What happened
Shares of JD.com (JD +6.13%) rose 10.8% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock had dropped in recent months, as China's regulatory authorities ramped up scrutiny of big internet platforms over antitrust issues. Under that cloud, JD delivered second-quarter results that were just what investors needed to restore confidence in its future.
Revenue for the second quarter increased by 26% year over year to $139 billion. Most encouraging was the stability in operating margin within JD Retail of 2.6%, driven by improved supply chain and operating efficiency. Management believes this margin level can improve over time, which could fuel more gains for investors over the long term.
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So what
JD touted the 27% year-over-year increase in annual active customers, reaching 531.9 million in the quarter. This reflects a record of nearly 32 million customer additions over the previous quarter.
Most importantly, management reported that its new users are showing improvement in retention rate and shopping frequency, which bodes well for post-pandemic growth. Average revenue per user is growing, which is also contributing to growth in the lifetime value of the customer base.
Now what
JD is different from other big e-commerce platforms in that it serves brick-and-mortar businesses with its omnichannel focus, which could help the company navigate through the regulatory environment, but this is still a risk investors should continue to monitor.
On that note, it was encouraging to see management mention opportunities to grow the business. Specifically, management still sees opportunities to improve the net profit margin, as it achieves greater scale and operating efficiency. JD's margin is lower than competitors', so narrowing that gap should fuel more growth in profits. All told, JD could still be a rewarding long-term investment from these highs.
