Luckin Coffee Announces Its First Ever Share Buyback Program After A ‘Solid’ Q1

• During the quarter, the average monthly number of transacting customers was 93.1 million, representing 25.3% year-over-year growth. 
• However, the same-store sales growth for self-operated locations slipped to negative 0.1%
• As of March 31, 2026, the company reported cash and cash equivalents of about RMB 9,054.6 million, or $1.31 billion.

Shares of Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) drew significant investor attention on Wednesday after the company announced its first-ever share buyback program and delivered first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates.

“We are pleased to announce our first share repurchase program of up to $300 million over a one-year period,” said Dr. Jinyi Guo, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Luckin Coffee.

Luckin Coffee said it expects to use its available funds for the share buyback program. As of March 31, 2026, the company reported cash and cash equivalents of about RMB 9,054.6 million, or $1.31 billion.

Luckin’s First-Quarter Earnings

The Chinese coffee maker reported net sales of about RMB12.0 billion, or roughly $1.74 billion, up 35.3% year over year, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion.

During the quarter, it reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.32, above Wall Street estimates of $0.14.

The company said it added 2,548 net new stores during the quarter, bringing its total network to 33,596 locations across China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and the U.S., an 8.2% growth from the fourth quarter of 2025.

During the quarter, the average monthly number of transacting customers was 93.1 million, representing 25.3% year-over-year growth. 

Dr. Jinyi Guo, CEO at Luckin Coffee, said the company delivered a solid start to 2026, supported by disciplined execution of its high-quality growth strategy, and that the share repurchase reaffirms the company's commitment to enhancing shareholder returns. 

In its self-operated store revenues, the company saw a growth of 32.6% to RMB8.59 billion or $1.24 billion from the year-ago quarter, while partnership store revenues climbed 44.9% to RMB3.02 billion or $436.3 million during the same period.

However, the same-store sales growth for self-operated locations slipped to negative 0.1%, down from positive 9.2% in the first quarter of 2025. Store-level operating margin also compressed to 13.6% compared to 17.0% a year ago.

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment surrounding the stock has improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’, while message volume also improved to ‘normal’ from ‘low’.

Shares of Luckin Coffee have declined more than 12% year-to-date.

Exchange Rate: 1 RMB = $0.15

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