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Intense Food Delivery War Hammers China's E-Commerce Titans
28 Aug
Summary
- Fierce price war in China's food delivery sector
- Losses bigger than expected for JD.com, Meituan warns of big losses
- Alibaba's food delivery unit likely to post biggest quarterly loss since 2023
As of August 28th, 2025, an intense price war in China's food delivery sector is dealing more damage than expected to the country's e-commerce giants, forcing analysts and investors to slash their share price targets.
While investors are still awaiting Alibaba's quarterly results, earnings from its peers JD.com and Meituan make it clear that the hyper-competition in the sector is taking a toll. JD.com's recent food delivery losses were bigger than anticipated, and Meituan's shares tumbled this week after it warned of significant losses due to "irrational competition."
Investors are expecting Alibaba's earnings to follow the same trend, with cloud computing profits likely to be overshadowed by the cost of subsidies and discounts in the food delivery segment. This may lead to rising questions about the outlook for the three companies' share prices, as the all-or-nothing price war is expected to only intensify.
Analysts believe that if the market, previously dominated by one company, now has three or even four major players, the competition will become fiercer and fiercer, making it difficult to see where the end will be.
