Chagee Goes Public! Is This the Way to a Tea Empire?

A Mando's Musings on Market Moves

This is The Way... the market goes anyway. Word on the street (or the hyperspace comms as I prefer) is that Chagee a tea slingin' outfit from China just made a big entrance onto the Nasdaq. Seems like everyone’s tryin' to get a piece of the action even with all the Imperial entanglements – I mean trade tensions – between the U.S. and China. A bounty hunter's gotta keep up with these things you never know when a contract will lead you to a tea house in the Outer Rim... or Los Angeles apparently.

Opening Gambit: Tea and a Twenty Percent Jump

These fellas opened at $33.75 a share after pricing their initial public offering at $28. That's a hefty chunk of credits. They even soared up to 49% initially but then like a sandcrawler in quicksand lost some ground during the afternoon. Maybe they need some Beskar armor to protect their gains. The company raised $411 million valuing the whole operation at around $5 billion. That’s a lot of Beskar steel if you ask me. I wonder if they take it as payment?

From Teahouse to Galactic Empire?

Chagee started back in '17 and has spread faster than a rumor on Tatooine. Over 6,400 teahouses across China Malaysia Singapore and Thailand? That’s more locations than there are Jawa sandcrawlers! Last year they raked in a net income of $344.5 million from revenue of $1.7 billion. Impressive. Most impressive. It sounds like Moff Gideon would be impressed too.

U.S. Invasion: Tea Time in the States

They are planning to open up shop here in the U.S. in Los Angeles. The founder Junjie Zhang said he was inspired by the success of international coffee companies. So basically he is saying he is going to be the Starbuck’s of tea this is the way… to make money! He will be selling tea while sitting on his throne of skulls… I mean his business empire. It's a bold move especially with the... complications... between the U.S. and China. But hey fortune favors the bold right? Or maybe fortune favors those with a good supply of tea.

Tariffs and Turmoil: When IPOs Flee

It seems like a few companies have been put off from selling stocks after Donald Trump imposed new tariffs and ignited a trade war with China. Klarna and StubHub delayed their plans to go public after markets plunged. I bet they wish they had a good bounty hunter to protect them. Trading on the market is more difficult than protecting Grogu from the Empire.

Chinese Companies Leaving U.S. Exchanges?

It seems that in recent years fewer Chinese companies have listed on U.S. exchanges. From January 2023 to January 2024 the number of Chinese companies listed on the three largest U.S. exchanges fell 5% according to the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. I have spoken.