JD
Profit is the new headline
JD.com just posted a quarter that basically says: “Sure, revenue dipped. But have you seen these margins?” Adjusted net income came in at 93 cents per ADS, topping estimates, while revenue fell 2.9% year over year to $51.05 billion and missed Wall Street’s target. That’s not exactly a victory lap, but it is the kind of earnings report that makes investors squint at the screen and ask, okay, is the worst over?
The turnaround story is getting louder
Management leaned hard into the word “inflection point,” and CEO Sandy Xu went even further, calling it a “definitive turning point” for profitability. JD Retail’s gross margin climbed to 18.5%, operating margin hit a record 4.6% for a promotional quarter, and the company said June momentum improved enough that it expects JD Retail to return to positive revenue growth in Q3. Translation: they’re betting the business can stop bleeding on the top line while still flexing on efficiency.
Why investors care
That matters because JD has been trying to prove it can do more than just be a giant discount machine. The company is pushing harder into higher-margin commission and advertising revenue, squeezing supply-chain costs, and using AI and automation to make logistics less of a money pit. It even rolled out 24/7 autonomous delivery routes in Shenzhen, which sounds a little sci-fi but is really just JD saying it wants robots to help the P&L.
The stock didn’t love the print
Even with the profit beat, JD shares were down more than 3% in premarket trading. That’s the market’s way of saying revenue still matters, and a profit story needs top-line help to stick. JD also bought back about $1 billion of stock in the first half of 2026, which is nice — but if you want investors to really cheer, they’ll want evidence that the growth engine is actually warming up again.
Big picture: JD is trying to sell a simple story — less subsidy burn, better margins, and a return to growth. If Q3 delivers, this could be the beginning of an actual rerating instead of just another “wait and see” quarter.