Study on the Compatibility of Sharing Economy Platforms' Profit Models, Cost Structures, and Key Financial Performance Indicators

Hao Liu; Chengjingyu Chen; Chuanjin Ma

doi:10.6981/FEM.202511_6(11).0024

Authors

Hao Liu
Chengjingyu Chen
Chuanjin Ma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6981/FEM.202511_6(11).0024

Keywords:

Sharing Economy; Profit Model; Cost Structure; Financial Performance; Regression Analysis.

Abstract

With the booming digital economy, the sharing economy has become a significant force driving the transformation of the service industry and optimizing resource allocation. However, amidst rapid market expansion, platform companies generally face challenges such as unclear profit models, unbalanced cost structures, and significant fluctuations in financial performance. This paper examines sharing economy platforms, constructing a "profit model-cost structure-financial performance" compatibility analysis framework and systematically exploring the inherent relationships among these variables. Using a sample of 12 listed domestic and international sharing economy platforms from 2019 to 2023, the study employs descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multivariate regression models to empirically examine key factors such as transaction commissions, advertising, value-added services, and user acquisition costs. The results show that: (1) the proportion of transaction commission income has a significant positive impact on net profit margin and is the main driving factor for platform profitability; (2) the user acquisition cost is significantly negatively correlated with the operating income growth rate, indicating that excessive subsidies weaken the efficiency of revenue growth; (3) the fixed asset investment ratio is negatively correlated with the asset turnover rate, and the light asset model has greater financial flexibility; (4) value-added services can effectively promote user growth, while excessive advertising revenue inhibits user expansion; (5) service and regulatory cost investment helps to reduce the asset-liability ratio and optimize the risk structure. The research conclusions provide quantitative basis and strategic inspiration for sharing economy platforms to balance profitability and sustainable development, which has important theoretical value and practical significance.

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