9.7 Billion Parcel Volume Grew 7.4 Points Faster than Industry Average
Adjusted Net Income Increased 5.2% to RMB2.4 Billion
SHANGHAI, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK: 2057), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China ("ZTO" or the "Company"), today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026([1]) . The Company grew parcel volume by 13.2% year over year while maintaining high quality of service and customer satisfaction. Adjusted net income increased 5.2%([2]) to RMB2.4 billion. Net cash generated from operating activities was RMB2.8 billion.
First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights
-- Revenues were RMB13,282.4 million (US$1,925.5 million), an increase of
22.0% from RMB10,891.5 million in the same period of 2025.
-- Gross profit was RMB3,235.2 million (US$469.0 million), an increase of
20.3% from RMB2,689.2 million in the same period of 2025.
-- Net income was RMB2,156.4 million (US$312.6 million), an increase of 5.7%
from RMB2,039.2 million in the same period of 2025.
-- Adjusted EBITDA[3] was RMB3,941.3 million (US$571.4 million), an increase
of 6.9% from RMB3,686.7 million in the same period of 2025.
-- Adjusted net income was RMB2,377.1 million (US$344.6 million), an
increase of 5.2% from RMB2,259.3 million in the same period of 2025.
-- Basic and diluted net earnings per American depositary share ("ADS"[4])
were RMB2.73 (US$0.40) and RMB2.68 (US$0.39), an increase of 9.2% and
9.8% from RMB2.50 and RMB2.44 in the same period of 2025, respectively.
-- Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share
attributable to ordinary shareholders[5] were RMB3.01 (US$0.44) and
RMB2.95 (US$0.43), an increase of 8.7% and 8.9% from RMB2.77 and RMB2.71
in the same period of 2025 respectively.
-- Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB2,789.0 million
(US$404.3 million), compared with RMB2,363.0 million in the same period
of 2025.
Operational Highlights for First Quarter 2026
-- Parcel volume was 9,668 million, increased 13.2% from 8,539 million in
the same period of 2025.
-- Number of pickup/delivery outlets was over 31,000 as of March 31, 2026.
-- Number of direct network partners was approximately 6,000 as of March 31,
2026.
-- Number of self-owned line-haul vehicles was over 10,000 as of March 31,
2026.
-- Number of line-haul routes between sorting hubs was approximately 3,800
as of March 31, 2026.
-- Number of sorting hubs was 93 as of March 31, 2026, among which 88 are
operated by the Company and 5 by the Company's network partners.
[1] An investor relations presentation accompanies this earnings release and
can be found at http://zto.investorroom.com.
[2] Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as
net income before share-based compensation expense and non-recurring items
such as impairment of investments in equity investees, gain/(loss) on disposal
of equity investment and subsidiary and corresponding tax impact which
management aims to better represent the underlying business operations.
[3] Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net
income before depreciation, amortization, interest expenses and income tax
expenses, and further adjusted to exclude the shared-based compensation
expense and non-recurring items such as impairment of investments in equity
investees, gain/(loss) on disposal of equity investment and subsidiary which
management aims to better represent the underlying business operations.
[4] One ADS represents one Class A ordinary share.
[5] Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share
attributable to ordinary shareholders is a non-GAAP financial measure. It is
defined as adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders divided
by weighted average number of basic and diluted American depositary shares,
respectively.
Mr. Meisong Lai, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZTO, commented, "During the first quarter of 2026, ZTO maintained focus on quality of services and customer satisfaction, and well executed our key strategies to improve operating cost efficiencies and strengthening network pricing policy fairness and transparency. Our parcel volume reached 9.7 billion, which grew 13.2%, or 7.4 points above industry average, mainly attributable to strong key accounts growth. Our adjusted net income was 2.4 billion, as the daily average retail volume continued to expand at a faster rate than traditional ecommerce volume resulting in improved revenue structure that not only contributed to volume increase as well as positive contribution to overall margin."
Mr. Lai added, "China's express delivery industry is benefiting from the lasting effect of the anti-involution policy. It is well demonstrated by this quarter's industry-wide profit expansion, some faster than its volume growth, that there was an increasing focus on quality growth. ZTO's Quality-First strategy is consistent with regulatory attention as our operating efficiency continues to lead the industry and our effort to drive fairness and transparency across the entire network has generated positive impact on sustainable long-term growth. Shared-Success is never meant to be a corporate slogan, and our work in being fair and supportive of our partners never ends especially given the depth and width of our network footprint. By relying on digitization and diligent follow-through, we are seeing better alignment of strategy consensus and execution cohesiveness from headquarter to the furthest-reached outlets."
Ms. Huiping Yan, Chief Financial Officer of ZTO, commented, "For the first quarter, ZTO's core express ASP increased 8.2%, driven by a favorable mix-shift towards key accounts, which included fast-growing reverse logistics volume, and its positive impact more than offset the per unit increase in volume incentives. Combined unit sorting and transportation costs decreased 6 cents, driven largely by volume-leveraged productivity gain. SG&A excluding SBC as a percentage of revenue improved to approximately 4.5% compared to 4.7% in the same period last year. Cash flow from operating activities was 2.8 billion, and capital spending was 1.8 billion."
Ms. Yan added, "The sustainable growth strategy we focused on throughout the years is equally effective during economic stabilization and recovery. Our unique partner-franchise model requires fine tuning from time to time to maintain equitable sharing of the cost and profit. Our volume growth against industry deceleration came from the consistency of anti-involution policy as well as our initiatives to drive reasonable profit allocation for everyone under the ZTO brand. We aim to strengthen our volume leadership, and we are maintaining our annual parcel growth guidance at 10-13% over last year."
First Quarter 2026 Unaudited Financial Results
Three Months Ended March 31,
-----------------------------------------------
2025 2026
----------------- ----------------------------
RMB % RMB US$ %
---------- ----- ---------- --------- -----
(in thousands, except percentages)
Express delivery
services 10,122,290 92.9 12,523,779 1,815,567 94.3
Freight forwarding
services 179,219 1.7 155,910 22,602 1.2
Sale of accessories 560,297 5.1 577,675 83,745 4.3
Others 29,659 0.3 25,000 3,624 0.2
---------- ----- ---------- --------- -----
Total revenues 10,891,465 100.0 13,282,364 1,925,538 100.0
========== ===== ========== ========= =====
Total Revenues were RMB13,282.4 million (US$1,925.5 million), increased 22.0% from RMB10,891.5 million in the same period of 2025. Revenue from the core express delivery business increased by 22.5% compared to the same period of 2025 as a result of a 13.2% growth in parcel volume and an 8.2% increase in parcel unit price. Key account revenue, generated by direct sales organizations, increased by 92.2% mainly driven by increase in e-commerce return parcels. Revenue from freight forwarding services decreased by 13.0% compared to the same period of 2025. Revenue from sales of accessories, largely consisted of sales of thermal paper for digital waybills, increased by 3.1%. Other revenues were mainly derived from financing services.
Three Months Ended March 31,
--------------------------------------------
2025 2026
--------------- ---------------------------
RMB % RMB US$ %
--------- ---- ---------- --------- ----
(in thousands, except percentages)
Line-haul transportation
cost 3,483,065 32.0 3,530,168 511,767 26.6
Sorting hub operating
cost 2,314,595 21.3 2,454,271 355,795 18.5
Freight forwarding cost 172,792 1.6 154,265 22,364 1.2
Cost of accessories sold 133,259 1.2 127,589 18,497 1.0
Other costs 2,098,534 19.2 3,780,850 548,107 28.3
--------- ---- ---------
Total cost of revenues 8,202,245 75.3 10,047,143 1,456,530 75.6
========= ==== ========== ========= ====
Total cost of revenues was RMB10,047.1 million (US$1,456.5 million), an increase of 22.5% from RMB8,202.2 million in the same period last year.
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