ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. reported second-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, with adjusted earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) of RMB3.79 ($0.56) and revenue of RMB14.55 billion ($2.14 billion), a 23.0% increase from RMB11.83 billion in the same period last year.
The company’s adjusted net income climbed 50.3% to RMB3.1 billion, while gross profit rose 26.8% to RMB3.73 billion. Gross margin improved to 25.7% from 24.9% a year earlier, reflecting operational efficiency gains. Operating cash flow totaled RMB4.6 billion, more than doubling from RMB2.2 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Parcel volume reached 10.5 billion for the quarter, up 6.5% year-over-year and outpacing industry growth by 2.3 percentage points. Market share expanded to 19.9%, supported by a 15.5% increase in the average parcel unit price, driven by higher-value key-account volumes and growth in reverse logistics.
Despite the strong financial performance, ZTO’s shares fell 1.86% in pre-market trading following the results. The company revised its full-year 2026 parcel volume growth guidance to a range of 6.0% to 10.0% year-over-year, translating to 40.8 billion to 42.4 billion parcels. Management cited evolving market dynamics and slowing industry growth as factors behind the adjusted outlook.
ZTO Founder, Chairman and CEO Meisong Lai highlighted the company’s focus on service quality and operational efficiency, noting that daily average retail parcel volume growth continued to outpace traditional e-commerce volumes. This structural shift, he said, supported volume gains while improving profit margins.
The results were reported for the second quarter of 2026 and published on August 19, 2026.
