China’s Leading Express Firms Deliver Robust Q1 Growth Amid Market Optimisation

Major listed Chinese express delivery companies have posted strong financial results for the first quarter of 2026, driven by effective market regulation, steady consumption recovery and operational upgrading across the sector.

ZTO Express released its 2026 first-quarter earnings report on May 20. The firm recorded operating revenue of 13.282 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 22.0%. Its gross profit reached 3.235 billion yuan, up 20.3% year on year, while adjusted net profit rose 5.2% year on year to 2.377 billion yuan. Both parcel volume and average ticket price saw year-on-year growth of 13.2% and 8.2% respectively, reflecting clear volume and price improvement.

Solid growth has extended across the industry’s leading players. SF Holding achieved a 6.14% year-on-year rise in operating revenue and a 17.42% increase in non-net profit. Yunda’s operating revenue and core net profit grew 3.18% and 47.72% year on year. YTO Express registered a 10.01% revenue increase and a 65.79% surge in core net profit. STO Express delivered the most striking profit growth, with operating revenue climbing 30.74% and non-recurring net profit jumping 101.29% year on year.

According to data from the State Post Bureau, China’s express delivery sector maintains steady overall expansion. In the first four months of 2026, the cumulative express business revenue hit 497.93 billion yuan, rising 6.6% year on year, while total parcel volume reached 64.57 billion pieces, up 5.1% year on year.

Market regulation has driven notable improvements in pricing conditions. Since 2025, targeted regulatory rectification has curbed irrational low-price competition, ending prolonged market price wars and repairing industry profitability. STO Express has achieved four consecutive months of year-on-year growth in average parcel prices in 2026, with monthly increases ranging from 11.44% to 19.61%. Its delivery volume has maintained positive growth across most months despite seasonal fluctuations during the Spring Festival period.

Industry-wide operational optimisation underpins the booming performance. Leading logistics enterprises have completed large-scale capacity deployment and automated sorting infrastructure construction, unlocking prominent scale effects. Continuous optimisation of transportation and manpower management effectively cuts operational costs and boosts overall efficiency. The steady recovery of e-commerce consumption, together with the rapid development of live-streaming commerce and urban retail services, provides stable support for parcel demand.

The improved market pattern is set to sustain long-term industry development. Stabilised consumer demand and consolidated market structure will support rational pricing levels in the delivery sector. Leading express firms will further diversify their service portfolios by expanding community group buying, corporate parcel delivery and cross-border logistics businesses. Continuous optimisation of trunk transportation and terminal distribution networks will reduce redundant operational costs. The development of time-sensitive delivery and door-to-door services will help enterprises build differentiated competitiveness and move away from homogeneous low-price competition.