After experiencing the &#34;milk tea saturation&#34; in 2025, the financial reports of six newly listed tea beverage companies have been released.
In the past year, milk tea has transformed from a popular item that consumers queued up for into a marketing ammunition for major platforms in the &#34;takeout war&#34; and &#34;AI red envelope war,&#34; with increased consumption frequency and a reshaped growth logic in the industry.
In 2025, five out of the six newly listed tea beverage companies achieved profitability. Among them, MIXUE GROUP led significantly with a revenue of 33.56 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 5.887 billion yuan; GUMING ranked second with a revenue of 12.914 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 3.109 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 46.9% and 110.3%, respectively; Cha Bai Dao and Hu Shang A Yi also saw net profit attributable to the parent company grow by over 70% and 52%, respectively.
Consumers frequently &#34;refill,&#34; supporting the milk tea companies' substantial profits, but signs of &#34;involution&#34; are also evident in the financial data: as the number of tea beverage stores in new first-tier cities and above approaches saturation, in 2025, the store proportion of five companies in this tier of cities showed a slight decline. According to Jiuqian data, although the overall number of milk tea stores continues to grow, the year-on-year growth rate has dropped from 15% in 2024 to below 10% in 2025, indicating a slowdown in expansion pace.
From a brand perspective, the store growth rate of Ba Wang Cha Ji fell from 83% in 2024 to 16%, while NAYUKI experienced a contraction in the number of stores. The differences in store growth reflect the strategic divergence among leading brands, with GUMING, MIXUE GROUP, and Hu Shang A Yi continuing to expand their stores due to penetration in lower-tier markets and supply chain advantages. Notably, in 2025, MIXUE GROUP increased its number of stores by over 13,000, a year-on-year growth of 33%.
“ Cost-effectiveness boosts MIXUE performance, high-end brands face challenges
In the past year, affordable pricing, franchising, and expansion into lower-tier markets have brought performance fulfillment to leading companies.
In 2025, MIXUE GROUP and GUMING led the industry in performance growth rates. Cha Bai Dao and Hu Shang A Yi achieved growth in both revenue and net profit. Although NAYUKI has not yet turned a profit, its losses have narrowed by nearly 74% compared to the previous year.
On the evening of March 31, Ba Wang Cha Ji founder Zhang Junjie admitted at the performance meeting that the internal assessment underestimated the degree of &#34;involution&#34; in the market in 2025 and the impact of the &#34;takeout war&#34; on offline tea beverage consumption. Last August, Ba Wang Cha Ji's senior management stated in the second quarter earnings call that they would not participate in price wars to avoid harming franchisee profits and the brand's high-end positioning.
High-end positioned and direct-operated tea brands are showing pressure in responding to the &#34;milk tea price war.&#34; Financial report data shows that in 2025, NAYUKI's operating revenue declined by nearly 12% compared to the previous year. Although Ba Wang Cha Ji's operating revenue saw a slight year-on-year increase of 4% to 12.907 billion yuan, its net profit attributable to the parent company recorded a year-on-year decline of about 52% to 1.135 billion yuan.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OsShQ5Ke0CgF0gZI_7a1jA0CAeueZ2rjlpfBoUr2iL1r4AA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OsShQ5Ke0CgF0gZI_7a1jA0CAeueZ2rjlpfBoUr2iL1r4AA/641"/>
The performance differentiation among six tea beverage companies is essentially the result of choosing different operational paths.
From the perspective of operating costs, Bawang Chaji and NAYUKI have advantages. In 2025, Bawang Chaji's operating costs were 6.991 billion yuan, accounting for 54% of revenue; NAYUKI's operating costs were 2.419 billion yuan, accounting for 56%, better than the cost levels of the other four companies, which ranged from 67% to 69%.
What truly widened the gap was the expense side, especially management expenses.
In 2025, Bawang Chaji's management expense ratio reached 19%, an increase of over 10 percentage points from the previous year, mainly influenced by organizational restructuring and equity incentives; NAYUKI's management expenses were pushed up to 28% primarily due to high employee compensation expenses under its direct sales system.
In contrast, GUMING, MIXUE GROUP, and Hu Shang Ayi had management expense ratios as low as single digits, highlighting the asset-light advantages of the franchise model.
Financial report data shows that in 2025, NAYUKI's direct sales store revenue reached 3.824 billion yuan, accounting for 88% of total revenue; Bawang Chaji's direct sales business revenue accounted for 12%.
Guojin Securities' research report stated that the delivery battle has intensified the industry's price &#34;involution,&#34; allowing leading brands to hedge some cost pressures through supply chain capabilities and scale bargaining advantages, while the cost pressures on small and medium brands have further amplified, accelerating their exit from the competition. Looking back at 2025, brands with more mature franchise systems, stronger supply chain capabilities, and more pronounced scale effects withstood the pressure of the &#34;price war,&#34; while direct sales brands with heavier expense burdens found it more difficult to squeeze out profit margins.
Expansion into lower-tier markets increases revenue, three companies enter the &#34;10,000-store club&#34;
In the past year, new tea beverage brands continued to advance into small towns.
According to calculations based on financial report data, NAYUKI's average store revenue in 2025 reached 2.63 million yuan, the highest among the six companies, but the number of stores was only 1,646, making it the only brand whose average store revenue and store count both decreased compared to the previous year.
During the same period, the number of stores for Bawang Chaji, Cha Baidao, Hu Shang Ayi, GUMING, and MIXUE GROUP increased to 7,108, 8,621, 11,449, 13,554, and 59,785, respectively, with the store network continuing to expand into lower-tier cities.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OKuRDiXkQsdAiBVuZCiPowmcqPOdblx34zwX5eT6Z1gd0AA/1000?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OKuRDiXkQsdAiBVuZCiPowmcqPOdblx34zwX5eT6Z1gd0AA/1000"/>
In 2025, the proportion of stores in third-tier and below cities for Cha Baidao, Hu Shang Ayi, MIXUE GROUP, and GUMING approached or exceeded half, with an increase of 1-3 percentage points compared to the previous year; among NAYUKI's direct sales stores, there were only 132 stores in third-tier and below cities, accounting for about 10%.
According to the &#34;Tea Beverage Category Development Report 2026&#34; released by the Hongcan Industry Research Institute, the tea beverage track has entered a stage of stock game, with market concentration continuing to rise. Especially in first-tier cities, the number of tea beverage stores tends to be saturated, with a slight decline in store numbers in 2025. Guojin Securities' research report also believes that the current revenue-driving force for leading tea beverage companies mainly comes from the expansion of franchise stores in lower-tier markets, driving an increase in procurement demand
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/O6b9p2Gr4CpvEMtuNVGZdGGEik2TIuemLHQjJvCMHlgN0AA/1000?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/O6b9p2Gr4CpvEMtuNVGZdGGEik2TIuemLHQjJvCMHlgN0AA/1000"/>
As competition in the new tea beverage market enters the second half, the imagination space brought by leading companies to the capital market remains limited.
According to data compiled by Beijing News Shell Finance reporters, as of March 30, 2026, among the five new tea beverage companies listed on the Hong Kong stock market, only GUMING has achieved growth compared to its listing day, with an increase of nearly 2 times. The other four have all seen declines since their listing day, with NAYUKI's market value dropping by 95%. Cha Bai Dao and Hu Shang A Yi have also fallen by more than 50%, while MIXUE GROUP has basically maintained its issue price.
Huang Hai, a consumer investor at Peakview Capital, believes that MIXUE ICE CITY and GUMING rely on highly cost-effective single products (such as MIXUE ICE CITY's lemon water and GUMING's cup of ice water) to provide customers with products similar to bottled water from convenience stores. In the era of stock competition, direct-operated brands represented by NAYUKI are under continuous pressure between expansion and profitability, while companies with stronger franchise networks and supply chain efficiency, although possessing stronger profitability, may not necessarily achieve higher valuations in the capital market. This also means that as new tea beverage companies increasingly rely on low prices and high-density layouts, whether this ultimately forms a more solid barrier or leads to more intense consumption remains to be seen.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OEGrkCTlz31uOhNFp8kgd0L-OKuzabRTNgXtknNV2GO9YAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OEGrkCTlz31uOhNFp8kgd0L-OKuzabRTNgXtknNV2GO9YAA/641"/>

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In 2025, five out of six newly listed tea beverage companies achieved profitability, with MIXUE GROUP leading with a revenue of 33.56 billion yuan and a net profit of 5.887 billion yuan. GUMING followed closely, with revenue and net profit increasing by 46.9% and 110.3%, respectively. Despite the overall growth in the number of stores, the growth rate has slowed, and some brands like Bawang Chaji and NAYUKI are facing challenges. MIXUE and GUMING continue to expand through lower-tier markets and supply chain advantages, showing outstanding performance

腾讯新闻 - 财经

GUMING

Hwabao WP CSI Food & Beverage Sub-Industry ETF

ChinaAMC CSI Food & Beverage Sub-Industry ETF

Tianhong CSI Food and Beverage ETF

NAYUKI

E Fund CSI HK Equities Consumption Theme ETF

Huaan CSI SWS Food and Beverage ETF

China Universal CSI Consumer Staples ETF

ChinaAMC CSI HK Connect Consumption Theme ETF

MIXUE GROUP

China Merchants Guozheng Food and Beverage ETF

Yinhua CSI HK Equities Consumption Theme ETF

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