Profit surges by 184%, what secrets are hidden in SF Express's same-city ledger?

Ask AI · How can scale effects unlock SF Express Same City’s rapid profit growth?

SF Express Same City delivered a financial report for 2025 showing both revenue and net profit growth: full-year revenue was 22.899 billion yuan, up 45.4% year over year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 278 million yuan, up 110%; adjusted net profit reached 415 million yuan, soaring 184.3% year over year.

Revenue grew by 45%, but profit surged by 184%—where does this “spread” come from? You can see it from the business structure. For merchant-focused same-city delivery, revenue was 10.701 billion yuan, up 60%, with active merchants exceeding 1.12 million, more than 7,900 new partner stores added, and delivery revenue in the supermarkets and department stores sector jumping by 80% as well. Finally-mile delivery revenue was 9.432 billion yuan, up 42.4%, with both e-commerce parcel delivery and linehaul and pickup services revenue and order volume doubling. For consumer-focused same-city delivery, revenue was 2.766 billion yuan, up 13.7%, with active consumers exceeding 26.06 million.

Order volume grew by 55%, revenue grew by 45%, and the difference in growth rates implies that average revenue per order declined—this is because SF Express Same City, to seize market share, proactively compressed prices. A CICC research report also noted that in 2025 the company’s net profit increased 110% year over year to 278 million yuan, and adjusted net profit increased 184% year over year to 415 million yuan (including 137 million yuan in share-based payments), with performance in line with expectations.

What truly pulls profits up is scale effects. Active couriers rose from 1 million to 1.46 million, up 46%. With order density increasing, fixed costs allocated per order naturally fall, and the gross profit margin edged up from 6.1% to 6.3%. Although the increase is not large, in a low-margin industry like delivery, a 0.2 percentage-point improvement can drive a substantial rise in profit.

The expense ratio is also moving downward. Sales and marketing expenses were 267 million yuan, accounting for only 1.2% of revenue; R&D expenses were 115 million yuan; administrative expenses were 830 million yuan. The full-year expense ratio was 5.3%, down 0.9 percentage points year over year. Guosheng Securities believes that, based on improvements in expense efficiency brought by scale effects and professional management, the company’s adjusted net profit is expected to reach 530 million yuan, 750 million yuan, and 970 million yuan in 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.

AI efficiency is also playing a role. The unmanned vehicle network has covered 116 cities, with more than 1,000 operational vehicles; AI agents have been comprehensively applied to marketing, customer service, and compliance scenarios. Citigroup mentioned in its research report that, based on strong execution capability and AI enablement, management believes the mid-term profit margin target of 3% can be achieved ahead of schedule.

There are some differences among brokerages’ views on SF Express Same City. CICC sets a target price of HKD 17.8, maintains an “Outperform the industry” rating, and for the first time introduces an adjusted net profit forecast for 2027 of 966 million yuan, believing the scale effect may continue to become evident and that the ratio of expenses to revenue can still be optimized further. Guosheng Securities maintains a “Buy” rating, and Shenwan Hongyuan maintains an “Overweight” rating. Lyon, meanwhile, lowered its target price from HKD 16.2 to HKD 13, believing that growth may require the trade-off of a slower recovery in profit margin and that the pricing strategy could affect profit margins. Citigroup cut its target price from HKD 22 to HKD 20, but reaffirmed a “Buy” rating and raised its 2026 to 2027 revenue forecasts by 3.1% and 3.2%, respectively, to 27.6 billion yuan and 32.5 billion yuan.

SF Express Same City also announced a personnel adjustment: CFO Chen Xiwen was appointed Co-CEO, jointly responsible for strategic planning and business management with Chairman and CEO Sun Haijin. Chen Xiwen joined SF Holding in 2014 and has participated in SF Express’s listing and multiple equity financing projects. The announcement says this move is intended to further focus on the strategy of core business and strengthen a lean management system.