HAIDILAO's stock surged 5.01% during the afternoon trading session, reflecting positive momentum in the catering sector.

The movement follows the release of data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicating a significant boost for the catering industry during the Spring Festival period. From January to February, total catering retail sales reached 1.0264 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.8%, which signals a continued recovery in growth. Catering revenue from large-scale enterprises also showed strong performance, amounting to 281.3 billion yuan, up 4.7% year-on-year.

Analyst commentary from Soochow Securities further supports the positive outlook, noting that historical performance trends suggest the first quarter often brings favorable momentum for catering stocks. Factors such as delayed corporate annual meetings and customer engagements into the first quarter of 2026, the timing of the Spring Festival, and medium to long-term expectations for high dividends are expected to benefit first-quarter 2026 results. These elements are anticipated to contribute to marginal improvements in key operational metrics, including average spending per customer, same-store sales, and table turnover rates.