In the first half of this year, six mainland listed milk tea companies saw a year-on-year increase in revenue, but a decline in net profit, resulting in an increase in revenue without a corresponding increase in profitability. At the same time, over the past year, the number of closed stores has exceeded 110,000, with a net decrease of 43,200 stores.
According to a report by “China Business Network” on September 15, mainland listed companies have recently released their financial reports for the first half of 2026. Among them, six listed tea beverage brands including HEYTEA Group, GUMING, Tea Talk, AUNTIE’s Tea Shop, CHA JUN, and Naixue’s Tea, collectively generated approximately 36.783 billion yuan in revenue, a year-on-year increase of about 9%; the total net profit was approximately 5.373 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of over 2.7%.
Meanwhile, the changes in the number of stores for each company have become more pronounced. According to data from major data platforms in the mainland catering industry, from December 2024 to December 2025, there were approximately 102,000 new tea beverage stores opened and about 131,000 closed, resulting in a net decrease of 29,300 stores. As of the first half of 2026, the total number of tea beverage stores nationwide further decreased to 383,100. In the past year alone, the number of closed stores exceeded 110,000, expanding the net decrease of stores to 43,200.
According to the “2025-2026 Restaurant Closure Rate White Paper” released by NCBD, a big data research and certification agency in the dining industry, the overall closure rate of tea beverage categories in mainland China was 16.2% from 2025 to 2026. A report from GeoQ Data showed that among the 112 new tea beverage brands surveyed, 62% of the brands’ store sizes were shrinking or stagnant.
The decline in net profit of each company has also affected the stock market. As of the close of August 31, the stock price of HEYTEA Group fell by 48.76% year-to-date, Tea Talk dropped by 33.09%, Naixue’s Tea fell by about 38.68%; AUNTIE’s Tea Shop’s stock price once reached a high of 170 Hong Kong dollars per share, but has since significantly declined, now exceeding a 50% decrease. GUMING has risen by 6.4% since the beginning of this year, but experienced sharp fluctuations from 31.03 Hong Kong dollars to 18.55 Hong Kong dollars during this period, with an amplitude of 40.22%; CHA JUN’s stock price has remained relatively flat overall, but has dropped by over 36% since early September 2025.
In response to this, the report cited industry experts who analyzed that the leading tea beverage brands’ performance of “increased revenue without increased profitability” is forcing the industry to transition from expanding in scale to more refined operations, leading to a further concentration of the market towards top brands in the future.