BingEx (NASDAQ:FLX) released second-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

BingEx Ltd, operating under the brand FlashEx, reported a 8.9% increase in total order volume quarter-over-quarter, with average delivery time improving slightly to 25.3 minutes.

Second quarter total revenue was 940.3 million RMB, with a gross margin of 10.2%. Non-GAAP net income was 11.4 million RMB, although a net loss of 34 million RMB was reported due to losses from long-term investments.

The company expanded its registered Flash Rider network to 3.23 million and extended service coverage to 299 cities, with 4 million new registered users.

Key growth areas included a 29.2% increase in fresh flower orders and a 53.1% increase in new enterprise merchant signings.

AI integration improved operational efficiency by roughly 30%, and drone delivery order volume increased by 169.3% quarter-over-quarter, with 22 operational routes.

The company emphasized a shift from price competition to service quality as part of an industry-wide self-discipline convention.

BingEx maintained a strong cash position with 853.4 million RMB and continued a share repurchase program, indicating confidence in long-term value.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good day and welcome to BingEx 2026 Second Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Yidan Fu from Piacente Financial Communications. Please go ahead.

Yidan Fu, Piacente Financial Communications

Thank you, operator. During this call, we will discuss our business outlook and make forward-looking statements. These comments are based on our predictions and expectations as of today. Actual events or results could differ materially from those mentioned in today's news release and in this discussion due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in our most recent filings with the SEC. The non-GAAP financial measures we provide are for comparison purposes only.

The definition of these measures and the reconciliation table are available in the news release we issued earlier today. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. In addition, a webcast replay of this conference call will be available on the BingEx Company's IR website at ir.ishansong.com. Furthermore, throughout the call we will constantly use the company brand name FlashEx to refer to its publicly listed entity BingEx Ltd. Joining us today from FlashEx senior management are Mr. Adam Xue, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Hong Jinyu, Co-Founder, Director and Executive President; and Mr. Luke Tang, Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Adam Xue.

Adam Xue, Founder, Chairman and CEO

Thank you, Yidan. Hello everyone, and welcome to FlashEx second quarter 2026 earnings call. The on-demand delivery industry continued to evolve in the second quarter. Users today expect more than speed alone, placing growing weight on the entire service experience from the moment they place an order to the moment it arrives. At the same time, AI is advancing quickly and low-altitude airspace is opening up, creating new ways to fulfill orders in our industry.

This plays to the on-demand dedicated courier model FlashEx has been building all along, as well as the technology work we have been advancing over the past several quarters. The operating approach we have followed over the past several quarters translated into real results in the second quarter, with scale and delivery efficiency improving together. Total order volume grew 8.9% quarter over quarter, and average delivery time shortened from 25.7 minutes in the first quarter to 25.3 minutes in the second quarter even as volume rose.

This is a rider-based service network that keeps expanding. As of the end of the second quarter, registered Flash Riders reached 3.23 million. Service coverage extended to 299 cities. Our user base also grew steadily, with registered users up by 4 million from the end of the first quarter to 124 million. Turning to our financial performance, total revenue for the second quarter was 940.3 million RMB, with a gross margin of 10.2%. Non-GAAP income from operations was 10.8 million RMB, and non-GAAP net income was 11.4 million RMB.

Our cash position stood at 853.4 million RMB as of the end of the second quarter, reflecting a healthy overall financial position. Looking at the order mix by category, volume recovery in the second quarter came from across categories. Fresh flowers, a core category we have cultivated for years, grew 29.2% quarter over quarter in order volume. Food, cakes, and electronics all posted order volume growth both year over year and quarter over quarter, leaving our overall order mix more balanced.

Several major categories moving up in our order mix tell us how well our on-demand dedicated courier model fits high-value scenarios, and it also spreads our order composition more widely, reducing our reliance on any one category. On the merchant side, we set out to simultaneously grow our merchant base and improve its quality. In the second quarter, newly signed merchants grew 18% quarter over quarter, and the share of high-value, high-stickiness merchants rose meaningfully as our merchant base expanded.

Enterprise clients stood out in particular, with new signings up 53.1% quarter over quarter, moving our merchant structure in a healthier direction. This came partly from optimizing our sales team assessment framework and partly from a dedicated effort to develop key accounts, pursuing enterprise clients through a separate track given their longer sales cycles and more complex decision making. What we have observed is that delivery demand from these clients comes out of day-to-day business processes such as transferring inventory between stores, sending client documents back and forth, or dispatching after-sale parts urgently.

These demands run more continuously and the relationships last longer, making our revenue more stable. On the individual user side, the role the FlashEx app plays for our users continues to extend from delivering an item to completing a task. Compared with the first quarter, luggage delivery order volume grew 37.5%, food pickup grew 25%, parcel pickup grew 7.2%, and assisted purchasing grew 6.7%. Growth across these scenarios came from developing new service formats around what users actually need and from reaching out to them at the specific moments those needs arise.

Round-trip orders, which we launched recently, are one example. They combine delivery, waiting, and the return trip into a single order handled by the same Flash Rider, designed for tasks that require a round trip such as document and contract signing. These are exactly the tasks a dedicated courier model handles well, and they bring FlashEx further into our users' everyday routine. Our AI work in the second quarter centered on two priorities: making our service easier for users to reach, and putting AI to work across the company's daily operations.

Starting with users, we saw notably more users placing orders through our Quick App entry point in Huawei HarmonyOS during the second quarter. Order volume through this entry grew 27.6% quarter over quarter, and the number of users ordering through it grew 12.9%. This lightweight entry point makes our service easier to access, driving both new user acquisition and higher order frequency. In June, we launched AI-powered ordering in the FlashEx apps.

Users simply describe what they need by voice, and the system identifies and matches the pickup and drop-off addresses and other order details, completing the order in a single exchange. To finish without switching to another interface, whether the order is an urgent document, flowers, or medicine, AI can quickly match the right delivery option. Along with the CLI tool we open-sourced in the second quarter, developers and individual users can now reach FlashEx AI-powered service delivery.

Across all of our AI work, we keep coming back to one question: what does the user actually end up with? Whether an order is placed through our app, a voice assistant, or an AI agent is fundamentally irrelevant to the user. What shapes the experience is whether FlashEx arrives on time and completes the job to a high standard, and whether we can respond to the user's concern properly. That stays at the core of how we develop and deploy AI. Now to our internal operations.

We established an Organizational Innovation Committee in the second quarter, letting each business unit propose and implement its own AI projects. In customer service, our AI system now independently handles 85% of the scenarios it covers, addressing routine inquiries and complaints the moment they are submitted. In marketing compliance, review of MCN content previously conducted manually now goes through a first pass by a self-developed AI reviewing system.

In regional operations, the time required to model capacity plans for new city launches and holiday peaks has come down from several days to a few hours. Across these areas, operating efficiency improved by roughly 30%. We see AI as a compounding effort rather than a single leap. It builds gradually, with the gains adding up over quarters as AI becomes a more routine part of how the organization works. We believe that our operating expense ratio can improve further over the medium to long term, creating room for better profit margins ahead.

Next, let's take a look at low-altitude logistics. The business moved from single-route trials to multi-route operations during the second quarter. Drone delivery order volume grew 169.3% quarter over quarter, and we now have 22 routes in operation. In July, Hangzhou's first cross-river route for low-altitude on-demand delivery entered commercial operation, taking only 13 minutes to cross the river, with Flash Riders handing off at each end and a drone crossing in between.

Orders that once took more than 40 minutes now arrive in a little over 20 minutes. Since the route began operating, deliveries have mainly been medicine, urgent business documents, fresh food, and digital accessories, all categories where timing matters. With routes continuing to increase and the delivery model proving across different scenarios, low-altitude logistics has moved past the trial stage and into a broader expansion. On the rider side, our registered Flash Rider base continued to expand in the second quarter.

We also further strengthened our training program and career protection through dedicated training around safety standards, handling procedures for high-value items, and new services such as round-trip orders. The stability and professionalism of the rider team remain the foundation of our high-quality service. Looking to the second half of the year, our focus stays on the service itself. AI and low-altitude logistics are two new paths to making the service better.

AI helps users find us at the very moment they need us, and low-altitude logistics frees our Flash Riders from obstacles like a river or a busy road. We have seen this market change many times since we started, and we still believe the hardest thing to replicate here is trust earned through every safe, on-time delivery. Behind that trust is our brand, our Flash Rider team, and our technology. This is the foundation of the long-term value we create for our users, our riders, and all shareholders.

That concludes my remarks. Now I will turn the call over to our CFO, Luke Tang. Thank you.

Luke Tang, Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Adam. Hello everyone, this is Luke. I'd like to walk you through our second quarter 2026 financial results. During the second quarter, our unique on-demand dedicated courier model remained resilient as we further refined our operations and extended the use of AI across the organization. We also maintained a healthy cash position and continued to return capital to shareholders through our repurchase program. Before I begin, please note that all numbers are in renminbi and all percentage changes are on a year-over-year basis unless otherwise noted.

Our revenues for the second quarter were 940.3 million, compared with 1,024.6 million in the same period of 2025. The decrease was primarily driven by intensifying market competition. Our cost of revenues for the second quarter was 844.7 million, compared with 901.9 million in the same period of 2025. The decrease was in line with the decline in revenues. Our gross profit was 95.5 million in the second quarter, compared with 122.7 million in the same period of 2025, representing a gross profit margin of 10.2% compared with 12% in the prior-year quarter.

Turning to operating expenses, our total operating expenses for the second quarter were 88.3 million, representing a decrease of 14.6% from 103.4 million in the same period of 2025. They consisted of 36.6 million in selling and marketing expenses, 37.9 million in general and administrative expenses, and 13.7 million in research and development expenses. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily attributable to the reduction in advertising expenses, staff costs, and share-based payment expenses.

Our income from operations was 7.3 million, compared with 19.3 million in the same period of 2025. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, or non-GAAP, income from operations was 10.8 million for the second quarter, compared with 31.9 million in the same period of 2025. Our net loss was 34 million, compared with net income of 53.5 million in the same period of 2025. The decrease was mainly due to 41.7 million of losses from changes in fair value of long-term investments in the second quarter.

Excluding changes in fair value of long-term investments and share-based compensation expenses, or non-GAAP, net income was 11.4 million, compared with 45.6 million in the same period of 2025. Our cash position remained healthy, with cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments totaling 853.4 million as of the second quarter end. We also carried out share repurchases under the extended buyback program approved in March. As of August 19, we had repurchased a total of approximately 3.9 million ADS in the open market for an aggregated consideration of approximately US$11.8 million.

This underscores our confidence in the company's long-term value. As we move through the rest of 2026, we remain committed to disciplined execution and to the high-quality service that differentiates us. We are confident that as AI becomes increasingly embedded across our operations, it will support a structural improvement in our operating expense ratio over the long term, creating room for better profit margins ahead. That concludes our prepared remarks.

We would now like to open the floor to your questions. Operator, please go ahead.

OPERATOR

Thank you. To ask a question, please press star-1-1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star-1-1 again. For the benefit of all participants on today's call, if you wish to ask your question to management in Chinese, please immediately repeat your question in English. Our first question comes from Gongsheng Lu with CICC. Your line is now open.

Gongsheng Lu, Analyst at CICC

Hi, good evening. Shizung and Tandong, can you hear me? Thank you for taking my question. Actually I have two questions I'll ask. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Okay, yeah. My first question is about the anti-evolution trends about this industry. Because we know in May, seven leading instant retailer players, including Shansong, signed the Hangzhou Anti-Evolution Self-Discipline Convention. Right? How do you interpret the broader industry trend from here? And what impact, if any, have you seen on ARPU and order volume? Or would you view this as a pricing inflection point for the industry? First question.

Thank you.

Luke Tang, Chief Financial Officer

Yes, thank you for your questions. This is Luke. I will take your first question. May 28, FlashEx joined six other leading platforms in Hangzhou in signing an industry self-discipline convention covering marketing practices, merchandise, rider protections, and governance. What the convention points toward is shifting the center of competition from price back to service itself and directing more resources into creating incremental demand and improving conditions for merchants and riders.

We see this as a healthy signal that the industry is maturing. For FlashEx, this direction aligns closely with how we have operated for 12 years. Each Flash Rider stays with one order from pickup to handoff. Under this model, riders can give every delivery their full attention, and the rider experience and the user experience have never come at each other's expense—they reinforce one another. The convention moves the industry away from price wars and heavy subsidy-driven traffic, refocusing competition on service quality, efficiency, and experience.

For a platform whose competitiveness rests on service quality and fulfillment certainty, that is a favorable environment for us. In the second quarter, our total order volume grew 8.9% quarter over quarter, supported by better capacity allocation, the continued expansion of our service scenarios, and new service formats. We welcome the industry's return to rational competition and will keep investing along these lines. On pricing, our focus is on the longer-term competitive dynamics rather than short-term movements.

We have always believed that the core competitive advantage in on-demand delivery is not low price but whether every order reaches the user reliably and safely. That is where our differentiation lies and where our long-term value comes from. Thank you. Waiting for your second question.

Gongsheng Lu, Analyst at CICC

Thank you. Okay, good to hear that. So my second question is about the low altitude. Could you give us an update on the growth of drone delivery order volumes, as you mentioned the total volumes earlier? I just want to see the growth trend here and also your expansion roadmap beyond the existing capacity, for example beyond Hangzhou. Besides combining these drones and AI deployment, do these efforts translate into visible per-cost at the segment level, and what's your path to a scalable breakeven?

Thank you.

Adam Xue, Founder, Chairman and CEO

Okay, thank you for your question. This is Adam speaking. Let me take order volumes and use cases first, and then expansion and the economics. In the second quarter, drone delivery order volume grew 169.3% quarter over quarter, and we now have 22 routes in operation, taking the business from single-site trials into multi-route operations. In July, Hangzhou's first cross-river route for low-altitude on-demand delivery entered commercial operation, with a 13-minute flight across the river with a rider handoff at each end and the drone crossing in between.

Orders that once took more than 40 minutes now arrive in a little over 20, at the same price as a standard FlashEx order. On use cases, what we carry today is mostly medicine, urgent business documents, fresh food, and digital accessories—all time-sensitive and relatively high in unit value. Low altitude shows its value where ground capacity runs into geography or traffic—crossing a river, a hill or district line, or a road that backs up at peak hours.

These happen to be categories where we are already strong, and this is close to what we already do. At this stage, our priorities are operational safety, whether routes can be replicated, and whether the time advantage over ground delivery holds up consistently in scenarios where it matters. We are confident the unit economics here will keep improving as route density rises, as daily order volume per route grows, and as we get more out of equipment and ground sites.

The 169.3% growth in drone order volume in this quarter also tells us demand is validated well. In terms of the next step on the low-altitude business, our near-term focus is on refining the model in Hangzhou itself. This business draws heavily on local airspace management, landing site resources, and the supporting industry base. So what we want first is a set of operating standards and a cost model built in Hangzhou that we can carry into other markets.

As our route network continues to grow denser and operational experience builds, we are confident this model will travel well. On AI, our work in customer service, marketing, and regional operations lifted efficiency in those areas by around 30% in the second quarter, showing up in lower headcount requirements and shorter process cycles. The beauty of AI is that it accumulates efficiency step by step as it becomes a more routine part of how the organization works.

Those gains keep compounding, and we believe there is further room for our operating expense ratio to improve over the medium to long term, creating conditions for better margins ahead. Thank you.

OPERATOR

Thank you. And that concludes the question and answer session. I will now turn the call over to Yidan Fu for closing remarks.

Yidan Fu, Piacente Financial Communications

Thank you once again for joining BingEx second quarter 2026 financial result and business update conference call today. If you have any other further questions, please contact the IR team at BingEx or Piacente Financial Communications. Thank you and have a great day.

OPERATOR

This concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

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