Who is the second biggest fan of Pop Mart in the world?
Author | Xie Yunzi
Editor | Zhang Fan
A rights disclosure document has shown the market that Duan Yongping's love for Pop Mart is more than just "empty talk."
On the evening of May 27, Duan Yongping and his wholly - owned H&H International simultaneously increased their holdings of Pop Mart shares. The shareholding ratio of the persons acting in concert reached 5.69%, corresponding to approximately 76.3716 million shares, making them the second - largest shareholder after the founder Wang Ning.
Every endorsement from a well - known investor always boosts market confidence to some extent.
As of the time of publication, Pop Mart's closing price was HK$161.5, up 4.74%. Calculated at the latest stock price, the market value of Duan Yongping's holdings reached HK$12.3 billion. His attitude towards Pop Mart has also undergone an "epic reversal" of 180 degrees.
Just last August, when Pop Mart's stock price was approaching its all - time high and it was called the "Moutai of new consumption," Duan Yongping took the opposite view, saying, "I can't understand what Pop Mart will be like in 10 years." In January this year, when responding to a netizen's question on Xueqiu, he also said, "I still can't understand why people need this thing. What if no one wants it in two years?"
Two months later, Pop Mart released its 2025 financial report. The annual revenue was 37.12 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 184.7%; the adjusted net profit was 13.08 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 284.5%; and the gross profit margin reached 72.1%.
Judging from the financial report alone, any data of Pop Mart is astonishing in the consumer industry. However, the capital market is obviously worried about the performance guidance for 2026 given by the management, and there is also panic due to the decline in the popularity of LABUBU.
As a result, on the day when the financial report was released on March 25, Pop Mart's stock price plummeted for five consecutive trading days, with a cumulative decline of 34.7%.
Image from Wind
Unexpectedly, it was precisely at the most pessimistic moment in the market that Duan Yongping posted, saying, "I've been trying to understand this company for several days." After visiting Pop Mart stores in London and reading Wang Ning's personal biography "Because of Uniqueness," Duan Yongping announced that he was taking back his previous statement of "not investing" and said that he "hadn't felt this excited for a long time."
The more crucial move was on April 9, when Duan Yongping initiated a Put test.
The essence of a put option is a cautious investment method with a greater margin of safety.
When you sell a put option (also known as selling a Put), you can receive a "premium" from the buyer and promise the buyer a specified price (the strike price). If the stock price does not fall below this price, the seller gets to keep the premium. If the stock price falls below the strike price and the buyer exercises the option, the seller needs to buy the underlying stock from the buyer at the agreed - upon price while keeping the premium.
So, Duan Yongping said, "My Pop Mart insurance company is open for business." Simply put, "I think it's a bit expensive to buy directly. Instead, I'll sell some 'downside insurance' to earn the premium. If the stock price doesn't fall, I'll make the premium for free. If it falls, I can take over at a lower cost."
Previously, he also revealed on Xueqiu that he had sold a total of 22,500 put options in just 20 days. On the exercise date on April 29, Pop Mart's closing price was HK$154.07, and most of the speculated strike prices in the market were around HK$150. This means that Duan Yongping didn't buy a single share but earned a substantial premium.
By May 7, Duan Yongping had no reservations about Pop Mart and could be regarded as the "second" person who loves this company in the public context.
He publicly stated that "I've replaced all my Shenhua shares with Pop Mart shares," and even said straightforwardly when responding to a netizen, "I understand Wang Ning not because of my investment, but because I was also an 'entrepreneur' and can see how amazing he is. He's still so young."
Almost at the same time, Duan Yongping increased his holdings of Kweichow Moutai again. With Moutai on one hand and Pop Mart on the other - in the investment chessboard of this "Chinese Buffett," the old and new targets are competing on the same field.
Actually, Duan Yongping's investment logic is very simple.
He has always repeatedly emphasized that "in my understanding, buying stocks is buying a company, and buying a company is buying the discounted future cash flow of the company." And Duan Yongping's method of screening good stocks and good companies is the same as Buffett's. He attaches great importance to ROE (Return on Equity, with the core algorithm being net profit/net assets). This value can more intuitively reflect a company's profitability efficiency.
In many interviews, Duan Yongping also said that the annualized return rate of a stock will approach ROE. If a company's ROE is maintained above 20% for a long time, it means it has a strong moat.
Two investment cases can better demonstrate his concept.
In 2011, after Steve Jobs passed away, Apple's stock price plummeted. Duan Yongping made a heavy investment against the trend and also used the method of selling Put options to build a position in Apple. He held Apple's stocks for 14 years without selling. During this period, Apple's market value increased from $300 billion to $3 trillion, and Duan Yongping's return was more than 10 times. His logic for investing in Apple lies more in the deep lock - in of users by the iOS ecosystem.
In 2013, due to the plasticizer scandal and the anti - corruption campaign, the liquor industry was in a slump. At that time, Duan Yongping was more optimistic about Moutai's development in the next decade. He believed that Moutai's industry position and people's demand for top - grade liquor would not change fundamentally.
Looking at the ROE data, Kweichow Moutai has maintained a level of 30% for many years. In 2025, the average ROE of Kweichow Moutai reached 34.36%.
Apple shows a different structure. Due to Apple's continuous share repurchases in recent years, its net assets have been compressed, and its ROE has even reached 170% (share repurchases require cash flow and also affect the number of shares). However, if we set aside financial leverage, Apple's ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) has also been stable at 50% in recent years.
Average ROE values of Apple, Kweichow Moutai, and Pop Mart; Charted by 36Kr based on Wind data
In contrast, Pop Mart's ROE data is not as stable as that of Apple and Moutai.
As the blind - box business model was questioned, Pop Mart's return on equity once dropped to 6.9% in 2022. With the company's adjustment of the product line and the layout of multiple IPs, it gradually recovered to 33.87% in 2024 and soared to 77.52% in 2025. Pop Mart's ROE performance in 2025 was undoubtedly affected by the popularity of LABUBU.
Some brokerage sources once revealed to 36Kr that some investors still regard Pop Mart as a "cyclical stock."
"In 2025, Pop Mart and Laopu Gold were hyped up because there was no clear main line for technology stocks in the Hong Kong and A - share markets. Technology stocks in the US market, such as storage, didn't become popular until the middle of last year."
Looking at the price - to - earnings ratio, which best reflects "current profits," since 2026, Apple has been stable above 30, Kweichow Moutai has been fluctuating around 20, and Pop Mart's price - to - earnings ratio has dropped from a high of 48 in February to the current 15.15. This also makes some investors wonder if Pop Mart has passed the period of high - speed growth.
This brings us back to the old questions of "who can take over LABUBU's huge popularity" and the life cycle of IPs.
Previously, the market was also worried that Pop Mart was too dependent on Molly. In 2025, the "THE MONSTERS family" represented by LABUBU contributed 14.16 billion yuan in revenue to the company.
Image from McDonald's official Weibo
Although Pop Mart actively increased the supply in the second half of last year, which affected the price performance of LABUBU's fourth - generation and later products in the secondary market. However, for consumer goods, regaining the product pricing power from the channels is undoubtedly the best protection for the company's future net profit and brand image. Similar to Pop Mart, since January 2026, the sales of Feitian Moutai on "iMoutai" have become the norm.
Meanwhile, Pop Mart's 2025 financial report also shows that the company has 17 artist IPs with revenues exceeding 100 million yuan. In addition to THE MONSTERS, the revenues of six IPs, including SKULLPANDA, CRYBABY, MOLLY, DIMOO, Xingxingren, and HIRONO, have all exceeded 2 billion yuan.
Recently, Xingxingren also collaborated with McDonald's. The "Xingxingren Choir" series of blind boxes jointly launched by the two sold well, and the first batch of 400,000 products were sold out in 15 minutes. The cooperation with an international brand is also a successful commercial realization of the value of the Xingxingren IP.
It is a clear fact that Pop Mart has long been an IP platform.
Of course, whether Pop Mart's future ROE level can be stabilized within a certain range still needs time. The value of this investment target for Duan Yongping will only be realized after ten years. The capital market may need to be more patient with Pop Mart.
*Disclaimer:
The content of this article only represents the author's views.
The market is risky, and investment should be made with caution. In any case, the information in this article or the opinions expressed do not constitute investment advice to anyone. Before making an investment decision, if necessary, investors must consult professionals and make decisions carefully. We have no intention of providing underwriting services or any services that require specific qualifications or licenses to engage in for the trading parties.
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This article is from the WeChat official account "36Kr Finance", author: Xie Yunzi, Zhang Fan. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.