2025年8月27日的晚上，位於北京的美團總部會議室氣氛異常凝重。投影幕上那一串醒目的紅色數字，彷彿為整個空間罩上一層壓力的霧氣——經營利潤暴跌98%，核心本地商業的利潤率從25.1%驟降至僅5.7%。這份財報的冷峻現實，不僅結束美團連續十二個季度的利潤增長紀錄，也象徵著這家中國最大即時零售與外賣巨頭，正站在歷史性的十字路口。

這一天，美團的創辦人兼CEO王興正面對著公司自成立以來最艱難的一份季度報告。儘管美團在2025年第二季度的營收仍實現11.7%的同比增長，但這一數字遠低於市場預期的15%。更令人震驚的是，公司的市場份額在短短三個月內從85%降至65%，被京東外賣與餓了麼憑藉激進的補貼戰略迅速蠶食了整整20個百分點。這種「營收微增但利潤雪崩」的矛盾現象，揭示出美團正陷入前所未有的經營困境——在「守城」與「創新」之間，它不得不做出艱難的抉擇。

當分析師們在電話會議中提出尖銳質疑時，王興罕見地沉默近十秒。隨後他緩緩開口，語氣堅定卻略顯壓抑。他指出，即時零售的根本競爭力，仍在於「選品、價格、服務與配送體驗」四個環節，而美團在這些領域積累的運營效率與技術優勢「已經經受了十多年的市場考驗」。然而，這番話難以掩蓋一個殘酷事實：面對同行的價格戰與用戶補貼潮，美團的「效率防線」正在被逐步侵蝕。

財報中的細節揭示一個更深層的危機——消費端結構的轉變。根據王興會上透露的數據，今年中國餐飲業的客單價幾乎回落至十年前水準，而新增外賣訂單中高達75%低於15元人民幣。這意味著，在宏觀經濟壓力與消費降級的背景下，美團的核心商業模式正在被迫下沉。大量低價訂單推高了配送成本，壓縮了商家與平台的利潤空間，導致「規模擴張卻利潤萎縮」的結構性矛盾進一步惡化。

更令人擔憂的是，美團長期以來引以為傲的「生態壁壘」似乎正在鬆動。京東外賣憑藉其強大的物流網絡與電商資源，迅速滲透至三、四線城市；而餓了麼則重新啟動與阿里體系的整合，透過大規模優惠券與會員制度重新吸引用戶。面對這樣的雙重夾擊，美團在短期內既無法放棄市場份額，又難以在價格上全面應戰。

王興在會上坦言，第三季度將因「戰略性投資」導致核心業務重大損失。這句話被外界視為一個警訊——美團或將啟動一輪新的投入周期，以應對競爭者的壓力與市場結構的變化。但同時，他也強調，美團不會陷入「內卷式價格戰」，而會專注於提升履約效率、用戶體驗與科技投入。這一立場雖符合長期戰略邏輯，但短期內卻可能令投資者更加焦慮。

在市場觀察人士看來，美團當前的困境並非單一財務問題，而是中國即時零售市場整體變局的縮影。外賣業務在經歷高速成長期後，正步入競爭飽和與利潤收縮的成熟階段。消費者對價格更敏感，商家利潤空間被擠壓，平台補貼的可持續性遭到質疑。這使得「價格戰」成為短期內最有效卻也最具破壞性的手段——而王興試圖抵抗這場內卷風暴，卻不得不面對現實的壓力與市場的殘酷。

總體而言，這場圍繞美團財報的風暴，不僅關乎一家企業的盈虧，更關乎中國即時零售產業的未來方向。當利潤與增長不再並行，當消費者用15元以下的訂單重塑市場結構，美團是否仍能堅守其「效率與科技」的護城河，或被迫投入價格泥沼，將決定整個行業的下一個十年。

On the evening of August 27, 2025, the atmosphere inside Meituan’s headquarters in Beijing was tense and heavy. On the projection screen, glaring red numbers froze the room — operating profit had plummeted by 98%, and the company’s core local commerce profit margin had collapsed from 25.1% to just 5.7%. These brutal figures not only ended Meituan’s streak of twelve consecutive quarters of profit growth but also marked a historic turning point for China’s largest on-demand retail and food delivery giant.

That night, CEO Wang Xing faced perhaps the most difficult financial report of his career. Although Meituan’s Q2 2025 revenue grew 11.7% year-over-year, it fell short of market expectations of 15%. Even more alarming, the company’s market share dropped from 85% to 65% within three months, as rivals JD Takeout and Ele.me aggressively expanded through massive subsidy campaigns that eroded Meituan’s dominance by 20 percentage points. The result was a paradox of “growing revenue but collapsing profit,” exposing a deeper dilemma within Meituan’s strategy — whether to defend market share through price wars or remain committed to a sustainable, profit-driven ecosystem.

When analysts asked pointed questions about whether Meituan’s “core competitiveness” was weakening, Wang Xing paused for nearly ten seconds before answering. Known for his strategic composure, he calmly stated that success in the on-demand retail business still depends on “selection, pricing, service, and delivery.” He insisted that Meituan’s operational efficiency and technological capabilities had “been tested and proven over more than a decade of challenges.” Yet behind his composed tone, the numbers painted a harsher truth: Meituan’s long-vaunted efficiency advantage was being steadily eroded by the brutal logic of price competition.

Wang also revealed a telling detail — the average spending per restaurant order in China has nearly fallen back to the level of ten years ago, and 75% of new food delivery orders are now under 15 yuan (about $2 USD). This statistic reflects the broader trend of economic slowdown and consumer downgrading in China. As more low-value orders flood the platform, Meituan faces rising logistics costs and shrinking margins for both merchants and the company itself. The result is a structural paradox: expanding order volume but declining profitability.

Meanwhile, Meituan’s long-standing ecosystem moat appears to be weakening. JD Takeout has leveraged its powerful logistics network and e-commerce ecosystem to penetrate lower-tier cities, while Ele.me, under Alibaba’s umbrella, has relaunched aggressive coupon and membership programs to reclaim users. Trapped between these two revitalized competitors, Meituan now faces a difficult reality: it can neither abandon market share nor afford to fully match its rivals’ subsidies.

Wang Xing acknowledged during the meeting that the company’s core businesses would likely suffer major losses in Q3 due to “strategic investments.” Many interpreted this as a warning that Meituan is entering a new cycle of heavy spending to counter competition and adapt to market restructuring. Yet Wang also reiterated his firm opposition to what he called “involution-style price wars,” emphasizing that Meituan’s focus would remain on improving fulfillment efficiency, user experience, and technology innovation. While strategically sound, this stance has made investors anxious about short-term profitability.

Industry analysts see Meituan’s current crisis as a microcosm of the broader transformation in China’s on-demand economy. After years of explosive growth, the sector is entering a mature phase marked by stagnating demand and tightening margins. Consumers are becoming more price-sensitive, merchants’ profits are squeezed, and the sustainability of platform subsidies is under question. In this environment, price wars are both the fastest way to win market share and the most destructive strategy in the long run — and Wang Xing’s resistance to this trend may determine Meituan’s fate.

Ultimately, Meituan’s Q2 collapse is more than a financial setback — it’s a strategic inflection point for the entire Chinese on-demand retail industry. As consumers reshape the market with 15-yuan orders, Meituan faces an existential question: can it continue to defend its moat of efficiency and technology, or will it be dragged into the same price war spiral it once sought to rise above? The answer could define not only Meituan’s future but also the trajectory of China’s entire digital retail ecosystem in the next decade.