ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.

Overview

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. is a China-focused express-delivery and logistics company. Its core business is domestic parcel delivery, supported by pickup and delivery outlets, parcel sorting, line-haul transport and last-mile services; express delivery accounted for 87.1% of consolidated revenue in 2025.[1][2]

The company’s operations are centered in China. At December 31, 2025, its network included more than 31,000 pickup and delivery outlets and over 6,000 direct network partners.[3] ZTO reported 2025 revenue of RMB49.10 billion.[4] Founded in 2002, the company built its business around a partner-based delivery network.[5] [1]+5

Products & services

ZTO Express’s domestic express service handles parcels weighing under 50 kg, with expected delivery in 24–72 hours, for intra-city and inter-city shipments. For enterprise customers, it offers customized, one-stop express-delivery solutions, including reverse logistics. Ancillary services include cash on delivery, pickup or delivery at an alternative address, proof-of-delivery collection, and parcel interception or redirection before delivery.[6]+2

Regional and international offerings include door-to-door express service to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and international express delivery to overseas markets through business partners. Its broader logistics services include less-than-truckload (LTL) transport for heavy cargo, integrated warehousing, distribution and transportation, freight forwarding and international logistics, and air cargo. ZTO Cloud Warehouse offers storage, warehouse management and express delivery as a combined service; ZTO LTL provides less-than-truckload transport in China.[7]+3

Operationally, parcels receive a unique waybill and barcode at pickup outlets, are sorted and dispatched through hubs, transported between hubs by line-haul services, and delivered by destination outlets. The filing describes network transit pricing as a fixed amount per waybill plus a variable per-parcel amount for sorting and line-haul, based on parcel weight and route distance. It does not report product-level revenue shares; it does disclose RMB326.1 million in 2025 express-delivery service revenue from ZTO Cloud Warehouse, without presenting that amount as a percentage of company performance.[12]+4 [6]+10

Geographic presence

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.’s core delivery network operates in China, where most parcel volume comes through network partners serving customers on e-commerce platforms. The company also describes international express delivery services extending to Southeast Asia, Africa and other countries, without specifying the countries covered.[17][18]

At December 31, 2025, ZTO reported more than 31,000 pickup and delivery outlets and more than 6,000 direct network partners. Its 2025 annual report also reported 93 sorting hubs: 88 company-operated and five partner-operated. The cited disclosures do not give a country-by-country breakdown of these facilities or a geographic split of revenue.[3][18]

The business address listed for most directors and executive officers is in Qingpu District, Shanghai; individual executive addresses are also listed in Beijing and Hong Kong. These are corporate addresses and do not establish the distribution of employees or delivery operations.[19] [17]+3

Business segments

ZTO Express reports one operating and reportable segment, with consolidated results reviewed by its chief operating decision maker; it does not report freight forwarding or other services as separate operating segments.[20]

For 2025, the single reportable segment generated RMB49,098.667 million in revenue, representing 100% of consolidated revenue.[21] The company describes its activities as including express delivery—parcel sorting and line-haul transportation for network partners, as well as direct service to certain enterprise customers—and freight forwarding. These are service activities, not separately quantified reportable segments in the available disclosure.[22][23] [20]+3

Company history

ZTO Express was founded by Meisong Lai on 8 May 2002, and began express-delivery operations in 2009.[5]+2 Between 2014 and early 2016, it expanded and consolidated its delivery network by acquiring express-delivery businesses from network partners, including 16 partners in October 2015 and one more in January 2016.[26][25]

The Cayman Islands holding company was incorporated in April 2015.[27] ZTO completed its U.S. initial public offering in October 2016, listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ZTO.[28] In 2018, Alibaba- and Cainiao-led investors announced a US$1.38 billion strategic investment for an approximately 10% stake.[29] ZTO completed a Hong Kong listing in September 2020; its NYSE-listed ADSs continued to trade.[25] In May 2024, Jingxi Zhu became president, while Lai remained chairman and CEO.[30][31] [27]+8

Sources

• ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. — Full financial report (2025 Y)
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• ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. — Full financial report (2021 Y)[27]
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