On February 10, investor education leader JF SMARTINVEST Holdings (09636.HK) experienced a significant price surge, climbing over 18% intraday before paring gains to 9.83%, closing at HK$38.42 per share. This rally was driven by positive earnings announcements.
The company issued a notable profit alert on February 9, forecasting 2025 revenue of approximately RMB 3.43 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of about 48.74%. Profit performance was even more remarkable, with adjusted net profit estimated between RMB 1 billion and RMB 1.03 billion, surging 184.90% to 193.45% year-on-year. Attributable net profit was projected between RMB 900 million and RMB 930 million, skyrocketing 230.88% to 241.91%.
As a leading investor education firm in China, JF SMARTINVEST primarily converts public traffic into private clients via livestreams and short videos to market its advisory services. Its operations include premium online investor education, financial information software, and related financial literacy services. The strong 2025 performance was attributed to robust sales of its educational products, with total order value for the past year reaching approximately RMB 3.955 billion, an increase of RMB 449 million.
The company cited four key factors for the improvement: revenue recognition from major product orders generated in 2024; a diversified product system driving stable growth and business scale expansion; enhanced AI integration across services and operations to extend client lifecycle and build a high-retention service system; and exploration of e-commerce models to broaden customer reach. Additionally, strengthened service systems for existing clients led to higher satisfaction and a repurchase rate exceeding 60% for main products. A stable and active capital market also boosted product demand. As of December 2025, contract liabilities stood at approximately RMB 1.53 billion, expected to be recognized as revenue in 2026, providing a foundation for future growth.
However, alongside the positive earnings news, JF SMARTINVEST faced a regulatory penalty, casting a shadow over its future development and earnings stability. On February 9, the company announced that its subsidiary, Shanghai JF Cloud Intelligent Technology, had violated regulations due to misleading marketing content, false information in livestreams, inadequate compliance and risk control mechanisms, and unregistered staff providing investment advice. The Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau issued an administrative supervision measure, ordering the subsidiary to rectify the issues and suspend new client acquisitions for three months. During this period, the subsidiary must not sign new clients or conduct investment consulting under the guise of investor education, and must submit monthly rectification reports.
This is not the first time JF SMARTINVEST has been criticized by regulators for issues such as non-compliant livestream marketing, illegal stock recommendations, and misleading content, eroding investor trust. The latest regulatory action is likely to intensify market scrutiny of the company's compliance. The three-month suspension of new client acquisitions directly disrupts its customer expansion strategy, which is crucial for sustained growth in the investor education sector. This could lead to a slowdown in order growth and potentially suppress future earnings.
In the secondary market, investors appear to have anticipated these risks. Since January 16, JF SMARTINVEST's stock price has been on a downward trend, plummeting over 48% by February 6, nearly halving in just over ten days. Analysts suggest that for JF SMARTINVEST to stabilize its operations and achieve sustained growth, it must focus on adhering to compliance standards, improving core service quality, and rebuilding brand credibility to regain investor trust.