Quhuo's Q2 2025 Earnings Call: Key Contradictions Emerge in Trust Partnership Role, Financial Performance, and Strategic Shifts

The above is the analysis of the conflicting points in this earnings call

Date of Call: September 26, 2025

Financials Results

• Revenue: RMB 1,131.4 million, down 30.2% YOY (from RMB 1,619.0 million)
• Gross Margin: 0.4% (approx.), compared to ~1.5% in the prior year

Guidance:

• On-demand delivery profitability expected to improve in H2 2025 as integration ends and efficiency rises.
• Supply chain empowerment with New World expected to contribute ~RMB 60 million revenue in FY2025 (RMB 14.4 million realized since May).
• New JD (Jingdong Takeaway) partnership to add incremental delivery volume in select cities.
• LaiLai-Beike cooperation expanding to additional cities (e.g., Shenzhen, Guangzhou), targeting scalable revenue.
• International business to shift toward higher-margin operations model; exploring asset financialization to ease cash cycles and support expansion.

Business Commentary:

* On-Demand Delivery Challenges and Strategic Adaptation: - Quhuo's total revenue for the first half of 2025 was RMB 1.13 billion, a decrease of 30.2% from the previous year. - This decline was due to significant changes in the domestic food delivery market, including increased cost burden for service providers and structural adjustments by major upstream customers, prompting strategic investments in workforce management and operations, and the proactively closing of underperforming sites.

• Housekeeping and Accommodation Segment Growth:
• The housekeeping and accommodation solutions segment reported revenue up 70.8% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, with gross profit up 63.4%.

• Growth was driven by Chengtu Homestay's revenue growth of 83.6% and gross profit growth of 390.8%, supported by a closed-loop system that enhances operational efficiency, and LaiLai's revenue increase of 63.6% through new cooperation with Beike.

• International Business Expansion and Profitability:

• Used car exports achieved a 17.8% gross profit growth with an improved gross margin from 4.2% to 7.0% in the first half of 2025.
• This reflects the optimization and upgrading of Quhuo's business model through the technological empowerment and resources cooperation model, which carries greater potential with higher profitability and a shorter payback period of roughly 24 months, exemplified by the cooperation in Azerbaijan with Volt Auto and Bolt.

Sentiment Analysis:

• Revenue fell 30.2% YOY to RMB 1,131.4m; gross profit dropped to RMB 4.1m and net loss widened to RMB 53m. Offsetting positives: housekeeping and accommodation revenue up 70.8% YOY; used car export gross margin improved from 4.2% to 7.0%; JD partnership may add delivery volume; New World partnership expected to contribute ~RMB 60m in FY2025; management expects H2 profitability improvement.

Q&A:

• Question from Sally Gao (Private Investor): Could you explain Quhuo’s role in the Trust cooperation and the expected financial impact?
  Response: Quhuo is an initiator and core operator: it upgrades/manages properties, pools receivables, and monetizes future cash flows via trust structures, adding higher-margin asset management/capital gains and improving cash flow to fund expansion.