Bank of America Securities issued a research report stating that it has lowered its 2026 earnings per share forecast for CTG Duty-Free (01880) by 10%, reflecting weaker-than-expected first-quarter performance. The target price for the company's A-shares (601888.SH) was reduced from 95 yuan to 85 yuan, which corresponds to a projected 2026 price-to-earnings ratio of 35 times, roughly in line with the historical median of 34 times. The report suggests that growth in duty-free sales may have peaked in the first quarter, leaving little room for share revaluation, and maintains a "Neutral" rating.

CTG Duty-Free reported a 21% year-on-year increase in core net profit for the first quarter, reaching 2.3 billion yuan, meeting market expectations but falling short of the bank's projections. Revenue for the period grew 1% year-on-year to 16.9 billion yuan, with sales in Hainan rising 28% year-on-year to 12.6 billion yuan. This implies that airport duty-free and online sales declined during the quarter and were below the bank's expectations. Gross margin improved by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year to 33.6%, while the core net profit margin increased by 2.2 percentage points to 13.8%.