ZTO Express Q1 Earnings Flat Y/Y, Revenues Miss Estimates
Mr. Meisong Lai, founder, chairman and chief executive officer at ZTO, stated, "During the first quarter, ZTO maintained leading service quality and achieved 8.5 billion of parcel volume and 2.3 billion of adjusted net income. Retail volume increased by 46% year over year for the quarter as we penetrated deeper into reverse logistics, and we continued to work closely with various e-commerce platform and enterprise customers to develop differentiated products and services which include time-definite delivery and customized KA consumer services."
Detailed Operational Statistics
Revenue from the core express delivery business increased 9.8% year over year, owing to 19.1% growth in parcel volume and a 7.8% decrease in parcel unit price. KA revenues, generated by direct sales organizations, increased 129.3%, driven by an increase in e-commerce return parcels.
Revenue from freight forwarding services fell 11.6% year over year, owing to declining cross-border e-commerce pricing.
Revenue from sales of accessories, which largely consisted of sales of thermal paper used for digital waybills' printing, rose 15.5% year over year. Other revenues were derived mainly from financing services.
Gross profit decreased 10.4% from the year-ago reported quarter. Gross margin rate fell to 24.7% from 30.1% in the year-ago period.
Total operating expenses were RMB283.8 million ($39.1 million) compared with RMB735.4 million in the year-ago period.
ZTO Express exited the first quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.71 billion compared with $1.84 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
ZTO's board approved its share repurchase program in November 2018 and has made subsequent changes so far. The latest announcement includes an increase in the aggregate value of shares to be repurchased to $2 billion and extends the effective period through June 30, 2025.
As of March 31, 2025, ZTO had purchased an aggregate of 50,899,498 ADSs for $1,228.3 million on the open market, including repurchase commissions. The remaining funds available under the share repurchase program are $771.7 million.
On May 20, 2025, ZTO announced that it would extend the current share repurchase program to June 30, 2026.
ZTO's 2025 Guidance
Based on current market and operating conditions, ZTO Express reaffirms its 2025 parcel volume guidance of 40.8 billion to 42.2 billion, reflecting 20-24% year-over-year growth.
ZTO's Zacks Rank
Currently, ZTO Express carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Q1 Performances of Other Transportation Companies
United Airlines
United Airlines ' UAL first-quarter 2025 earnings per share (excluding 25 cents from non-recurring items) of 91 cents surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents. In the year-ago quarter, the Chicago-based airline reported a loss of 15 cents per share.
Operating revenues of $13.21 billion fell marginally short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.22 billion. The top line increased 5.4% year over year despite the tariff-induced slowdown in domestic air travel demand. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 89.7% of the top line) rose 4.8% year over year to $11.9 billion. UAL flights transported 40,806 passengers in the first quarter, up 3.8% year over year.
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines DAL reported first-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 9 cents from non-recurring items) of 46 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents. Earnings increased 2.2% on a year-over-year basis due to low fuel costs.
Revenues in the March-end quarter were $14.04 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.81 billion and increasing 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) rose 3.3% year over year to $13 billion.
C.H. Robinson
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (
CHRW
) reported mixed first-quarter 2025 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.
Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.17 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 and improved 36% year over year. Total revenues of $4.04 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.31 billion and declined 8.2% year over year, owing to the divestiture of CHRW's Europe Surface Transportation business, lower volume in its North America truckload services, and lower pricing in the ocean services.
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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