What China’s big earnings say about the consumer

Tencent sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. 

Aly Song | Reuters

BEIJING — Corporate earnings releases are picking up on a few bright spots for China’s consumer in a competitive market where people are less willing to open their wallets.

JD.com, Tencent and Alibaba this month reported results for the three months ended June that pointed to a steady pick-up in consumer spending that quarter, but with less clarity on whether that growth has continued.

Here’s where companies said they saw consumer-related growth, according to public disclosures and FactSet transcripts of earnings calls:

JD.com

Electronics and home appliance revenues rose by 11.3% to 152.13 billion yuan ($20.98 billion) in the three months ended June.

But general merchandise revenue fell by 8.6% from a year ago to 81.72 billion yuan.

Marketing revenue rose by 8.5% to 22.51 billion yuan.

Tencent

Alibaba

China consumption amid sluggish growth

Data for July have pointed to a slowdown in China’s economy, including a modest 2.5% year-on-year increase in retail sales.

Theme parks, however, have done well as tourism has picked up domestically.

Shanghai Disney saw record high revenue, operating income and margin during the latest quarter, the company said.

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Universal Studios Beijing “enjoyed its most profitable quarter,” Comcast said. The park opened in September 2021, during the pandemic.

Listed companies don’t capture all major channels for online spending in China. ByteDance, which is not publicly listed, has become another e-commerce platform through its Douyin app, the local version of TikTok.

Tencent is losing market share in gaming, says asset management firm

Consumers in China spent 1.41 trillion yuan in purchases from merchants on Douyin, up 76% from the previous year, according to The Information. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ByteDance’s smaller rival Kuaishou is set to release earnings Tuesday, as are Chinese tech giant Baidu and video content platform iQiyi. E-commerce giant Pinduoduo has yet to announce when it’s scheduled to release earnings.

Other companies in China, or those with exposure to China, have showed some pockets of growth, albeit compared to a low base in 2022 when the metropolis of Shanghai was locked down for two of the three months in the second quarter.

Here’s what some have said so far:

Adidas

Revenues in Greater China grew 16% in the second quarter, reflecting double-digit sell-out growth in both wholesale and its own retail outlets.

Anta

The Chinese sportswear company said its Anta brand retail sales value rose by high single digits in the second quarter from a year ago. Its Fila brand saw high teens growth year-over-year. The company’s Descente, Kolon Sport and other brands saw growth of 70% to 75% year-on-year.

Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the iPhone maker saw “an acceleration‘’ in China, with 8% year-on-year quarterly sales growth to $15.76 billion. That’s a reversal of a 3% year-on-year drop in the prior quarter.

The company said it saw “a June quarter record in Greater China” in the wearables, home and accessories category, as overall product group saw sales increase by 2% year-on-year to $8.3 billion.

Li Ning

Starbucks

China comparable store sales increased 46%, but the average ticket size was slightly smaller, down 1%.

— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.

Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC.

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