASPs Both Up Y/Y | But Earnings, Margins Both Down | AVOID

<ul>
<li>Last week in its June quarter earnings release Alibaba "demoted" CaiNiao's status</li>
<li>It's become clear that boosting eComm logistics simply isn't a priority for Alibaba</li>
<li>For firms that took investment from Alibaba &amp; CaiNiao, implications are -Ive</li>
</ul>


Last week in its June quarter earnings release Alibaba "demoted" CaiNiao's status
It's become clear that boosting eComm logistics simply isn't a priority for Alibaba
For firms that took investment from Alibaba &amp; CaiNiao, implications are -Ive


Alibaba's Logistics Arm CaiNiao Relegated To "Others" Status | Implications for Chinese Express?

<ul>
<li>Industry and company reports show ASP declines gained momentum in April</li>
<li>April volume jumped 36% Y/Y on a weak comp from 2022 (Covid-19 lockdowns)</li>
<li>Our thesis: pricing is getting weaker, and this trend will soon impact margins</li>
</ul>


Industry and company reports show ASP declines gained momentum in April
April volume jumped 36% Y/Y on a weak comp from 2022 (Covid-19 lockdowns)
Our thesis: pricing is getting weaker, and this trend will soon impact margins


Monthly Express Tracker | Prices Continue to Slide | Volume Pops | (May 2023)

<ul>
<li>The Bad: Margins &amp; cash flow both declined sharply compared to Q224 </li>
<li>The Ugly: ZTO cut FY25 parcel volume growth target after a sluggish H1</li>
<li>With no signs of a turnaround in sight, we retain our negative view of ZTO</li>
</ul>


The Bad: Margins &amp; cash flow both declined sharply compared to Q224 
The Ugly: ZTO cut FY25 parcel volume growth target after a sluggish H1
With no signs of a turnaround in sight, we retain our negative view of ZTO


ZTO Express Q225 Results: No 'Good', Just the 'Bad' and the 'Ugly'

External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CMB International

CMB International

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

Incorporated in Hong Kong, supported by the mainland and targeting in global market, CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) is an integrated financial institution providing comprehensive and professional services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank ("CMB"), by leveraging on the Group’s synergy and coordination in domestic and overseas markets, as well as CMB’s strong resources and outstanding social reputation, CMBI and its subsidiaries have been actively implementing diversified business strategies and set up an overall layout of main business segments including Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Global Markets and Structured Finance, etc. Adhering to the philosophy of “being clients oriented and increasing our own values by the way of creating value for clients”, CMBI endeavors to provide quality and integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual customers both domestic and overseas including Hong Kong IPO sponsorship and underwriting, share placement and rights issue for listed companies, financial advisors, bonds issuance services, asset management, direct investment, wealth management, equity sales and trading, etc.

<ul><li>We believe ZTO’s lower parcel volume growth guidance for the full year (14- 18%, vs. 20-24% previously) is a response to the government’s anti-involution campaign.</li><li>While weak 2Q25 profit (-26% YoY) and lower guidance look unattractive, we see chances of an ASP surprise over the coming 6-12 months which will likely serve as a major share price catalyst.</li><li>We only slightly fine-tune our 2025E-27E earnings forecast by 1-2%. </li></ul><p><em>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.</em></p>

We believe ZTO’s lower parcel volume growth guidance for the full year (14- 18%, vs. 20-24% previously) is a response to the government’s anti-involution campaign.While weak 2Q25 profit (-26% YoY) and lower guidance look unattractive, we see chances of an ASP surprise over the coming 6-12 months which will likely serve as a major share price catalyst.We only slightly fine-tune our 2025E-27E earnings forecast by 1-2%. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

ZTO Express (ZTO US/2057 HK) - Lower Volume Guidance but Likely ASP Surprise

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 Q325 Results | Revenue, ASPs Both Up Y/Y | But Earnings, Margins Both Down | AVOID

ZTO reported another weak set of results on Wednesday, as margins collapsed in Q3 despite modest pricing improvement. Oh, and management cut volume...

Tracking Traffic

Alibaba's Logistics Arm CaiNiao Relegated To "Others" Status | Implications for Chinese Express?

As part of its June quarter earnings release last week, Alibaba effectively "demoted" logistics arm CaiNiao by pushing it into a new "Others"...

Tracking Traffic

Monthly Express Tracker | Prices Continue to Slide | Volume Pops | (May 2023)

In April, express volume shot up 36% against easy Y/Y comps, but ASPs deepened their recent decline. We believe pricing will continue to...

Tracking Traffic

ZTO Express Q225 Results: No 'Good', Just the 'Bad' and the 'Ugly'

ZTO reported a weak set of results for Q225, with margins and cash flow declining sharply. Management also cut FY25 volume growth targets. We...

Tracking Traffic

ZTO Express (ZTO US/2057 HK) - Lower Volume Guidance but Likely ASP Surprise

We believe ZTO’s lower parcel volume growth guidance for the full year (14- 18%, vs. 20-24% previously) is a response to the government’s anti...

CMB International

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