Pop Mart worths over HKD400 billion on stunning H1 performance

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programToy maker Pop Mart posts over 360% rise in profit in H1 as Guochao trend accelerates global expansion;Xiaomi reports 75% leap in Q2 profit as EV business gains momentum.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours Shares in Chinese toymaker Pop Mart reversed course to rise Wednesday, a day after the company posted a near-400% surge in net profit, driven by booming global demand for its LABUBU dolls.Pop Mart jumped 12.5 percent today in Hong Kong to close at HKD316, with a market cap surpassing HKD400 billion, both setting new highs. Shares in Pop Mart have risen more than 200 percent in the last year, resulting in a market valuation of HKD424.4 and making the company worth more than Barbie-maker Mattel, Nerf-seller Hasbro, and Hello Kitty-owner Sanrio combined.The LABUBU-maker on Monday released its financial results for the first half of 2025, reporting a 362.8 percent jump in net profit, reflecting the rise of China's Guochao trend and its intellectual property incubation capacity.Adjusted net profit reached CNY4.71 billion, while revenue stood at CNY13.88 billion, up 204.4 percent year-on-year, extending the strong momentum from the previous two quarters.Revenue from China stood at CNY8.28 billion, up 135.2 percent; Asia-Pacific (excluding China) revenue was CNY2.85 billion, rising 257.8 percent; revenue from the Americas surged to CNY2.26 billion, up 1,142.3 percent; and revenue from Europe and other regions rose 729.2 percent to CNY480 million.The company, best known for creating the global sensation LABUBU, has also seen explosive sales growth across other in-house products with intellectual property rights. In the first half of 2025, 13 artist IPs each generated more than 100 million yuan in revenue.Thanks to its distinctive appeal and unique style, LABUBU, a member of The Monsters family, with a revenue topping CNY4.8 billion, was one of the world's most popular IPs in the first half of 2025.Pop Mart founder and CEO Wang Ning said Wednesday that the firm was well-positioned to hit its 2025 revenue target of CNY20 billion, adding that reaching CNY30 billion this year “should also be quite easy.” Pop Mart also said it will roll out a miniature LABUBU this week that can be clipped onto phones.As one of the leading representatives of China's rising pop toy industry, Pop Mart established four regional headquarters in April for the first time, underscoring its deepening globalization strategy. The company attributed its growing market presence to continuous improvements in operational effectiveness and business efficiency in China.In the first half of 2025, Pop Mart opened its first stores in landmark locations such as Cambridge in the UK and Bali in Indonesia, continuing its push into iconic global destinations. Pop Mart will expand into markets including the Middle East, South Asia, Central and South America, and Russia, Co-Chief Operating Officer Justin Moon said on today’s earnings conference call.As of June 30, the company was operating 571 stores across 18 countries, including 40 new physical outlets and 105 new Robo Shops, according the company.HShares in Chinese toymaker Pop Mart reversed course to rise Wednesday, a day after the company posted a near-400% surge in net profit, driven by booming global demand for its LABUBU dolls.Pop Mart jumped 12.5 percent today in Hong Kong to close at HKD316, with a market cap surpassing HKD400 billion, both setting new highs. Shares in Pop Mart have risen more than 200 percent in the last year, resulting in a market valuation of HKD424.4 and making the company worth more than Barbie-maker Mattel, Nerf-seller Hasbro, and Hello Kitty-owner Sanrio combined.The LABUBU-maker on Monday released its financial results for the first half of 2025, reporting a 362.8 percent jump in net profit, reflecting the rise of China's Guochao trend and its intellectual property incubation capacity.Adjusted net profit reached CNY4.71 billion, while revenue stood at CNY13.88 billion, up 204.4 percent year-on-year, extending the strong momentum from the previous two quarters.Revenue from China stood at CNY8.28 billion, up 135.2 percent; Asia-Pacific (excluding China) revenue was CNY2.85 billion, rising 257.8 percent; revenue from the Americas surged to CNY2.26 billion, up 1,142.3 percent; and revenue from Europe and other regions rose 729.2 percent to CNY480 million.The company, best known for creating the global sensation LABUBU, has also seen explosive sales growth across other in-house products with intellectual property rights. In the first half of 2025, 13 artist IPs each generated more than 100 million yuan in revenue.Thanks to its distinctive appeal and unique style, LABUBU, a member of The Monsters family, with a revenue topping CNY4.8 billion, was one of the world's most popular IPs in the first half of 2025.Pop Mart founder and CEO Wang Ning said Wednesday that the firm was well-positioned to hit its 2025 revenue target of CNY20 billion, adding that reaching CNY30 billion this year “should also be quite easy.” Pop Mart also said it will roll out a miniature LABUBU this week that can be clipped onto phones.As one of the leading representatives of China's rising pop toy industry, Pop Mart established four regional headquarters in April for the first time, underscoring its deepening globalization strategy. The company attributed its growing market presence to continuous improvements in operational effectiveness and business efficiency in China.In the first half of 2025, Pop Mart opened its first stores in landmark locations such as Cambridge in the UK and Bali in Indonesia, continuing its push into iconic global destinations. Pop Mart will expand into markets including the Middle East, South Asia, Central and South America, and Russia, Co-Chief Operating Officer Justin Moon said on today’s earnings conference call.As of June 30, the company was operating 571 stores across 18 countries, including 40 new physical outlets and 105 new Robo Shops, according the company.GBA expressGuangdong Province on Tuesday revealed a 21-point action plan to promote high-quality development of the province's commercial space industry from 2025 to 2028. The action plan supports enterprises investing in the satellite constellations for civil and commercial applications, offering a "green channel" for project approval and coordination support for satellite frequencies and orbital resources. Financial support of 10 percent of total investment will be provided, with a maximum of CNY2 million per node and an annual cap of CNY10 million per enterprise, according to the plan.Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) on Wednesday posted its best-ever half-yearly revenue and profit for the first six months of the year following a stock market boom. The city's bourse operator reported that its revenue and other income soared 33 percent year on year to nearly HKD14.1 billion, boosted by record high volumes in the money market, equity market, and higher investment income. Profit, meanwhile, jumped 39 percent to stand at about HKD8.52 billion between January and June.  China's southern tech hub Shenzhen saw its foreign trade hit CNY2.58 trillion in the first seven months of this year, topping all Chinese mainland cities, the local customs said yesterday. Private firms contributed CNY1.8 trillion of the total.Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi hired Bank of America, CICC, and JPMorgan to work on a second listing in Hong Kong before mid-February, which could raise between USD200 million and USD300 million, media reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.Luxshare Precision Industry has filed for a secondary listing of shares in Hong Kong, with CITIC Securities, Goldman Sachs, and CICC as joint sponsors. The Shenzhen-listed Apple supplier reportedly aims to raise over USD1 billion.Industry and company newsChinese smartphone and electric carmaker Xiaomi reported second-quarter adjusted net profit surged 75 percent from a year earlier to CNY10.8 billion on a 31 percent increase in revenue to CNY116 billion. The Hong Kong-listed company said revenue from smartphones fell 2 percent to CNY45.5 billion on price reductions. Global shipments of 42 million phones ranked the company third in the world, after Samsung and Apple, with a 15 percent market share.Ping An Healthcare reported first-half profit surged 137 percent to CNY134 million from a year earlier on growth driven by expanding corporate customers and the successful adoption of artificial intelligence. Revenue rose 19.5 percent to CNY2.5 billion. Revenue from the smart EV, artificial intelligence, and other new initiatives segment reached CNY21.3 billion in the second quarter on a doubling of deliveries of 81,300 vehicles.  BYD inked a deal with Finnish auto dealer Veho Group to upgrade its sales and service network layout in Finland. The Chinese car giant plans to establish new retail outlets in Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, and other cities.China's collection of stamp duty on securities in July trading doubled from a year earlier to CNY15 billion and rose 29 percent from June, according to the Ministry of Finance. The surge coincided with bullish stocks markets, where volume across Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing exchanges topped CNY2 trillion for a sixth straight day on Wednesday.Asia-Pacific highlightsMeituan today launched its international food delivery platform Keeta in Doha, Qatar, as it further expands in the Middle East, the Chinese on-demand service giant said. Meituan forayed into the Saudi Arabian market last September and now is available in 20 Saudi cities.Japanese investment company SoftBank will invest USD2 billion to take about a 2 percent stake in ailing US chipmaker Intel amid reports the US government is in talks to buy up to a 10 percent stake.