Meituan Dianping

Meituan generated revenue of 104.6 billion RMB in the second quarter (+14.4% year-on-year) and returned to profitability with an adjusted net profit of 2.5 billion RMB. Drivers were improved operational efficiency, lower subsidy intensity and a stronger user mix; cash and cash equivalents stood at 168.3 billion RMB. Management plans to continue investing in core areas, AI, grocery retail and overseas operations while remaining capital-disciplined. The stock reacted slightly negatively and remains below its 52-week high; Meituan expects improved economics in Q3 alongside higher seasonal costs. » More on de.investing.com

Meituan has announced a new language model, LongCat-2.0, which the company says has 1.6 trillion parameters, can handle inputs of up to one million tokens, and was trained entirely on a cluster using Chinese AI chips. The model targets agentic coding — AI that autonomously carries out complex programming tasks. Independent tests will be needed to determine whether LongCat can compete internationally with top U.S. models, but the project is symbolic of China’s broad competition: many large platforms are developing their own low-cost models, which could trigger a global price war and potentially make China a long-term AI export power. » More on wiwo.de

Meituan's stock fell about 2.5% after publication of a draft market regulation that seeks to ban large-scale, below-cost subsidies by food delivery platforms. Meituan welcomed the draft and sees positive long-term effects for unit economics, but investors are worried in the short term about the pace of normalization of order growth and potential market share losses to Taobao Flash Sale. Additional risks stem from a summons by the Shenzhen market regulator over food safety violations and from intensified competition, such as Alibaba's bid for Pupu. » More on de.investing.com