On November 21, Gelonghui reported that CMB International published a research report, maintaining a "buy" rating for zto express, pointing out that its third-quarter EBIT grew by 17% year-on-year to 2.8 billion yuan, which met expectations. The quarterly accounted benchmark net income grew by only 1% year-on-year to 2.46 billion yuan, which is believed to be due to a one-time tax refund in last year's third quarter. Under industry price competition, management has lowered this year's full-year package volume growth guidance; due to the decline in package volumes and unit profits, CMB International has correspondingly reduced its earnings forecasts for 2024 to 2026 by 5% to 9%, but emphasized a bullish outlook on zto’s profit growth strategy and its strong free cash flow capability, with the target price reduced from 299 HKD to 271 HKD, corresponding to a projected price-to-earnings ratio of about 22 times for 2024.