S.F. Holding Co., Ltd., a leading logistics company, has released its 2025 annual report, revealing record-breaking financial results. The company's annual revenue surpassed 300 billion yuan, while net profit exceeded 11 billion yuan, marking a 9.3% year-on-year increase. Following the earnings release on March 31, S.F. Holding's A-share price rose by 3.48%, and its Hong Kong-listed shares increased by 5.76%.
Despite intense competition and widespread price wars in the logistics industry, S.F. Holding's performance signals a strong comeback for the sector leader. However, a deeper look into the financial details shows that while the company achieved growth in scale, both revenue and profit growth rates slowed to single digits. Profitability metrics also weakened, with non-GAAP net profit growth lagging behind net profit growth, and gross margin declining once again.
Breaking down the business segments, time-sensitive express delivery, the company's core business, maintained single-digit growth. Supply chain and international operations returned to profitability but contributed minimal earnings. Same-city instant delivery services saw the highest growth at over 43%, yet its small scale limits its overall impact. Despite record results, S.F. Holding's performance reflects underlying challenges.
In response to a competitive landscape, S.F. Holding is embracing advanced technologies like AI and accelerating its global expansion. The company aims to transition from rapid growth to high-quality development, seeking new avenues for sustainable progress.
Revenue and profit reached new highs, but growth momentum slowed. On March 30, S.F. Holding disclosed its 2025 results, reporting revenue of 308.227 billion yuan, up 8.37% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 11.12 billion yuan, up 9.31%. According to data from the State Post Bureau, national express delivery volume grew 19.3% in the first half of 2025, while industry revenue increased only 10.1%. Average delivery price fell to 7.52 yuan per parcel, down 7.7% year-on-year. Although policies later in the year encouraged more rational pricing, overall rates remained low amid fierce competition.
Under these conditions, S.F. Holding's results stand out. It is the only privately-owned express delivery company listed on the A-share market with revenue exceeding 300 billion yuan. In terms of business volume, the company handled 16.63 billion parcels in 2025, a 25.4% increase, outperforming the industry average growth of approximately 13.6%.
Time-sensitive express delivery, the company's cornerstone business, generated revenue of 131.048 billion yuan, accounting for 42.52% of total revenue. Growth in this segment reached 7.2%, up from 5.8% in 2024. Economy express delivery also expanded, with revenue of 32.05 billion yuan, representing 10.40% of total revenue and growing 17.6%, compared to 8.8% in the previous year.
A notable turnaround occurred in supply chain and international operations, which reported revenue of 72.94 billion yuan, a 3.5% increase—slower than the 17.5% growth in 2024. Excluding fluctuations from Kerry Logistics' freight forwarding business, core international revenue grew 32.3%. This segment achieved a net profit of 188 million yuan, returning to profitability, though margins remain thin.
Same-city instant delivery stood out with the strongest growth, recording revenue of 12.87 billion yuan, up 43.4% year-on-year, driven by expansion in instant retail and rising market demand. However, the company's freight service segment grew 11.9%, slower than the 13.8% increase in 2024, indicating ongoing challenges.
Notably, economy express delivery grew faster than time-sensitive delivery, suggesting a shift in product mix that may dilute overall profitability. Average revenue per parcel fell to 13.7 yuan in 2025, down 11.4% from the previous year, due to increased contribution from lower-priced services. This indicates that S.F. Holding has yet to break free from a volume-over-price strategy.
Declining unit revenue and rising costs have weakened profitability. The company's gross margin fell to 13.32% in 2025, down 0.61 percentage points, halting the upward trend since 2022. Operating costs grew 9.14%, outpacing revenue growth. Compared to 2024, when revenue grew 10.07% and net profit increased 23.51%, 2025 growth rates slowed significantly. Non-GAAP net profit grew only 1.29%, down from 28.20% in 2024.
While S.F. Holding achieved a milestone with revenue exceeding 300 billion yuan, it also faced headwinds from lower per-parcel revenue and rising costs, leading to moderated growth.
Embracing advanced technology and expanding globally. As S.F. Holding's scale expands and industry competition intensifies, sustaining high growth becomes increasingly difficult. In response to domestic industry challenges, the company is focusing on cost efficiency and new growth drivers.
S.F. Holding's long-term vision is to become a globally respected leader in digital and intelligent logistics solutions. In 2025, S.F. Technology was listed among Fortune China's Top 50 Tech Companies, the only logistics technology firm to make the list.
The company is accelerating the application of AI, big data, optimization algorithms, and digital twin technologies in logistics operations. For example, its logistics-specific large language model processes over 10 billion tokens daily and is deployed in more than 30 business scenarios. The company employs over 5,000 active AI agents, functioning as digital employees.
AI enhances operations across pickup and delivery, scheduling, transfer, and transportation processes. It also supports revenue growth and customer experience improvements. Through AI and end-to-end digitalization, S.F. Holding offers integrated smart supply chain solutions to corporate clients.
Adopting advanced technology has improved operational efficiency. Meanwhile, global expansion represents another strategic initiative. Supply chain and international operations are viewed as a second growth curve, contributing 72.94 billion yuan in revenue, or 23.66% of the total, by the end of 2025.
Despite global uncertainties, S.F. Holding remains committed to overseas expansion and reshaping international supply chains. Its strategy includes shifting from resource sales to integrated solutions, targeting key clients; upgrading core resources such as air freight, land-rail transport, customs clearance, and overseas warehouses; and strengthening through strategic investments, such as acquiring a stake in J&T Express.
In mid-January, S.F. Holding subscribed to approximately 822 million newly issued B-shares of J&T Express, while J&T subscribed to 226 million H-shares of S.F. Holding. Post-transaction, S.F. Holding holds a 10% stake in J&T, and J&T holds 4.29% of S.F. Holding. This cross-shareholding deepens their strategic partnership, enabling resource sharing and complementary advantages. Future cooperation may include global network development, infrastructure layout, and business synergies.
S.F. Holding has accelerated its global presence in recent years. In November 2024, it listed in Hong Kong, becoming the first A+H listed logistics firm. Chairman Wang Wei emphasized the importance of the Hong Kong platform for international market development. The company has also invested in freighter aircraft, developed Ezhou Huahu Airport, and acquired Kerry Logistics for nearly 20 billion HKD to strengthen its cross-border logistics capabilities.
In 2025, supply chain and international operations achieved a net profit of 190 million yuan, turning profitable after previous losses. However, profitability remains weak, with a margin below 0.3%. The company acknowledged challenges from volatile international freight prices and competition from global giants like DHL, UPS, and FedEx, which collectively hold over 55% of the global market share. S.F. Holding's international brand accounts for only 7.5%, facing significant gaps in brand recognition and service networks in mature markets.
Overall, S.F. Holding achieved a breakthrough in revenue scale in 2025 and made strategic advances. However, declining profitability and thin margins in international operations present ongoing challenges. Future performance will be closely watched.
Comments