Kweichow Moutai 2025 Revenue Falls 1.2% to RMB168.8 Billion, Net Profit Drops 4.5%
Kweichow Moutai reported its first annual revenue and profit decline since listing, with 2025 revenue down 1.2% to RMB168.8 billion and net profit attributable to shareholders down 4.5% to RMB82.3 billion. Direct sales surpassed 50% of revenue for the first time. In the first half of 2026, revenue edged up 1.3% but profit fell 2.0%, with second-quarter declines widening. The company raised ex-factory prices and retail prices in mid-2026 amid tight supply.
Kweichow Moutai's 2025 annual report showed the first simultaneous decline in revenue and net profit since its listing more than two decades ago. According to the annual report, 2025 operating revenue was RMB168.8 billion, down 1.2% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB82.3 billion, down 4.5%. The 2026 interim report showed revenue up 1.3% and profit down 2.0%, with second-quarter revenue and profit falling 5.2% and 6.9% respectively, indicating a widening decline.
By product structure, 2025 Moutai liquor revenue was RMB146.5 billion, up 0.39% year on year, while sauce-flavor series liquor revenue was RMB22.275 billion, down 9.76%. In July 2026, the promotional price of Moutai 1935 was set at RMB688, a maximum single-bottle reduction of RMB590. Base liquor production capacity remained at 56,000 tonnes.
Channel structure changed significantly. In 2025, direct sales revenue was RMB84.5 billion, up nearly 13% year on year, accounting for more than 50% of total revenue for the first time. The 2026 interim report showed direct sales revenue up 29.9%, while traditional distribution channel revenue fell 21.6%. In July 2026, the settlement price for the sales company was raised from RMB1,269 to RMB1,369, while the market wholesale price for a full case of 2026 Feitian Moutai hovered around RMB1,700. In 2021, the full-case wholesale price was RMB3,800 and the ex-factory price was RMB969, a spread of about RMB2,800. Contract liabilities fell from RMB14.1 billion at the end of 2023 to about RMB7.8 billion.
On August 8, 2026, Moutai's self-operated stores raised the retail price of Feitian to RMB1,753, the second increase within half a month; the online i-Moutai price was RMB1,639. Stores generally faced stockouts, with retail customers limited to one case per day.
On financial metrics, the 2025 gross margin was 91.2%, compared with 91.5% four years earlier; ROE fell from 36% in 2024 to 32.5%; net margin declined from 50.5% to 48.8%; and the selling expense ratio rose from 3.3% to 4.3%. Operating cash flow fell by more than 30% year on year. Quarterly net profit attributable to shareholders in 2025 was RMB26.8 billion, RMB18.6 billion, RMB19.2 billion, and RMB17.7 billion respectively. The dividend payout ratio increased from 75% in 2024 to about 79%, with full-year cash dividends of approximately RMB65 billion.
On valuation, the current price-to-earnings ratio is about 20 times, at the 4th percentile of the ten-year range since 2016. Within that range, the lowest P/E was 16 times, the highest 79 times, and the ten-year median was 34.6 times. The dividend yield is close to 4%.