appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Cao Li

Shares of Chinese toymaker Pop Mart rallied nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday morning before closing more than 9 per cent higher after the company announced its first share buy-back in nearly two years, following a decline from last year’s peak.
Pop Mart’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose to HK$198.70 at the open as investors welcomed the move. Shares closed 9.1 per cent higher at HK$197.20.
The stock remains below last year’s closing level of HK$200.20, and more than 40 per cent off its August peak, suggesting softer momentum amid fierce competition and sluggish consumption.
The company repurchased 1.4 million shares for a total of HK$251 million (US$32 million) on Monday, according to an exchange filing. The shares were bought at prices ranging from HK$177.70 to HK$181.20.
“Pop Mart’s share buy-back signals management’s confidence and a healthy balance sheet,” said Wang Qi, chief investment officer at UOB Kay Hian’s private wealth management division in Hong Kong. With over 13 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) in cash, the company had ample room for such initiatives to enhance shareholder returns, Wang added.

The Beijing-based toymaker is famous for selling “blind boxes”, which hide their content in opaque packaging. Its most popular product is Labubu, an elfin figure with a toothy grin embraced by celebrities from Lisa of girl band Blackpink to US singer Rihanna and influencer Kim Kardashian.
Revenue in the first half of 2025 was 13.88 billion yuan, more than triple the same period in 2024.
However, Pop Mart faces sluggish consumption and fierce competition, from Miniso’s Top Toy brand to 52 Toys and Sunny and Sandy, which filed for a listing in Hong Kong last week.
China posted its weakest retail sales growth last month in nearly three years. In December, sales grew just 0.9 per cent, the lowest since February 2023 and far below the double-digit growth seen in most years before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consumers kept spending tight in 2025 amid deflationary pressures, according to an HSBC report last week. Hong Kong-listed consumer stocks had underperformed the broader index since the third quarter, after a surge of newly listed and fast-growing consumer companies peaked in July, the bank said.
“We think Pop Mart’s share repurchase reflects management’s view that its shares are underpriced,” said Jeff Zhang, equity analyst with Morningstar. The company relied on buy-backs to enhance shareholder returns, as its dividend yield had stayed below 1 per cent for a long period, Zhang added.
“While we expect more buy-backs in the short run, further rallies may limit Pop Mart’s willingness for long-term repurchases,” Zhang added.


Chinese maker of robot-vacuum sensors launches Hong Kong IPO, undeterred by US ban

China’s AI self-reliance presents opportunities but valuations, geopolitics are risks: BofA

Hong Kong stocks eye fresh inflows from mainland China’s insurers sitting on US$6 trillion

Expect ‘high tide’ of Chinese biotech deals as threat of US curbs fades: analysts

Hong Kong stock market

Labubu maker Pop Mart surges after first buy-back in 2 years in show of confidence

Investors have welcomed Pop Mart’s move. Photo: Xinhua

Labubu toys are embraced by celebrities from Blackpink’s Lisa to Rihanna and Kim Kardashian. Photo: Reuters 

Pop Mart’s interim sales soar as Labubu craze fuels Chinese toymaker’s record earnings

A bench decorated with the figure of the character Mokoko at the Pop Mart’s theme park Pop Land in Beijing on June 18, 2025. Photo: AFP

A Pop Mart store in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, on July 20, 2025. Photo: Eugene Lee

An undated photograph of Pop Mart’s founder, Wang Ning. Photo: 21cdr.com

A Pop Mart shop at a shopping centre in Beijing on July 2, 2025. Photo: AFP

Mini Labubus are coming after your mobile phone, as Pop Mart aims to double 2025 sales

Pop Mart’s founder and CEO Wang Ning with a mini Labubu plush toy during the company’s post-earnings press conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Photo: Handout

A man walks with two Labubu plush toys hanging from his backpack at The Bund in Shanghai on July 4, 2025. Photo: AFP

Labubu dolls on display at Pop Mart’s new store in Las Vegas on July 12, 2025. Photo: TNS

Labubu figures depicted in blind boxes at a Pop Mart store in Berlin on July 25, 2025. Photo: EPA

Chinese toymaker Pop Mart targets wider audience with Playground magazine, grow IP

Pop Mart, the maker of Labubu toys, is valued at US$33.3 billion. Photo: Reuters

The new edition of Pop Mart’s biannual publication features Oscar-winning Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh on its cover. Photo: Handout

Business

News

Banking & Finance

China Business

Companies

Markets

China

Hong Kong

Repurchase signals management’s confidence and healthy balance sheet, analysts say, though stock remains 40 per cent below last year’s peak


Repurchase signals management’s confidence and healthy balance sheet, analysts say, though stock remains 40 per cent below last year’s peak.


Labubu maker Pop Mart surges after first buy-back in 2 years in show of confidence

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Repurchase signals management’s confidence and healthy balance sheet, analysts say, though stock remains 40 per cent below last year’s peak

Repurchase signals management’s confidence and healthy balance sheet, analysts say, though stock remains 40 per cent below last year’s peak