Luckin in the Food Delivery War: Q4 Revenue Up, Profit Down, Delivery Costs Increase by 90%

Luckin News, February 27 — (Reporter Hao Yan) On February 26, Luckin Coffee, which has become the “Coffee King” with 30,000 stores, released its Q4 and full-year 2025 financial reports.

From the data, Luckin’s performance this year truly qualifies it as the “Coffee King.” By the end of 2025, the company had added 8,708 stores, reaching a total of 31,048 stores, a 39% increase year-over-year. Of these, 30,888 are in China, and 160 are overseas.

These 30,000 stores also generated significant revenue. In 2025, Luckin Coffee’s total revenue grew 43% year-over-year to 49.288 billion yuan. Self-operated store revenue reached 36.243 billion yuan, up 41.6%; franchise store revenue was 11.594 billion yuan, up 49.7%.

However, despite impressive annual results, in the fourth quarter, Luckin experienced increased revenue but decreased profit. The financial report shows that in Q4 2025, revenue rose 32.9% year-over-year to 12.777 billion yuan, while net profit declined 39% to 518 million yuan, with a net profit margin of 4.1%, down from 8.8% in the same period last year.

Q4’s performance was largely influenced by the takeout delivery wars.

Since this summer, the fierce competition among Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan has shaken up the new tea beverage market, involving all coffee and tea brands, including Luckin Coffee. But like a coin with two sides, while the delivery wars boosted sales, they also caused costs to surge, impacting profitability.

Financial data shows that in Q4, the company’s total operating expenses reached 11.955 billion yuan, up 38.9%. Delivery costs soared 94.5% to 1.631 billion yuan, with delivery expenses accounting for 13% of net revenue, up from 9% in the same period in 2024, mainly due to a significant increase in delivery volume on third-party platforms. Meanwhile, costs for raw materials and store rent also grew 33.2% and 32.8%, respectively, directly related to store expansion and increased product sales.

In response, Guo Jin Yi, co-founder and CEO of Luckin Coffee, stated at the earnings conference that the same-store sales and profit performance in Q4 were affected by multiple factors, including seasonal fluctuations, adjustments in delivery platforms, subsidy policy changes, and product mix changes. These factors are in line with our expectations.

At the same time, Guo Jin Yi noted that China’s coffee market is still in rapid growth, with significant structural development opportunities ahead. In 2025, delivery platforms significantly increased coffee consumption among Chinese consumers through subsidy activities. Looking ahead to 2026, capturing market share remains the company’s primary strategic focus and core goal.

Beyond the delivery wars, another recent topic surrounding freshly brewed coffee is pricing.

In early February, Kudi Coffee, which had maintained a uniform price of 9.9 yuan across all stores, announced a reduction in subsidy scope, meaning the 9.9 yuan coffee is no longer the norm for Kudi. Meanwhile, Luckin Coffee had already begun to tighten the availability of 9.9 yuan coupons earlier. According to Luckin’s online ordering system, most drinks are priced between 13 and 16 yuan. After applying coupons, only three products are available at 9.9 yuan.

This indicates that the era of “coffee at 9.9 yuan” has largely ended. After the strategy of “using price to attract traffic,” the focus of the coffee war will likely shift to optimizing operational efficiency and increasing product premium.

Following the crossover of new tea beverages into coffee, Luckin now faces an even more complex competitive landscape.