Laopu Gold Shares Tumble After First-Half Guidance Disappoints

By Jason Chau

Shares of Laopu Gold tumbled after the Chinese luxury jeweler's latest financial guidance pointed to a significant sales slowdown in the previous quarter.

Laopu Gold's stock fell as much as 24% on Tuesday in Hong Kong to its lowest level since January 2025.

Shares were recently at 306.00 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$39.02, representing a drop of more than 70% from a record reached in July last year.

Laopu Gold's selloff followed its disclosure Monday that it expects first-half sales to have risen 60%-65% from a year earlier, marking a sharp slowdown from the growth of more than 240% for the same period a year earlier.

The jeweler's first-half profit is also projected to have slowed sharply compared with a year ago.

Analysts say the sales estimate implies that momentum cooled in the second quarter, dragged by sustained weakness in gold prices so far this year and product price increases introduced in February.

Citi analysts said the projected results came in at the low end of Laopu management's guidance range, noting that they were roughly 30% below market expectations. Weaker sales and margin assumptions prompted Citi analysts to lower their 2026-2028 earnings forecasts by 17%-22%.

Still, analysts aren't writing off the stock.

The Citi analysts said Laopu's management expects new product launches in the second half, coupled with more attractively priced offerings through discounts, to help stimulate sales.

Meanwhile, Laopu's efforts to strengthen its brand recognition, expand its boutique network in premium malls and cultivate more high-value, top-spending customers are expected to pay off, particularly if spot gold prices stabilize in the coming months, Nomura analysts said.

"Laopu, in our view, remains on track to become one of China's legitimate, high-end consumer brands, despite the weakened sales" in the second quarter, they added.

Write to Jason Chau at jason.chau@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2026 01:06 ET (05:06 GMT)