On August 20, 2026, BingEx (NASDAQ: FLX), known in China as 闪送, released its unaudited second-quarter financial results. The company reported revenue of RMB 940 million for the quarter, an 8.23% year-over-year decline, alongside a net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 34.04 million, swinging from a profit in the same period last year. For the first half of the year, revenue totaled RMB 1.876 billion, down 5.5% year-over-year, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 76.64 million, compared to a net profit of RMB 43.23 million in the prior-year period.

As of the market close on August 27, BingEx shares were trading at USD 1.90, leaving the company with a total market capitalization of just USD 139 million. When it debuted on Nasdaq in October 2024, the market held considerable expectations for the pioneer of the one-to-one express delivery model. Yet, in less than two years, its market value has plummeted by over 80% from its listing peak. From being hailed as the first stock in instant delivery to a valuation under USD 140 million, the company's decline mirrors profound shifts in the broader instant delivery industry landscape.

Turning from Profit to Loss: First Loss Since Listing

Signals of a turning point in BingEx's performance intensified during the second quarter of 2026. Quarterly revenue came in at RMB 940 million, down 8.23% year-over-year. Gross profit fell to RMB 95.5 million from RMB 123 million a year earlier. Operating profit shrank significantly to RMB 7.3 million, compared with RMB 19.3 million in the prior year. The company posted a net loss of RMB 34 million, against a net profit of RMB 53.5 million in the same period of 2025. For the first half of the year, the company's revenue reached RMB 1.876 billion, a 5.5% annual decline, while the net loss attributable to shareholders hit RMB 76.64 million, marking its first half-year loss since going public.

The direct cause of the revenue decline was attributed to intensifying market competition. The core reason for the swing from profit to loss was a RMB 41.7 million loss from changes in the fair value of long-term investments during the quarter, compared with a RMB 20.5 million gain a year earlier. Excluding the impact of fair value fluctuations in long-term investments, non-GAAP net profit for the second quarter was RMB 11.4 million, down 75% year-over-year.

In terms of order volume, the company completed 63.1 million orders in the second quarter, up 8.9% quarter-over-quarter but down 2.6% year-over-year. The annual decline in order volume suggests that BingEx is losing ground in the existing market. More notably, despite expanding its network—with 3.23 million registered riders, coverage extended to 299 cities, and 124 million users—this growth has not translated into higher revenue, indicating a decline in per-capita output.

The One-to-One Model's Predicament: A Moat That Isn't Deep Enough

BingEx was the earliest platform in China to launch a one-to-one express delivery service, starting commercial operations in 2014. Its key differentiation lies in having the same courier handle an entire order from pickup to delivery, ensuring timeliness and security. This model helped the company build strong brand recognition and customer loyalty in its early days.

However, the business efficiency of the one-to-one model is inherently lower than that of pooled or batched delivery models. One vehicle, one rider, one order at a time means higher unit costs. In the context of industry subsidy wars and intensifying price competition, the vulnerabilities of this model are starkly exposed. During the earnings call, management stated that the company places greater emphasis on long-term industry competition dynamics rather than short-term price fluctuations, insisting that the core competitiveness of instant delivery does not lie in low pricing. Yet, the reality is that as competitors vie for market share with lower prices and more efficient pick-up pooling models, BingEx's adherence to a non-discount strategy is driving away price-sensitive users.

SF City Express and Meituan: Two Immovable Mountains

Much of BingEx's difficulty stems from pressure from two key rivals. SF City Express (09699.HK) is expanding at a pace that BingEx cannot match. In early August 2026, SF City Express issued a profit alert, expecting a net profit attributable to owners of no less than RMB 301 million for the first half, representing growth of no less than 120% year-over-year. Adjusted net profit is expected to be no less than RMB 240 million, up at least 50%, with revenue of no less than RMB 11.669 billion, a growth of at least 14%. Revenue of RMB 11.669 billion is more than six times BingEx's RMB 1.876 billion. The net profit of RMB 301 million stands in sharp contrast to BingEx's loss of RMB 76.63 million.

As China's largest third-party instant delivery service provider, SF City Express's neutral positioning allows it to accept orders from a wide variety of merchants, enabling efficient reuse of its delivery capacity. This kind of scale advantage is difficult for BingEx to replicate.

Meituan presents a threat from a different dimension. As of 2026, Meituan operates a dispatch system covering 2,800 counties and districts, with a rider fleet of 7.4 million. In the first quarter of 2026, Meituan designated instant retail as a core strategy, partnering with Gree to bring 13,000 offline stores onto its platform, further expanding its delivery boundaries. While Meituan's instant delivery business continues to operate at a loss (with an operating loss of RMB 8.4 billion in Q1 2026, narrowing to RMB 4.4 billion in Q2), it has the advantage of cross-subsidization from its food delivery and in-store businesses—something BingEx lacks. Meituan's strategic logic is clear: instant delivery itself doesn't need to be profitable, as it serves as the fulfillment backbone of its entire local services ecosystem. In contrast, BingEx's one-to-one express delivery model naturally lacks this kind of ecosystem synergy.

Low-Altitude Logistics and AI: Can New Narratives Support the Valuation?

Facing declining performance and competitive pressures, BingEx is now telling two new stories: low-altitude logistics and AI empowerment. In May 2026, the company made a full push into the low-altitude logistics delivery sector, with its wholly-owned subsidiary receiving a strategic investment of tens of millions of RMB from Hangzhou Low-Altitude Industry Development Co., Ltd. In the second quarter, its drone delivery operations advanced from a single-route pilot to multi-route regular operations, with 22 routes currently in active flight and drone delivery orders surging 169.3% quarter-over-quarter. In July, Hangzhou's first cross-river low-altitude instant delivery route entered commercial operation, with drones completing the river crossing in just 13 minutes. Management stated that the low-altitude logistics business has left the pilot phase and entered a period of scaled development.

On the AI front, BingEx has launched an open-source CLI command-line interface tool, opening its delivery capability interface to AI agents, and has rolled out an AI-powered smart ordering feature for end consumers. Management noted that AI has evolved from isolated applications into a systemic capability supporting organizational operations.

Low-altitude logistics and AI are indeed hot concepts in the current capital markets, but whether they can translate into sustainable financial returns remains highly uncertain. Low-altitude logistics is constrained by multiple factors, including airspace management policies, takeoff and landing point resources, and route density. The cost-reduction and efficiency-enhancement benefits of AI also need time to be proven. More critically, these two new narratives are unlikely to change BingEx's fundamental business challenges in the short term—in the instant delivery arena, scale remains the ultimate moat.