JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) says its massive artificial intelligence (AI) spending is paying off, offering a rare bright spot as many global corporations struggle to turn AI adoption into bottom-line profits.
During its second-quarter earnings call, the Chinese e-commerce giant said its investments in generative AI are beginning to show results. Improved customer experience, advertising efficiency, and a reshaped cost structure are among the areas it mentioned.
“Our deep integration of AI is delivering measurable progress, enhancing customer satisfaction while structurally refining our cost structure,” CEO Sandy Ran Xu said during the earnings call.
Xu also pointed to AI-enhanced product search and recommendations, as well as supply chain operations. Rather than treating AI as a standalone initiative, JD.com is embedding the technology into day-to-day operations, she explained.
Advertising Is Emerging as a Key AI Use Case
Among the areas seeing tangible benefits is JD.com’s advertising business.
CFO Ian Su Shan said the company has been “driving ad distribution efficiency by integrating AI into our algorithms,” which has improved how advertisements are matched with consumers and enhanced overall marketing effectiveness.
That matters because advertising is a higher-margin business than traditional online retail. As AI improves targeting and campaign performance, it could help drive both revenue growth and profitability without requiring a proportional increase in operating costs.
JD.com also said AI is supporting improvements in customer interactions and logistics, reinforcing its broader strategy of using automation to streamline operations rather than simply adding new AI-powered products.
A Sign That AI Spending Is Beginning to Pay Off
The comments come as investors increasingly question whether Big Tech’s multibillion-dollar AI investments can generate meaningful returns.
JD.com’s management suggested the company is beginning to move beyond the investment phase.
“These investments are gradually translating into operational benefits,” Shan said, adding that AI is contributing to improvements across multiple parts of the business instead of delivering value through a single application.
While the company did not quantify the financial impact of those gains, the earnings call offered one of its clearest indications yet that management considers AI to be a source of measurable operational improvement rather than simply a future growth initiative.
The AI, ROI Disconnect
JD.com is defying broader corporate trends where AI spending has yet to translate into major bottom-line gains. According to 2025 research from McKinsey & Company, nearly eight in 10 companies using generative A.I. have reported “no significant bottom-line impact.”
The core disconnect McKinsey flagged in mid-2025 is still very much alive heading into late 2026 — it just looks a little different now.
McKinsey’s own follow-up survey (fielded June–July 2025, a bit after the piece you cited) found adoption climbing even further, with 88% of organizations now using AI in at least one business function, up from 78% previously. But the value side barely budged: only 39% of respondents attribute any enterprise-level EBIT impact to AI at all, and most of those say it’s under 5% of EBIT.
JD.com | Photo courtesy: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com
