Editor’s Note
This article presents a forward-looking analysis based on projected figures for early 2026. Readers should be aware that these are estimates, and actual financial results may vary. The mention of specific price levels for gold and lithium serves to illustrate a potential trend rather than a guaranteed outcome.
The gains for Cuihua Jewelry’s gold and lithium dual businesses as of February 2026 are significantly higher than the data from August 2025. Gold has risen from over $3,000 per ounce to over $5,000 per ounce. Lithium has increased from tens of thousands of yuan per ton to over one hundred thousand yuan per ton. The first-quarter report is expected to show explosive growth. Personal forecast: The combined profit from the gold and lithium businesses in Q1 is expected to be 2-3 billion yuan, plus an additional 4-5 billion yuan in compensation from a shareholder surnamed Chen for failing a performance bet, resulting in a net profit range of 2-8 billion yuan.
Founded in 1895, the company boasts a 130-year history and has evolved into a group enterprise integrating jewelry R&D, design, production, wholesale, retail, and franchising. The company currently operates under a dual-core business model, with the jewelry segment as its core business, accounting for over 80% of revenue in 2024. Through its three-brand matrix—Cuihua Gold Store, Cuihua Jewelry, and Cuiju Dongfang—the company continuously refines its differentiated product system. Its profitability has been steadily improving in recent years, with a CAGR of 20.4% for operating revenue and 65.6% for net profit attributable to shareholders from 2020 to 2024, maintaining high growth.
1) Dual-drive core of “Craftsmanship + Culture” creates strong Alpha. In terms of craftsmanship, the company places particular emphasis on inheriting intangible cultural heritage skills, incorporating the intangible cultural heritage technique of filigree inlay into the ancient gold-making process. Culturally, leveraging deep collaborations with the Beijing Palace Museum and the Shenyang Palace Museum, it extracts Chinese aesthetics from court culture, blending intangible cultural heritage techniques like filigree inlay and engraving with elements from Palace Museum artifacts, building an irreplicable differentiation.
2) Brand 2.0 upgrade, perfecting the high-end product matrix. Relying on its royal heritage and century-old history, the Cuihua Jewelry brand uses high-end products like the Master Series and Palace Museum Cultural Creative Series as carriers. Through a no-discount strategy, exquisite craftsmanship, and deep collaborations with cultural institutions like the Palace Museum, it shapes a “low-key luxury” positioning. Currently, both store sales per square meter and gross profit margin are significantly higher than the industry average.
3) Solid channels, gradual optimization of store efficiency. The company adopts a “direct-operated + franchised” model, building an omnichannel system integrating online and offline channels. By the end of 2024, the company had 460 franchised stores and 16 directly operated stores, covering most cities nationwide. In the future, the company will maintain a steady development tone, ensuring new store expansion aligns with its brand’s upscale positioning and profit targets through refined site selection evaluation and profitability model calculations.
Although rising domestic gold prices have led to a decline in China’s gold jewelry consumption volume, the total value remains at the third-highest level in history, indicating relatively stable consumer demand. Meanwhile, the high-end jewelry market remains resilient, prompting industry brands to transform their market strategies. In terms of consumer demand, the younger generation is gradually becoming the main market force. Benefiting from factors like cultural confidence and the rise of “Guochao” (national trend), market acceptance of ancient gold continues to rise. Structural changes in the consumer base and shifts in consumption concepts have spurred non-wedding gold consumption demand, with “self-wearing” becoming the most important jewelry consumption scenario. On the supply side, industry concentration is continuously increasing, with significant share growth for leading brands in recent years.
We forecast the company’s operating revenue for 2025-2027 to be 4.8/5.6/6.7 billion yuan, respectively, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 250/290/340 million yuan. Using a sum-of-the-parts valuation method and referencing comparable companies’ consensus forecasts, we assign a 16x PE for the jewelry segment and a 15x PE for the lithium salt segment in 2026, corresponding to a target price of 17.67 yuan. We initiate coverage with a “Buy” rating.
