ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (ZTO)

ZTO Express reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of RMB14,549.9 million, up 23.0 percent, and net income of RMB3,077.6 million, up 56.7 percent 1.

Core express revenue rose 23.0 percent on 6.5 percent more parcels and a 15.5 percent rise in the unit price per parcel 1.

The company said the higher unit price came from more key-account volume, including a fast-growing return-parcel business 1.

It also lowered its 2026 parcel volume growth guidance to 6.0 to 10.0 percent, from 10 to 13 percent given in March 13.

On 21 September 2026 Alibaba's entities sold 25,000,000 Class A shares (computed), and its filing reports a holding of 6.1 percent afterwards 5.

The board meets on 17 November 2026 to approve third-quarter results, and the company will release them on 18 November 2026 6.

ZTO began in January 2009 as Shanghai Zhongtongji Express Service, which ran delivery in Shanghai and nearby provinces and authorized partners to run ZTO-branded service elsewhere in China 2.

In 2013 its owners and 15 partners set up a holding company, which bought eight partners' businesses in January 2014 and 16 more in October 2015 for equity and cash 2.

Its American depositary shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 27 October 2016, and the offering raised about $1.4 billion after costs 2.

In May 2018 investors led by Alibaba and Cainiao Network put US$1.38 billion into the company for about 10 percent of its equity 2.

It listed in Hong Kong on 29 September 2020 and became a dual-primary listed company on 1 May 2023 2.

Revenue rose 10.9 percent to RMB49,098.7 million in 2025 and net income rose 3.9 percent to RMB9,235.7 million 3.

Core express revenue rose 11.3 percent in 2025 as parcel volume grew 13.3 percent while the unit price fell 1.7 percent 2.

Gross profit, revenue minus the cost of delivering, fell 10.5 percent to RMB12.3 billion because profit per parcel fell 21.0 percent 2.

The cost line behind it, other costs, rose 96.2 percent to RMB11.7 billion, mostly from serving key-account customers, whose revenue rose 111.8 percent on e-commerce return parcels 2.

In the first quarter of 2026 parcel volume grew 13.2 percent and revenue grew 22.0 percent 4.

Express delivery

Express delivery is the core business: ZTO moves parcels, mostly for online sellers, through its own sorting hubs and trucks and the outlets run by independent network partners 2.

Express delivery services brought in RMB45,726.4 million, or 93.1 percent of 2025 revenue 3.

At the end of 2025 the network had 93 sorting hubs with 596 automation lines, about 3,800 line-haul routes, over 10,000 trucks ZTO owns, over 6,000 direct network partners and over 31,000 outlets 2.

In the second quarter of 2026 it handled 10,486 million parcels and said its market share reached 19.9 percent 1.

Network partners set what senders pay, while ZTO charges them a fixed amount per waybill plus a variable amount for sorting and line-haul transport, based on weight and route distance 2.

Accessories, freight forwarding and other lines

Accessories, mostly thermal paper for digital waybills, brought in RMB2,444.3 million in 2025, or 5.0 percent of revenue 31.

Freight forwarding, run through the acquired China Oriental Express business in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, brought in RMB808.0 million, or 1.7 percent 23.

ZTO also offers less-than-truckload freight for heavy cargo, international express in Southeast Asia and Africa, warehousing and a growing air cargo arm 2.

Rivals

It competes with YTO Express, STO Express, Yunda Express, J&T Express, SF Express, JD Logistics and China Post's EMS, in an industry the company calls fragmented 2.

Plants and people

ZTO operated 88 sorting hubs at the end of 2025 and its partners ran five more, and 72 of its 88 stand on premises it owns 2.

At 31 March 2026 the hubs ZTO operates covered about 13,026,000 square meters of floor area 2.

The company had 23,399 employees at the end of 2025 2.

Meisong Lai founded the company, has chaired the board since May 2013 and has been chief executive since its inception 2.

Hongqun Hu has been a director since May 2022 and chief operating officer since June 2017 2.

Current problems

In the second quarter of 2026 higher diesel prices offset part of the saving in line-haul cost per parcel 1.

Return parcels raised what ZTO pays partners: other costs rose 61.2 percent to RMB4,609.7 million in the quarter, with RMB1,620.4 million more for pickup and dispatch for key-account customers 1.

Five securities class actions begun from May 2017 ended by 2021, all dismissed without prejudice except one that ended in a judgment for the company 2.

The umbrella, in words

The brand is ZTO, and under the Cayman parent sit ZTO Express Limited (British Virgin Islands), ZTO Express (Hong Kong) Limited and Shanghai Zhongtongji Network Technology (China) 7.

The exhibit lists only the significant subsidiaries and omits the others 7.

Chinese law limits foreign ownership of mail delivery, so the delivery business sits in ZTO Express Co., Ltd., a domestic company ZTO controls by contract 2.

Six key shareholders, among them Meisong Lai, hold 73.8 percent of that company's equity 2.

ZTO owns about 18 percent of ZTO Freight, the group behind the freight partner ZTO LTL, and about 18 percent of ZTO Yun Leng, in which it invested RMB108.0 million 2.

It also held about 12.4 percent of ZTO Cloud Warehouse at the end of 2025 2.

Control sits with the founder: at 31 March 2026 Meisong Lai held 206,100,000 Class B shares and 78.7 percent of the voting power 2.

Alibaba is an early investor: its Schedule 13D amendment reports 46,941,287 Class A shares, 6.1 percent, as of 21 September 2026 5.

The 20-F says ZTO lacks title certificates for about 112,000 square meters of hub land and for 33 buildings 2.

For 2026 the company now expects parcel volume to rise 6.0 to 10.0 percent, a range of 40.8 billion to 42.4 billion parcels 1.

GuruFocus, summarizing the company's call of 19 August 2026, reported annual capital spending guidance of about RMB6 billion 8.

It also reported that oil prices are expected to keep adding RMB0.01 to RMB0.02 per parcel in the second half, and that standardized social insurance contributions for couriers are expected to raise costs 8.

From 2026 the company targets total shareholder returns of at least 50 percent of the prior year's adjusted net income, through cash dividends and share repurchases 3.

In March 2026 the board authorized repurchases of up to US$1.5 billion over 24 months, to 20 March 2028, and US$1.36 billion of that capacity remained at the end of the second quarter 1.

The board did not recommend an interim dividend for the first half of 2026, because repurchases in 2026 to that point equaled 52 percent of 2025 adjusted net income 1.

The company issued US$1.5 billion of 0.925 percent convertible senior notes in February 2026, due on 1 March 2031 unless redeemed, repurchased or converted earlier 2.

It will release third-quarter results on 18 November 2026 and host a call at 8:30 A.M. Beijing time that day 6.