$Luckin Coffee(LKNCY.US)4Q24 Quick Interpretation: Overall, Luckin performed mixed this quarter, with revenue slightly exceeding expectations, and core operating profit reaching 1 billion yuan, significantly surpassing the market consensus by 23% (market consensus expected 810 million yuan). However, due to the continued acceleration of coffee bean prices in Q4, the company's gross margin fell short of expectations. Additionally, the number of monthly active paying users slightly declined in Q4 after experiencing two consecutive quarters of sequential growth, raising concerns from Dolphin Research about decreased user stickiness following subsidy reductions.

1. In terms of store openings, Q4 saw a net increase of 997 stores, slowing down again compared to Q3, which aligns with Dolphin Research's expectations. (Currently, Luckin has over 22,000 stores, nearing the 30,000 store ceiling, and the company's proactive slowdown to reduce the impact of new stores on existing ones is a rational move). Furthermore, after testing in Singapore, the company is preparing to enter Malaysia, making overseas expansion worth looking forward to).

2. Same-store sales decreased by 3.4% year-on-year, narrowing again from Q3 (-13.1%), mainly due to the weakening impact of new store diversion combined with a decrease in the company's subsidy efforts and an increase in cup prices.