China’s JD beats revenue estimates despite slowing economy

Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as its focus on lower-priced products to attract customers amid an economic slowdown paid off.

JD.com saw increased traffic on the back of purchases ahead of the holiday season and as people attending offices and social functions continued to upgrade their wardrobes.

Revenue grew 7.6 percent to 287.9 billion yuan (US$39.7 billion), compared with analysts’ average estimate of 278.85 billion yuan, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

After China abandoned its stringent COVID-19 lockdown policies, consumption failed to rebound immediately amid a slowdown in the country’s overall economy.

Recent official economic data has also been gloomy, with the consumer price index tipping into deflation in July.

Retail sales rose just 2.5 percent, slowing from a 3.1 percent increase in June, despite the summer travel season.

Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 4.5 percent.