Joyce Ju

Joyce Ju asked about the trajectory of AI on Trip.com Group's platforms, specifically inquiring about the future of AI agents and their potential to go mainstream.

Answer

James Liang, Executive Chairman of the Board, explained that AI is central to Trip.com Group's strategy, with AI-driven tools like Trip Genie seeing over 200% user growth year-over-year in the first half of 2025. He highlighted AI's role in refining search, enhancing operational efficiency, improving customer service, and reducing cancellations, emphasizing continued investment to make travel more accessible and enjoyable.

Joyce Ju from Bank of America inquired about Trip.com Group's AI strategy, specifically the trajectory of AI agents like Trip Genie, and their potential to go mainstream within the travel industry.

Answer

Executive Chairman James Liang highlighted AI as a central pillar, noting a shift to AI-driven tools and a 200% year-over-year user growth for Trip Genie in H1 2025 across over 200 countries. He emphasized AI's role in refining search, detecting operational issues, improving employee productivity, customer service efficiency, and reducing cancellations, affirming continued investment to enhance the traveler's journey.

Joyce Ju from BofA Securities asked for management's observations on recent booking trends and any new insights into cross-border travel momentum.

Answer

CFO Cindy Wang detailed resilient demand across segments. She noted that domestic travel shows strong volume growth despite lower average daily rates (ADR). Outbound travel on the platform exceeded 120% of pre-COVID levels, 'foreign-to-foreign' travel grew over 60% YoY, and inbound travel to China surged by over 100% YoY on the platform.

Joyce Ju from Bank of America requested more detailed operational and financial insights into the company's first-quarter performance.

Answer

CFO Xiaofan Wang highlighted that overall bookings on the Trip.com platform grew over 60% YoY in Q1. She identified the APAC region as the top priority and a key growth driver, while also noting rapid expansion in new markets like the Middle East. Wang added that cost efficiency is improving with scale and that marketing ROI remains aligned with requirements.

Joyce Ju of Bank of America asked for an update on business performance during the Chinese New Year, post-holiday trends, recent changes in hotel ADR and take rates, and the outlook for 2025.

Answer

CFO Xiaofan Wang noted healthy Chinese New Year travel demand with more even distribution. She highlighted that outbound bookings grew over 20% YoY and inbound saw triple-digit growth. Post-holiday, momentum remained healthy. She added that hotel prices are still below last year's levels but are gradually recovering, and supply has increased. The company anticipates stabilizing hotel prices in 2025.

Joyce Ju asked about the impact of China's broader consumption slowdown on travel spending, questioning if Trip.com has observed any deceleration in individual or business travel and whether companies are tightening travel budgets.

Answer

CEO Jane Sun responded that travel demand remains resilient. She noted that the gross merchandise value (GMV) per traveler has remained consistent with the previous year, and higher prices for overseas travel are partially offsetting domestic pricing pressure. Furthermore, high search volumes indicate that customer interest in both domestic and international travel remains strong.

Joyce Ju of Bank of America requested an update on recent business performance, particularly during the Labor Day holiday, and asked for management's outlook on business momentum for the upcoming summer season and beyond.

Answer

CFO Xiaofan Wang reported that bookings during the Labor Day holiday set new records, with outbound travel surpassing 2019 levels by over 10%. Quarter-to-date, domestic bookings saw double-digit growth while outbound bookings fully rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, significantly outperforming the market. Management remains confident about the summer travel season, anticipating significant growth in the outbound sector as flight capacity continues to recover.

Joyce Ju from Bank of America inquired about the future pace of investments in the consumption segment beyond QuickCommerce and the outlook for Customer Management Revenue (CMR) growth, particularly as the positive impact from last year's software service fee implementation diminishes.

Answer

Alibaba Management clarified that the RMB 50 billion investment in QuickCommerce is an incremental commitment on top of ongoing investments in users and supply chains, with the future pace to be determined by market conditions. Regarding CMR, they stated that growth will continue to be driven by increased take rates from the AI-powered advertising product (QZT) and the incremental user traffic and frequency generated by the QuickCommerce business. They expect these factors to support relatively rapid CMR growth in the coming quarters.

Joyce Ju inquired about the strategy for the upcoming 618 shopping festival, asking about any changes in promotional events or pacing and the initial feedback from merchants and users. She also followed up on the instant commerce discussion, asking if there would be any synergies or surprises related to that business during the 618 campaign.

Answer

Jianfeng (Fan Jiang), CEO of Taobao and Tmall Group, confirmed that the short-term priority for instant commerce is rapid user conversion on the Taobao platform. Regarding the 618 campaign, he indicated there would be changes to marketing and pacing to adapt to the competitive landscape and enhance the consumer experience, but declined to share specific details as the event had not yet officially commenced.

Joyce Ju inquired about the strategy for the upcoming 618 shopping festival, asking about planned changes, merchant and user feedback, and any potential synergies with the new instant commerce initiative. She specifically asked if there might be any 'happy surprises' related to instant commerce during the campaign.

Answer

Fan Jiang, CEO of Alibaba e-commerce Business Group, stated that the short-term priority for instant commerce is rapidly converting Taobao's existing users. Regarding the 618 campaign, he confirmed that changes are being made to adapt to the competitive landscape and improve the consumer experience. However, he declined to share specific details as the campaign had not yet officially launched, promising a fuller report on the next earnings call.

Joyce Ju of Bank of America asked if the apparent stabilization in the Q2 expense ratio and profit margin signaled that the company's investment cycle has stabilized, and what the future profit margin trend might be. She also requested an update on consumer demand trends and the macro outlook for the second half of the year.

Answer

VP of Finance Jun Liu clarified that Q2 profitability benefited from e-commerce seasonality and is not sustainable, emphasizing that profit levels will continue to fluctuate due to ongoing, scaled-up investments in the merchant ecosystem. Executive Director and Co-CEO Zhao Zhao Zhen added that while China's consumer market shows resilience, escalating competition requires proactive investment. He noted that PDD will continue to sacrifice short-term profit to foster a healthier ecosystem and offer consumers more value.

Joyce Ju from Bank of America inquired about management's view on the intense e-commerce competition, particularly the challenges of competing with first-party retailers. Additionally, she requested an update on consumption momentum and key trends observed during the ongoing June promotion period.

Answer

Chairman and Co-CEO Lei Chen addressed competition by emphasizing that PDD's marketplace model allows it to directly support its merchants, who are facing challenges. He highlighted the RMB 100 billion support program as a key initiative to build a robust ecosystem. Executive Director and Co-CEO Zhao Zhao Zhen commented on the June promotion, stating PDD continues to focus on simplified mechanisms and real savings. He noted the introduction of a 'price drop protection service' to improve consumer experience and build trust.

Joyce Ju of Bank of America inquired about the long-term goals for platform ecosystem development and its role in driving growth. She also asked for details on recent consumer-side initiatives, particularly during the Q4 e-commerce peak season, and future strategic priorities for consumers.

Answer

Executive Lei Chen addressed the platform ecosystem, explaining that initiatives like the CNY 10 billion fee reduction and high-quality merchant support programs are central to their strategy. These efforts aim to lower merchant costs, encourage product innovation, and drive supply chain upgrades for long-term, quality-driven growth. Co-CEO Jiazhen Zhao discussed the consumer side, highlighting the upgraded 'super level savings' initiative and '10 billion consumption vouchers' which provided significant savings and served as a growth engine for brands during Q4 promotions.

Joyce Ju of Bank of America inquired about new consumption trends observed during the Double 11 shopping festival and the company's performance and initiatives during the event. She also asked for management's thoughts on the intense domestic competition and whether any strategic adjustments would be made in response to the slight growth slowdown.

Answer

Co-CEO Jiazhen Zhao noted strong growth in online consumption, highlighting the success of the '10 billion voucher campaign' during Double 11. Regarding competition, he acknowledged it remains intense and that the growth slowdown was inevitable. He stated that due to limitations in its third-party platform model and operational experience, the company might face disadvantages and higher costs than peers for some time, but will continue its long-term investment strategy in the ecosystem.

Joyce Ju inquired about the company's future profit trends given robust recent growth but management's guidance for increased investment. She also asked about plans for shareholder returns and the strategic rationale behind focusing on the merchant ecosystem.

Answer

Executive Lei Chen stated that recent profit growth is not a long-term guide and profitability will trend down due to a new investment phase. He confirmed there are no plans for share repurchases or dividends in the foreseeable future. Co-CEO Jiazhen Zhao elaborated on the merchant ecosystem, explaining the strategy is to support high-quality merchants with incentives, including a planned CNY 10 billion in transaction fee reductions, while removing bad actors to foster a healthy, sustainable platform.

Joyce Ju of Bank of America requested more details on the significant user and traffic growth in Q2, including user profiles, retention, and future growth strategies. She also asked about the bottom-line outlook, specifically how management budgets for growth investments and the expected impact on profit margins.

Answer

Management, via a moderator, attributed the over 40% YoY growth in active customers and shopping frequency to both core retail enhancements and the launch of JD Food Delivery, which attracted younger users. While short-term margins may fluctuate due to these investments, the long-term goal of a high-single-digit profit margin remains intact, driven by supply chain efficiency, improved category profitability, and the growth of the 3P ecosystem.

Joyce Ju from BofA Securities inquired about the effectiveness of the national subsidy program on trade-in volumes and the sustainability of this growth. She also asked for an explanation of the Q1 increase in non-GAAP fulfillment and sales & marketing expense ratios, and whether full-year guidance for revenue and margins would be adjusted.

Answer

Founder, Chairman & CEO Kerry Chen confirmed the national subsidy program has significantly boosted the 1P business, citing strong user incentives and collaboration with JD.com. He expressed confidence in long-term growth due to low market penetration. CFO Rex Chen attributed the improved non-GAAP operating margin to optimized pricing strategies for the Apple trade-in and overseas businesses, which turned profitable year-over-year. He explained that higher fulfillment and marketing expenses were strategic investments in store expansion and brand promotion to support growth, while reiterating the full-year goal of accelerating revenue and gradually improving operating margins.

Joyce Ju inquired about ATRenew's strategy to leverage the 2025 nationwide consumer electronics trade-in subsidies, asking for a quantification of the potential impact and the company's top-line growth outlook for the year.

Answer

Xuefeng Chen Kerry, Founder, Chairman and CEO, stated that national subsidies are a significant growth engine. He detailed plans for accelerated top-line growth in 2025 by expanding the fulfillment network with a net addition of 800 stores and 1,000 to-door service staff, increasing brand investment on new media platforms, and utilizing compliant refurbishment capabilities to capitalize on the expected surge in C2B recycling volume.

Joyce Ju inquired about the impact of trade-in subsidies on ATRenew's business growth, asking for quantification of the incremental business and the outlook for the fourth quarter and the following year.

Answer

Xuefeng Chen Kerry, Founder, Chairman & CEO, explained that the partnership with JD.com is a primary driver. In Q3, recycling and trading business through JD.com grew over 40%, with the trading business doubling. During the Singles' Day promotion, the value of products collected via trading surged 246% year-over-year. He highlighted the success of cross-category trade-ins, such as phones for home appliances, and noted that trade-in adoption is still in its early stages, presenting a significant growth opportunity.