Pop Mart International, the Chinese toymaker that thrives on a stable of trendy characters, eclipsed HK$300 billion (US$38.3 billion) in market capitalisation on Thursday, putting it in elite company on the Hong Kong stock market.
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Shares of the Beijing-based firm rose by as much as 6 per cent to a record HK$229, making Pop Mart the 27th most valuable Hong Kong-listed company, according to Bloomberg data. Tencent Holdings, valued at HK$4.8 trillion, was the biggest, followed by Agricultural Bank of China at HK$2.1 trillion. Pop Mart ended the day up 3.3 per cent at HK$223.20, for a value of HK$299.7 billion.
Pop Mart has become a darling among investors because of its knack for nurturing intellectual property (IP) that makes its toys must-have items among Generation Z, or those born between 1995 and 2010. The stock has jumped about 10-fold over the past year after Labubu, an elfin character in the Nordic mythology-inspired “The Monsters” series, gained global fame and fuelled overseas sales.
JPMorgan Chase initiated coverage of Pop Mart with a rating of overweight and set its price target at HK$250 in a report this week. That was the most bullish prediction among the 43 analysts covering the toymaker, according to Bloomberg data. China Galaxy International expected the stock to hit HK$249.60, while Morgan Stanley predicted HK$224.
Pop Mart’s global revenue would surge by more than 150 per cent this year and it would deliver compound annual growth of 42 per cent through 2027, JPMorgan said. The gross merchandise value of the Labubu series could reach 14 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) in two years, it added.
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Morgan Stanley shared a similar view, projecting that the Labubu IP would underpin Pop Mart’s global expansion. A fast-growing supply chain in Vietnam and American consumers’ willingness to accept price increases both signalled the resilience of the business and could help to mitigate the impact of US tariffs, the investment bank said in a report last week.