Blue Lotus China New Economy Research, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Eric Wen

Blue Lotus China New Economy Research

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Luckin reported C1Q25 revenue in-line/6% vs. our estimate/consensus, and non-GAAP operating profit 9%/75% higher than our estimate/consensus, thanks to warmer weather and constrained marketing spending;</li>
<li>Despite Luckin pre-emptive lock-ins, rising coffee bean price shall still take its toll as Luckin's biggest rival Starbucks should be equally capable of managing the commodity price risk. </li>
<li>We keep Luckin as BUY rating but cut TP to US$39.</li>
</ul>


Luckin reported C1Q25 revenue in-line/6% vs. our estimate/consensus, and non-GAAP operating profit 9%/75% higher than our estimate/consensus, thanks to warmer weather and constrained marketing spending;
Despite Luckin pre-emptive lock-ins, rising coffee bean price shall still take its toll as Luckin's biggest rival Starbucks should be equally capable of managing the commodity price risk. 
We keep Luckin as BUY rating but cut TP to US$39.


[Luckin (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$39) TP Change]: Coffee Bean Price Hike Hurts Margin but Boosts Sales

<ul>
<li>Luckin reported C4Q24 revenue 6%/1% higher than our estimate/consensus, and non-GAAP operating profit 11%/38% higher than our estimate/consensus, driven by SSSG recovery and cost material savings;</li>
<li>After turning around same-store-sales-growth (SSSG) via price hike in C3Q24, Luckin finetuned the cup sales to price ratio to reach an optimal point in C4Q24, </li>
<li>We upgrade Luckin from UR into BUY rating and set new TP at US$40.  </li>
</ul>


Luckin reported C4Q24 revenue 6%/1% higher than our estimate/consensus, and non-GAAP operating profit 11%/38% higher than our estimate/consensus, driven by SSSG recovery and cost material savings;
After turning around same-store-sales-growth (SSSG) via price hike in C3Q24, Luckin finetuned the cup sales to price ratio to reach an optimal point in C4Q24, 
We upgrade Luckin from UR into BUY rating and set new TP at US$40.  


[Luckin (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$40) Rating Change]: Optimum Cup Sales and Price Mix Hit the Sweet Spot

A Value Investing Journal, Acid Investments

Acid Investments

A Value Investing Journal

I love stonks and I love rambling. Sometimes, I feel it unfair to subject those around me with the inundation of my thoughts, so I tweet and I spill ink on here. Jokes aside, I love investing and edgy ideas; I hope to become a better investor and this is my journal to that end. I will be sharing value/special situations I come across organically or through other blogs/13F and I hope to provide a variant analytical view to said situations. I hope to receive constructive feedback and let’s grab some of dem benjamins together!

<ul><li>Last week, I wrote a quick article flagging the seemingly absurd valuation discrepancy of Chagee vis-a-vis beverage peers on the HK stock exchange i.e. Mixue and Guming, as well as Luckin Coffee on the OTC markets.</li><li>Chagee currently trades around ~31 (doing extremely poorly on a good day), and at the bottom of its recent trading range; there is no analyst coverage and the firm has yet to report its Q1 25 results so it’s just really stuck in no-man’s land.</li><li>I postulated then that delisting risk was an overhang on Chagee, a Chinese ADR, but lo and behold, it appears that the market has shrugged off a large portion of it for the large cap Chinese tech companies.</li></ul>

Last week, I wrote a quick article flagging the seemingly absurd valuation discrepancy of Chagee vis-a-vis beverage peers on the HK stock exchange i.e. Mixue and Guming, as well as Luckin Coffee on the OTC markets.Chagee currently trades around ~31 (doing extremely poorly on a good day), and at the bottom of its recent trading range; there is no analyst coverage and the firm has yet to report its Q1 25 results so it’s just really stuck in no-man’s land.I postulated then that delisting risk was an overhang on Chagee, a Chinese ADR, but lo and behold, it appears that the market has shrugged off a large portion of it for the large cap Chinese tech companies.

Part 2: What Could Go Wrong at Chagee (CHA)

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>BEKE US: Post-May Holiday Slowdown in Existing Home Transactions, Stabilized New Home Sales. (/)</li>
<li>1810 HK : Several Xiaomi Car Owners Demand Refunds (-)</li>
<li>ZK US: Zeekr Launches Channel Reform, Introduces Agent-Based Partnership Model(+)</li>
</ul>


BEKE US: Post-May Holiday Slowdown in Existing Home Transactions, Stabilized New Home Sales. (/)
1810 HK : Several Xiaomi Car Owners Demand Refunds (-)
ZK US: Zeekr Launches Channel Reform, Introduces Agent-Based Partnership Model(+)


[Blue Lotus Daily]:BEKE US/1810 HK/ZK US/LKNCY US/Macro/New Energy Vehicles

HK/China Healthcare Analyst (ex-Fosun Pharma)

Xinyao (Criss) Wang

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>The core reason for the success of Chagee lies in the Company finding an effective "shortcut" of business model – “minimalism”, but this model does not imply a high moat.</li>
<li>A likely situation is Chagee's future growth in domestic market would be limited, and the overseas expansion could be unsatisfactory.So, we recommend investors to be cautious about the valuation prospects.</li>
<li>If domestic competition intensifies or overseas expansion falls short of expectations, it is highly likely that the stock price will fall back to the range of US$25-30/share or even lower.</li>
</ul>


The core reason for the success of Chagee lies in the Company finding an effective "shortcut" of business model – “minimalism”, but this model does not imply a high moat.
A likely situation is Chagee's future growth in domestic market would be limited, and the overseas expansion could be unsatisfactory.So, we recommend investors to be cautious about the valuation prospects.
If domestic competition intensifies or overseas expansion falls short of expectations, it is highly likely that the stock price will fall back to the range of US$25-30/share or even lower.


Chagee Holdings - Debut Is the Peak, and Then It Wanes?

China

Luckin Coffee Inc. provides non-alcoholic beverages. The Company offers various types of coffee. Luckin Coffee serves customers in China.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
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Luckin Coffee (LKNCY US)

[Luckin (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$39) TP Change]: Coffee Bean Price Hike Hurts Margin but Boosts Sales

Luckin's revenue and operating profit beat estimates in Q1, but rising coffee bean prices pose a challenge despite pre-emptive measures; BUY...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

[Luckin (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$40) Rating Change]: Optimum Cup Sales and Price Mix Hit the Sweet Spot

Luckin's strong revenue and profit performance in C4Q24 driven by SSSG recovery and cost savings leads to upgrade to BUY rating with TP of US$40.

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Part 2: What Could Go Wrong at Chagee (CHA)

Chagee currently trades around ~31 (doing extremely poorly on a good day), and at the bottom of its recent trading range; there is no analyst...

Acid Investments

[Blue Lotus Daily]:BEKE US/1810 HK/ZK US/LKNCY US/Macro/New Energy Vehicles

Post-holiday slowdown in existing home transactions but stabilized new home sales; Xiaomi car owners demand refunds; Zeekr launches channel reform...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Chagee Holdings - Debut Is the Peak, and Then It Wanes?

Chagee's success is attributed to a minimalist business model, but caution is advised for investors due to limited growth potential/uncertain...

Xinyao (Criss) Wang

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

[Luckin (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$39) TP Change]: Coffee Bean Price Hike Hurts Margin but Boosts Sales

​Luckin's revenue and operating profit beat estimates in Q1, but rising coffee bean prices pose a challenge despite pre-emptive measures; BUY...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

[Luckin (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$40) Rating Change]: Optimum Cup Sales and Price Mix Hit the Sweet Spot

​Luckin's strong revenue and profit performance in C4Q24 driven by SSSG recovery and cost savings leads to upgrade to BUY rating with TP of US$40.

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Part 2: What Could Go Wrong at Chagee (CHA)

Chagee currently trades around ~31 (doing extremely poorly on a good day), and at the bottom of its recent trading range; there is no analyst...

Acid Investments

[Blue Lotus Daily]:BEKE US/1810 HK/ZK US/LKNCY US/Macro/New Energy Vehicles

​Post-holiday slowdown in existing home transactions but stabilized new home sales; Xiaomi car owners demand refunds; Zeekr launches channel reform...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Chagee Holdings - Debut Is the Peak, and Then It Wanes?

​Chagee's success is attributed to a minimalist business model, but caution is advised for investors due to limited growth potential/uncertain...

Xinyao (Criss) Wang

Luckin's revenue and operating profit beat estimates in Q1, but rising coffee bean prices pose a challenge despite pre-emptive measures; BUY...

Luckin's strong revenue and profit performance in C4Q24 driven by SSSG recovery and cost savings leads to upgrade to BUY rating with TP of US$40.

Post-holiday slowdown in existing home transactions but stabilized new home sales; Xiaomi car owners demand refunds; Zeekr launches channel reform...

Chagee's success is attributed to a minimalist business model, but caution is advised for investors due to limited growth potential/uncertain...