GUOQUAN (02517) continued to expand its gains in morning trading, with the stock price rising 9.62% to HK$3.42, recording a trading volume of HK$118 million.

China Merchants Securities noted that entering September, demand has shown improvement alongside the month-on-month recovery in the restaurant industry. During the National Day holidays, consumption and travel remained relatively stable, leading to an uptick in restaurant industry sentiment. East Wu Securities believes that GUOQUAN achieved a net addition of 250 stores in the first half of 2025, with township stores contributing a net increase of 270 locations. The company's township store expansion aligns with consumption trends in lower-tier markets, providing township consumers with more diversified and cost-effective products. Currently, competition on the supply side in township markets is insufficient, giving the company first-mover and scale advantages. Additionally, based on grassroots research feedback, the township single-store model performs excellently, with strong franchisee willingness. Combining supply-demand logic and research feedback, the firm believes the company's plan to add 1,000 net new stores this year can be successfully implemented, with expectations that the Q4 peak season will deliver on store opening targets.