A surge in sales expected for Meituan may be a catalyst to its shares, which have outperformed peers as services spending turns out to be a rare bright spot amid deepening investor pessimism.
The world’s largest meal delivery service is forecast to report a 32% surge in revenue for the second quarter later Thursday, its fastest growth since 2021, Bloomberg compiled data show. Such topline growth would beat Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s 14% increase and JD.com’s 7.6% rise reported earlier this month.
Meituan’s shares have advanced more than 4% over the past month, versus declines in Alibaba, JD, and PDD Holdings Inc. Year to date, Meituan remains deep in the red, having lost about 25% amid concerns over intensifying competition.
“Among its peers, Meituan should benefit the most from the surge in travel demand and dining out activities, with at least 30% of its profit this year coming from related business,” said Catherine Lim, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
--With assistance from Akshay Chinchalkar.
