Can spending billions on Spring Festival Gala sponsorship not save it? Why can't Gujinggong expand beyond Anhui after a decade of nationalization efforts?

Recently, Gujinggong held its 2025 annual performance briefing.

In response to doubts about the performance fluctuations, the management of Gujinggong explained that the liquor industry has entered a deep adjustment period, and the fluctuations and decline in sales revenue are a trend across the entire industry.

At present, it's hard to say whether this statement can stabilize market confidence.

Although the liquor industry encountered a collective slump in 2025, many liquor companies returned to positive growth in the first quarter of 2026.

In the first quarter of 2026, Laobaigan's revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 4.49% and 8.55% year-on-year respectively.

Yingjiagongjiu, an Anhui-based company like Gujinggong, saw its revenue grow by 8.91% in the first quarter of 2026, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company increased by 0.73% year-on-year.

In contrast, Gujinggong's performance in the first quarter continued the downward trend in both revenue and profit.

The financial report shows that in Q1 2026, Gujinggong achieved revenue of 7.446 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18.59%, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 1.607 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 31.03%.

To regain investors' confidence, Gujinggong may need to find a more convincing narrative.

I. The "Two Sides" of Gujinggong

After the release of the first-quarter performance, the secondary market quickly had a stress reaction.

Since Gujinggong's stock price fell below the 100-yuan mark in mid-May, there has been no obvious sign of recovery so far.

According to Tianyancha APP, as of the close on May 22, 2026, Gujinggong's stock price was 92.25 yuan per share, and its total market value was 48.763 billion yuan.

In the face of the industry's downturn, capital only pays for certainty. Whether Gujinggong can prove its strategic determination and certainty to investors is the key to the market's recovery.

Let's first look at what chips Gujinggong has in hand.

First, its core profitability remains strong. Although the total revenue and net profit have declined, Gujinggong's gross profit margin has not been substantially affected.

The financial report shows that in 2025, Gujinggong's comprehensive gross profit margin was still as high as 79.26%, and the gross profit margin of its core product, the "Year Original Pulp" series, reached 84.86%.

This shows that even in the context of fierce price wars in the industry, Gujinggong's products still have strong pricing power and brand premium ability, and have not been dragged down by the market involution.

Second, the online channel has exploded.

In 2025, the operating income of the online channel increased by 30.65% year-on-year, becoming a highlight in the financial report that cannot be ignored.

Finally, some key indicators are showing signs of recovery, indicating a certain signal of revival.

For example, as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the contract liabilities were 2.305 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51.64%. This shows that dealers are actively restocking again, and their confidence in the company's future development has recovered.

Another example is that although the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company decreased in the first quarter of 2026, the net cash flow from operating activities during the reporting period reached 1.911 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.59%.

This means that Gujinggong's ability to convert profits into cash flow is increasing.

Of course, these are just highlights in the details of operations.

Gujinggong's real core competitiveness lies in its brand power and product power.

In terms of brand power, Gujinggong is one of the top eight famous Chinese liquors and one of the enterprises that have won the "National Famous Liquor" title the most times in the history of Chinese liquor.

Second, in terms of product power, for a long time, Gujinggong's brewing process, aged liquor reserves, and quality stability have been considered to be in the first echelon of the industry.

As long as Gujinggong can prove that these two foundations are still solid, it can wait patiently for the industry cycle to pick up.

With these chips, let's look at the problems that Gujinggong needs to deal with.

First of all, the fact of the performance decline cannot be avoided.

In 2025, both the annual operating income and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company declined by double digits year-on-year, and this trend continued in the first quarter of 2026.

Secondly, the nationalization process has been hindered.

In the current situation where the liquor industry has entered a stock competition era, nationalization is no longer just an empty slogan for liquor companies.

The Matthew effect in the industry is becoming more and more obvious. First-tier famous liquor brands are constantly expanding their channels to lower levels, squeezing the living space of second- and third-tier and local brands. For local liquor companies, if they want to avoid being marginalized, they can only break out.

Gujinggong started its nationalization early. Since 2016, it has sponsored CCTV for 11 consecutive years, but the results seem to be less than expected.

The financial report shows that in 2025, the revenue from the central China region accounted for 88.4% of Gujinggong's total revenue, an increase of 2.94 percentage points compared with 2024.

In contrast, Yingjiagongjiu, another Anhui-based liquor company, had an out-of-province sales ratio of 33.87% in 2025.

In the liquor industry, which highly values brand heritage, the regional gene of "locals drinking local liquor" is very strong.

If a brand cannot go beyond its place of origin, it is often labeled as a "local liquor" and is difficult to be recognized in high-end business banquets and national social scenarios, which may also hinder the building of its brand power.

In addition, although Gujinggong has the brand title of "National Famous Liquor", it relies heavily on marketing to drive growth.

The financial report shows that in 2025, Gujinggong's sales expenses were 5.458 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.71%, while its operating income during the same period was 18.832 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 20.13%.

While the operating income declined, the sales expenses could not be reduced proportionally. In 2025, the sales expense ratio reached 28.9%, and in the first quarter of 2026, it was 26.7%, both far higher than those of other top eight famous liquor brands such as Moutai, Wuliangye, and Shanxi Fenjiu.

Brand power is essentially a kind of "trust deposit" in consumers' minds. It is not a permanent medal engraved on a stone but a dynamic asset that needs continuous operation and constant fulfillment.

However, Gujinggong's performance has declined, its nationalization has not made progress, and its marketing dependence has not been alleviated for a long time. This deviation between the real brand potential and the "famous liquor halo" inevitably raises doubts about the certainty of its brand competitiveness.

From the product perspective, Gujinggong faces two main challenges:

One is price inversion. The core product, "Year Original Pulp · Ancient 20", has been in a state of price inversion for a long time, which has a continuous impact on the brand value.

In order to achieve the goal of 30 billion yuan in revenue, Gujinggong may have taken many actions such as channel concessions and terminal promotions to increase sales volume by reducing prices.

The financial report shows that in 2025, the sales volumes of the three major products, "Year Original Pulp", "Gujinggong", and "Huanghelou and Others", changed by -10.37%, 3.79%, and -11.79% respectively, while the operating incomes changed by -19.32%, -14.52%, and -20.19% year-on-year respectively. The downward trend of the average unit price is obvious.

Considering Gujinggong's chips and the problems it needs to deal with, its management may need to answer two questions:

1. If the brand competitiveness is certain, why can't it get rid of the marketing dependence? 2. If the product competitiveness is certain, why does the average unit price continue to decline?

Whether it can answer these two questions well may determine whether Gujinggong can regain market confidence.

II. As Liang Jinhui's Term Is Coming to an End, Where Will Gujinggong Go Next?

Compared with the frequent personnel changes in the liquor industry in recent years, Gujinggong's core management team is indeed known for its "ultra-long service" and extremely high stability.

Chairman Liang Jinhui has served continuously for more than 12 years, and General Manager Zhou Qingwu has been his partner for more than 12 years. Data shows that the average tenure of Gujinggong's core management team is as high as 8.55 years, far exceeding the industry average of 4.58 years.

During Liang Jinhui's tenure, the keyword for Gujinggong may be "expansion".

During the more than a decade when Liang Jinhui was at the helm, the company successfully created the "Year Original Pulp" series as its core growth engine in terms of products.

In terms of brand influence, through large-scale investments such as continuous sponsorship of the Spring Festival Gala and high-speed trains, the brand awareness has been greatly improved.

In terms of business layout, Gujinggong has successively acquired enterprises such as Huanghelou Winery and Mingguang Winery, building a multi-brand matrix of "Four Brands and Three Aromas".