Daily Brief Consumer: Meituan, Cathay Pacific, LingoAce and more

• Meituan (3690 HK) returned to profit in 2Q26 after 3 quarters of losses.  The company had a net income of RMB 2.16B vs. a consensus loss of RMB 1.23B.
• Operating profit surged to RMB 2.69 bn, an 11-fold increase YOY, as easing competition allowed the company to reduce food delivery subsidies, improving unit economics across food and non-food categories.
• Meituan’s profit surge, combined with JD.com cutting promotional spending and Alibaba reducing sales and marketing expenses, adds to the evidence that China’s quick-commerce price war may be peaking. 

• Total US border crossings in July 2026 were up just 0.6% Y/Y (and down 5% vs July 2024)
• July 2026 crossings by aircraft were down over 3% Y/Y, and down 2% Y/Y in US West
• The figures from peak Summer travel period seem to confirm sluggish US tourism activity

Executive Summary

• Omnichannel Platform Transition: LingoAce has evolved from a predominantly digital Mandarin tutoring service, which has operated a pilot blended-learning centre in Singapore since 2020, into a multi-subject educational platform serving students across more than 180 countries. The recent rollout of physical Ace Academy centres in Singapore, the United States and Australia expands its core offering to include mathematics and English language arts.
• Institutional Backing And Scale: The company leverages a distributed network of over 8,000 certified teachers to deliver a proprietary curriculum, achieving sustained profitability and positive operating cash flow since 2024. This operational maturity is validated by US$180.0m in total capital raised from top-tier institutional investors, including Peak XV Partners and Tiger Global.
• Deteriorating Credit Profile: The company leverages a distributed network of over 8,000 certified teachers to deliver a proprietary curriculum, narrowing its pre-tax loss to a low of US$4.9m in FY24 before returning to growth-led reinvestment in FY25. It has raised US$173.0m in total from institutional investors, including Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) and Tiger Global.