Mixue Bingcheng's profit in 2025 increased by 33% year-over-year, revenue grew by 35.2%, and global stores expanded to nearly 60,000 | Financial Report Highlights

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HeyTea, through the large-scale expansion of its store network and efficient supply chain system, continues to strengthen its cost leadership advantage in the increasingly competitive ready-to-drink beverage sector, delivering an annual performance in 2025 that sets historical highs in both revenue and profit.

HeyTea announced its annual performance for the year ending December 31, 2025, with revenue increasing by 35.2% year-on-year to 33.56 billion yuan, slightly higher than analysts’ average expectation of 32.94 billion; net profit rose by 33.1% to 5.93 billion yuan, surpassing the market consensus expectation of a 31% increase. Basic earnings per share were 15.65 yuan.

During the reporting period, the total number of global stores expanded from 46,479 at the end of 2024 to 59,823, with over 13,700 new stores opened in mainland China, increasing the number of franchisees to 27,450. Meanwhile, the company completed a strategic acquisition of the ready-to-drink fresh beer brand “Fresh Beer Fortune Deer Family,” and the “HeyTea” brand entered the Kazakhstan and U.S. markets, accelerating its globalization layout.

HeyTea announced senior personnel adjustments, with Zhang Hongfu appointed as co-chairman and continuing as an executive director, having stepped down as CEO. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan has been appointed as CEO and will no longer serve as executive vice president and chief financial officer. The board stated that this adjustment is a forward-looking strategic upgrade based on a new stage of development in “multi-brand, globalization, and digital intelligence,” aiming to optimize corporate governance structure, enhance management efficiency, and strengthen leadership team building. Following the earnings report, HeyTea’s stock rose over 8% in Hong Kong, closing at 349.00 HKD.

Record high revenue and profit, margin pressure, analysts cautiously view 2026 prospects

HeyTea’s revenue in 2025 mainly came from sales of goods and equipment to franchisees, with this revenue increasing by 35.3% year-on-year to 32.77 billion yuan, driven primarily by the expansion of the store network which increased franchisee procurement scale. Income from franchise and related services grew by 28.0% to 790 million yuan, accounting for about 2.4% of total revenue, indicating that the company’s business model remains stable, relying mainly on the supply chain system rather than franchise fees to drive revenue.

Despite the net profit growth exceeding expectations, the structural pressure on gross margin cannot be ignored. The gross margin for goods and equipment sales decreased from 31.2% in 2024 to 29.9% in 2025, which the company attributes to changes in revenue structure and rising procurement costs of several key raw materials; the growth rate of sales costs (37.8%) also outpaced revenue growth (35.2%), indicating that scale expansion is accompanied by certain cost pressures.

UBS analysts, including Christine Peng, pointed out in a January report that rising raw material costs, increased delivery order proportions, and intensified competition are the core negative catalysts restricting HeyTea’s short-term performance, and they expect the gross margin to further narrow in 2026 based on 2025’s performance. The company also admitted in its annual report that subsidies from third-party online platforms have raised consumer expectations for quality-price ratios, placing higher demands on the product strength of each brand.

Looking ahead to 2026, HeyTea stated it will consolidate its leading position in China’s ready-to-drink beverage market, steadily advance domestic store network expansion, while continuing to deepen its efforts in the Southeast Asian market and appropriately explore emerging markets, continuously strengthen supply chain construction, promote intelligent store operations, and further expand the global influence of the “Snow King” brand IP.

Significant expansion of mainland stores, continuing penetration of lower-tier markets

As of December 31, 2025, the number of HeyTea stores in mainland China increased to 55,356, covering 31 provinces, over 300 prefecture-level cities, and all county-level cities. By city tier, stores in third-tier cities and below account for about 58%, remaining stable compared to the previous year, indicating solid penetration into lower-tier markets.

Throughout 2025, the company opened 14,496 new franchise stores and closed 2,527, resulting in a net increase of about 12,000 stores for the year, combined with 1,354 stores from the acquisition of “Fresh Beer Fortune Deer Family,” bringing the total number of franchise stores to 59,785.

To enhance operational quality, the company continues to promote smart dispensing machines, and by the end of 2025, these machines have covered over 13,000 “HeyTea” stores, aiming to elevate product standardization levels, reduce food safety risks, and optimize consumer experience. The company stated that in 2026 it will continue to steadily expand its domestic store network while focusing on improving the operational quality of each brand’s stores.

Slight contraction of overseas stores, accelerated exploration of new markets

In the overseas market, by the end of 2025, the number of stores outside mainland China was 4,467, a decrease from 4,895 at the end of 2024, primarily due to operational adjustments and optimizations in existing stores in Indonesia and Vietnam, leading to a decrease in numbers during the period. The company stated that these measures aim to support the sustainable and robust operation of stores in these markets in the long term.

At the same time, the company is accelerating its layout in emerging markets. During the reporting period, the “HeyTea” brand entered the Kazakhstan and U.S. markets one after another; the coffee brand “Lucky Coffee” also opened its first stores in Malaysia and Thailand. By the end of 2025, the company’s overseas market layout covered 13 countries, and local warehousing systems and distribution networks have been established in 8 countries.

The company stated that in 2026 it will continue to deepen its efforts in the Southeast Asian market and dynamically adjust its market expansion strategies based on factors such as the business environment, store performance, population size, and consumer preferences in each country, while appropriately exploring other markets.

Acquisition expands product categories, “Fresh Beer Fortune Deer Family” incorporated into the group

In October 2025, HeyTea announced the strategic acquisition of the ready-to-drink fresh beer brand “Fresh Beer Fortune Deer Family,” completing the acquisition on December 1, 2025, extending its product categories from fresh fruit drinks, tea drinks, ice cream, and coffee to the fresh beer sector. “Fresh Beer Fortune Deer Family” features freshly brewed beer priced at about 6 to 10 yuan per 500 milliliters, and at the time of acquisition, it already had 1,354 franchise stores and 20 directly-operated stores.

As of the end of 2025, the company had a total of 38 directly-operated stores, an increase from 17 at the end of 2024, with the increase mainly coming from this acquisition.

The company stated that in 2026 it will focus on strengthening the production capacity of “Fresh Beer Fortune Deer Family” and optimize the operation of the brand’s stores by leveraging the group’s strong supply chain system and operational capabilities, steadily advancing its national layout.

Zhang Hongfu steps down as CEO of HeyTea and assumes the role of co-chairman, with Zhang Yuan taking over as CEO

HeyTea announced senior personnel adjustments, with Zhang Hongfu appointed as co-chairman and continuing as an executive director, having stepped down as CEO. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan has been appointed as CEO and will no longer serve as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Information shows that Cui Haijing resigned as a supervisor and chairman of the supervisory board, and has been appointed as the financial head, responsible for the group’s financial work. Following the election by the company’s employee representative assembly, Zhu Jiaping was appointed as the employee representative supervisor.

The board stated that this adjustment is a forward-looking strategic upgrade based on a new stage of development in “multi-brand, globalization, and digital intelligence,” aiming to optimize corporate governance structure, enhance management efficiency, and strengthen leadership team building. Zhang Hongfu will continue to participate in significant decision-making for the group, playing a core leadership role in key areas such as strategy, culture, public welfare, and innovation.