BUSINESS

JD.com Swings to Loss as Fading Subsidies Hit Electronics Sales

Published: Mar. 6, 2026 4:38 a.m. GMT+8

00:00

00:00/00:00

Listen to this article 1x

The JD.com headquarters building in Beijing. Photo: VCG

JD.com Inc. swung to a net loss of 2.7 billion yuan ($391 million) in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with a profit of 9.9 billion yuan a year earlier, as the fading impact of government trade-in subsidies weighed on its core electronics business and heavy investment in new ventures squeezed margins.

The e-commerce company reported fourth-quarter revenue of 352.3 billion yuan Thursday, marking growth of 1.5% from a year earlier and slightly beating analysts’ estimates.

You've accessed an article available only to subscribers

Subscribe today for just $.99.

VIEW OPTIONS

Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations.

Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one.

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code

DIGEST HUB

Digest Hub

Back

Explore the story in 30 seconds

JD.com posted a Q4 2025 net loss of 2.7 billion yuan, reversing a 9.9 billion yuan profit from a year earlier, as electronics sales fell 12% and margins were hit by new business investments.
Quarterly revenue grew 1.5% year-on-year to 352.3 billion yuan, with strong gains in general merchandise and services partly offsetting electronics weakness.
Full-year 2025 revenue rose 13% to 1.3 trillion yuan, but net profit dropped 52.7% to 19.6 billion yuan.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

JD.com Inc.: JD.com Inc. faced a net loss of 2.7 billion yuan in Q4 2025, compared to a profit of 9.9 billion yuan a year prior. Revenue growth slowed to 1.5% due to a 12% drop in electronics and home appliances sales. This was attributed to reduced government trade-in subsidies and other factors. The company is balancing costly expansion into food delivery and overseas markets with cooling consumer demand in China.

Joybuy: Joybuy is JD.com's European online retail business. It is expected to officially launch in March 2026 after trial operations in several countries, including the U.K., Germany, and France. Investing in overseas operations like Joybuy is part of JD.com's strategy, though spending on international expansion is to be tightly controlled.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2025：: The government allocated 300 billion yuan for consumer trade-in subsidies.

By March 2025：: JD.com’s stock had lost more than 45% of its value over the previous year.

Fourth quarter of 2025：: JD.com swung to a net loss of 2.7 billion yuan, compared to a profit of 9.9 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Fourth quarter of 2025：: JD.com’s electronics and home appliances sales fell 12%, affected by the fading effect of a national trade-in program in 2025.

Fourth quarter of 2025：: JD.com’s new businesses segment saw operating losses widen to 14.8 billion yuan from 885 million yuan in fourth quarter 2024.

Fourth quarter of 2025：: General merchandise sales rose 12.1% and services revenue increased 20.1% compared to the same quarter in 2024.

2025 full year：: JD.com reported revenue of 1.3 trillion yuan, up 13% from 2024; net profit fell 52.7% to 19.6 billion yuan.

End of 2025：: JD.com announced an annual dividend of about $1.4 billion and reported $2 billion remaining under its $5 billion share-repurchase program.

March 2026：: JD.com’s European online retail business, Joybuy, is expected to officially launch following trial operations in several countries.

Thursday, March 5, 2026：: JD.com reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of 352.3 billion yuan and released financial results.

Thursday, March 5, 2026：: JD.com’s U.S. shares fell 2.7% in premarket trading after earnings were announced.

Thursday, March 5, 2026：: Premier Li Qiang said the government would issue 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds for consumer trade-ins in 2026, down from 2025 levels.