BUSINESS

JD.com Loses More Money on ‘New Businesses’ With Costly Foray Into Food Delivery

Published: May. 15, 2025 7:02 p.m. GMT+8

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JD.com launched its food delivery business in February. Photo: JD.com

JD.com Inc. saw losses deepen in its “new businesses” segment in the first quarter, amid the e-commerce giant’s costly push into China’s highly competitive food delivery sector.

The segment, which includes the company’s nascent ventures such as JD Takeaway, JD Property and its overseas businesses, booked losses of 1.3 billion yuan ($180 million) in the first three months, nearly double the 670 million yuan from the same period last year, according to JD.com’s quarterly results released Tuesday. The loss is equal to 23.1% of the quarterly revenue from “new businesses” — widening from 13.8%.

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JD.com’s “new businesses” segment, including JD Takeaway, posted a Q1 loss of 1.3 billion yuan, almost double last year’s 670 million yuan, amid aggressive expansion in food delivery.
JD Takeaway’s daily orders surged to nearly 20 million, but annualized losses could reach 18 billion yuan, prompting analysts to cut future profit forecasts.
Fierce competition and subsidy wars led to intervention by Chinese regulators, as JD.com invests heavily to capture market share from rivals Meituan and Eleme.

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Who’s Who

JD.com Inc.: JD.com Inc. is a major Chinese e-commerce company expanding aggressively into the food delivery sector with JD Takeaway. Its "new businesses" segment reported Q1 losses of 1.3 billion yuan, nearly double last year’s losses, amid intense competition and heavy subsidies. Despite overall revenue and profit beating expectations, analysts warn that growing food delivery investments may erode future profits. JD.com is currently ranked fourth in China’s domestic e-commerce market by gross merchandise value.

JD Takeaway: JD Takeaway is JD.com’s food delivery platform, launched in February. It has rapidly expanded, with daily orders surpassing 1 million after 40 days and approaching 20 million recently. JD Takeaway’s growth is driven by zero-commission deals for merchants, comprehensive social security for riders, and generous consumer discounts. However, this aggressive push has resulted in mounting losses for JD.com’s “new businesses” segment and intensified competition with Meituan and Alibaba’s Eleme.

JD Property: JD Property is part of JD.com’s “new businesses” segment, which also includes JD Takeaway and overseas ventures. This segment posted a loss of 1.3 billion yuan ($180 million) in the first quarter of 2024, nearly double the previous year’s loss, largely due to heavy investments, especially in food delivery. The article does not provide additional details specifically about JD Property’s operations or performance.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. operates Taobao and Tmall Group, which are leading players in China’s e-commerce market. In 2024, JD.com fell to fourth place, trailing behind Alibaba’s platforms, Pinduoduo, and Douyin. In response to intensified competition and JD.com’s push into food delivery, Alibaba’s Eleme platform launched its own multibillion-yuan subsidy programs for customers and merchants to maintain market share.

Taobao: According to the article, Taobao is part of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and, along with Tmall, ranks ahead of JD.com in China’s domestic e-commerce market in terms of gross merchandise value. JD.com has fallen to fourth place behind Taobao, Tmall, Pinduoduo, and Douyin.

Tmall Group: According to the article, Tmall Group is part of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and is one of the leading platforms in China’s domestic e-commerce market. JD.com has fallen to fourth place in market share, trailing behind Tmall Group, Taobao (also operated by Alibaba), Pinduoduo, and Douyin.

Pinduoduo: According to the article, Pinduoduo is mentioned as one of JD.com’s major competitors in China’s domestic e-commerce market. In 2024, JD.com fell to fourth place in gross merchandise value, behind Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall, discount platform Pinduoduo, and ByteDance’s Douyin.

ByteDance Ltd.: According to the article, ByteDance Ltd.’s Douyin is one of the leading players in China’s domestic e-commerce market. In 2024, JD.com fell to fourth place, behind Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Taobao and Tmall Group, Pinduoduo, and ByteDance’s Douyin. This highlights ByteDance’s significant position and growing influence in China’s highly competitive e-commerce sector.

Douyin: According to the article, Douyin, owned by ByteDance Ltd., is one of JD.com’s key competitors in China’s domestic e-commerce market. In 2024, JD.com fell to fourth place in terms of gross merchandise value, behind Taobao and Tmall (by Alibaba), Pinduoduo, and Douyin.

Meituan: Meituan is a leading food delivery giant in China and a major competitor to JD.com’s new food delivery venture, JD Takeaway. JD.com's aggressive push into the sector, including heavy subsidies and investments, has intensified competition, prompting Meituan—as well as Alibaba’s Eleme—to launch their own multibillion-yuan subsidy programs to attract customers and merchants amidst the escalating industry rivalry.

Eleme: According to the article, Eleme is Alibaba’s food delivery platform. In response to JD.com’s aggressive expansion and investment in the food delivery sector, Eleme, along with Meituan, launched its own multibillion-yuan subsidy programs for customers and merchants to stay competitive.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.: According to the article, JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimated that at JD.com’s current pace of food delivery expansion, its JD Takeaway unit could incur annualized losses of up to 18 billion yuan, potentially wiping out 36% of JD.com’s operating profit in 2025, as reported by Bloomberg.

Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley analysts recently lowered their profit forecasts for JD.com for 2025, 2026, and 2027 by 14%, 7%, and 5%, respectively. They made these downward revisions due to JD.com’s substantial investments in its food delivery business, as mentioned in recent media reports.

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