Luckin Coffee released its financial results for the second quarter of 2026 on August 3.
Total net revenue rose 28.5% year-on-year (YoY) to RMB 15.9 billion (USD 2.4 billion). GAAP operating profit increased 22% to RMB 2.1 billion (USD 310.5 million), giving the company an operating margin of 13.4%.
Average monthly transacting customers rose 22.9% YoY to a record 113 million. By the end of the quarter, Luckin operated 36,310 stores worldwide and had served nearly 500 million cumulative transacting customers.
Revenue from self-operated stores reached RMB 11.6 billion (USD 1.7 billion), up 26.6% YoY. Store-level operating profit at those locations increased 25.9% to RMB 2.5 billion (USD 369.7 million), representing a margin of 21.3%. Revenue from partnership stores rose 27.9% to RMB 3.7 billion (USD 547.1 million), while gross merchandise value increased 29.8% to RMB 18.4 billion (USD 2.7 billion).
Luckin continued to expand across higher- and lower-tier Chinese cities. It added 2,714 net new stores during the quarter, including 2,668 in China, including Hong Kong, and 46 overseas.
At quarter’s end, Luckin’s global store count had reached 36,310, including 36,087 stores in mainland China and Hong Kong, comprising 23,625 self-operated stores and 12,462 partnership stores.
The company also continued its overseas expansion, applying digital operating capabilities developed in China while adapting to local consumer preferences and market conditions. It operated 223 stores outside China at the end of the quarter, including 89 self-operated stores in Singapore, 20 self-operated stores in the US, and 114 franchised stores in Malaysia.
Luckin Coffee co-founder and CEO Guo Jinyi said the company’s results reflect a strategy focused on scaling growth while improving business quality and profitability. He noted that as coffee consumption continues to rise, Luckin has been converting market demand into market share. He also highlighted that the company’s global store network has now exceeded 36,000 locations and its cumulative transacting customer base has approached 500 million.
He added that continued store expansion, product innovation, and stronger customer engagement have reinforced Luckin’s market position, while the company’s digital capabilities and brand strength remain key drivers of its business. Guo expressed confidence in Luckin’s ability to capture long-term growth opportunities in China’s expanding coffee market while delivering value to shareholders.
During the earnings call, he said competition among food delivery platforms had become more rational this year, moving the broader freshly made beverage industry toward what he described as a healthier and more sustainable phase. He added that competition was increasingly centered on products, operations, and customer value, areas in which Luckin has invested over the long term.
Delivery subsidies were reduced faster than Luckin had expected at the beginning of the year. At the same time, the elevated comparison base created by delivery subsidies in 2025 began to affect the company’s same-store sales growth in the second quarter.
He noted that the effect of those comparisons would likely persist in the third quarter because July and August 2025 were marked by particularly aggressive platform subsidies. However, delivery orders have accounted for a smaller share of sales since peaking in the third quarter of 2025, while fulfillment efficiency has improved. These trends, he said, provide a clearer path toward recovering profitability and improving margins.
Internally, Luckin has also refined several product and operational initiatives this year, including its upsized beverage program and products such as the “Little Butter” Americano. These initiatives, according to Guo, have improved the customer experience while supporting average selling prices and beverage volume per order.
He said the company remains cautiously optimistic about its performance in the second half of the year, adding that Luckin will continue adjusting its operating strategy in response to shifts in the competitive landscape and evolving consumer demand, aiming to balance long-term growth with improved profitability and more sustainable, higher-quality development.
Addressing the broader industry outlook, Guo expressed confidence in the long-term potential of China’s coffee market. He noted that, compared with mature markets in terms of penetration and per capita consumption, China is still in the early stages of developing coffee habits, leaving significant room for demand growth. This, he said, supports Luckin’s expansion strategy and momentum.
Luckin has built a nationwide store network covering cities across all tiers and a wide range of consumption scenarios. Its locations span major metropolitan areas, counties, and towns, including office buildings, commercial districts, street-front sites, residential communities, campuses, and transportation hubs.
The company said it plans to continue expanding its customer reach and strengthening its position in China’s specialty coffee market.
He added that store growth is not simply about increasing the number of locations, but about leveraging Luckin’s nationwide store network, brand strength, and product capabilities to better identify and meet rising consumer demand for coffee. This is supported by a scalable and replicable operating system spanning demand analysis, site selection, store construction, operations, and ongoing optimization.
The company also uses digital capabilities and artificial intelligence technologies to improve decision-making efficiency, while relying on organizational strength and execution to ensure new stores open quickly, maintain consistent quality, and continuously improve operational performance.
He said the expanding store network also strengthens Luckin’s brand influence and its ability to scale product innovation, creating a cycle of growth across stores, products, and customers. He described store expansion as a foundation for increasing the company’s long-term market share rather than an end in itself.
“We have always believed that the ceiling for China’s coffee store market remains extremely high. As coffee penetration and consumption frequency continue to rise, that ceiling will keep rising,” Guo said. “We are confident that we can maintain a competitive pace of store openings, capitalize on the long-term growth opportunities in China’s coffee market, and continue expanding our market share.”
This article was adapted based on a feature originally written by Stone Jin and published on IPO Zaozhidao. KrASIA is authorized to translate, adapt, and publish its contents.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.76 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 5, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.