Lin Yuan: This is the Best I’ve Felt Since Holding Kweichow Moutai Stock

• Dividend Policy: Increased to ¥28.02423 per share via buyback mechanics.
• Investor Sentiment: High conviction from long-term bulls (Lin Yuan) despite 50% price drop.
• Market Positioning: Transitioning from exclusive luxury to broader consumer accessibility.
• Capital Allocation: 3 Billion RMB buyback executed to enhance per-share value.

Deep market adjustments are testing investor conviction right now.

And one of China’s most vocal liquor stock bulls is doubling down.

Kweichow Moutai (Guizhou Maotai 贵州茅台) just held its 2025 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, and the backdrop couldn’t be more intense. The baijiu (白酒) industry is experiencing a significant slowdown. The company’s stock price has plummeted below ¥1,300 RMB ($179.31 USD) for the first time in years—losing its crown as the “King of A-shares” to surging tech stocks. Even legendary shareholders like Lin Yuan (Lin Yuan 林园) and Donald Duan (Duan Yongping 段永平) are getting grilled about whether they’re still in the game.

So what’s actually happening inside the boardroom?

And more importantly—what does it mean for investors watching this play out?

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When the Market Questions Your Winners: The Moutai Moment

Reporters from China Fund News sat down with Lin Yuan (Chairman of Lin Yuan Investment), independent liquor industry analyst Xiao Zhuqing (Xiao Zhuqing 肖竹青), and several retail investors at the shareholders’ meeting on June 10.

The vibe was surprising.

Lin Yuan, one of the most bullish voices on the stock, made a striking statement: “Attending this shareholders’ meeting is the best I’ve felt since I started holding Kweichow Moutai stock, because the dividends and payouts have reached a new historical high.”

Read that again.

The stock is down roughly 50% from its 2021 peak. The industry is struggling. Tech stocks are stealing the spotlight. And yet—one of China’s most respected investors is saying he’s more optimistic than ever.

Why? Because he’s looking at something different than the stock price.

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The A-Shares Divergence: Why Tech Won and Baijiu Lost

Here’s what’s happening in the broader market right now:

• Tech stocks are hitting new highs. Optical module companies and semiconductor plays are repeatedly breaking records.
• Consumer stocks are getting hammered. Baijiu companies—long seen as defensive blue chips—are now labeled “old timer stocks” by market participants.
• Capital is flowing out of traditional sectors. Retail investors and funds are rotating hard into growth plays.

Kweichow Moutai, once untouchable, is at the center of this reversal.

After dropping below ¥1,300 RMB ($179.31 USD) on June 3, the stock continued sliding.

By June 10, it closed at ¥1,275.88 RMB ($175.98 USD) per share—a stunning near-50% decline from its historical 2021 peak.

This is the kind of move that makes investors question everything.

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The Shareholder Confidence Test: What Actually Matters

Here’s where things get interesting.

Despite the stock getting demolished, multiple shareholders told reporters their long-term conviction remained intact.

One younger shareholder, Mr. Xie (born in the 2000s), explained his mental model:

“I am more concerned with the operational level of the company, especially whether profits and free cash flow are growing. For me, holding Kweichow Moutai stock is like buying a house to rent out. Other people’s quotes for the house won’t affect me; what matters more is whether the annual rent I receive is increasing.”

That’s a fundamentally different framework than most traders use.

He’s not watching the stock chart. He’s watching the cash generation.

Lin Yuan echoed this philosophy with even more conviction:

“I am neither adding to nor reducing my position; I’m just leaving it there. I won’t sell for at least 20 years.”

When asked why he doesn’t bail when everyone else is running, he had a sharp response:

“Some people sell because they think the trend is bad; funds sell when investors redeem. This is a performance of buying and selling behavior in a specific period and does not represent the quality of the business. It’s normal. I bought in at around ¥20 RMB ($2.76 USD), and I still won’t sell now.”

Translation: Market panic ≠ business deterioration.

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The Data Tells a Different Story Than the Stock Chart

While institutional investors were pulling out hard, the numbers on Moutai’s actual operations painted a different picture.

According to Wind data tracking institutional holdings:

• As of Q1 2026, 1,350 funds held Kweichow Moutai stock.
• Combined institutional holdings: approximately 65.11 million shares.
• But here’s the thing: This represented a decline of over 20.71 million shares from the previous quarter.

Funds were rotating out.

But did that mean the business was deteriorating? That’s the key question.

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The Feitian Moutai Price Puzzle

One concrete indicator of demand and pricing power is the price of Moutai’s flagship product: Feitian Moutai (Flying Fairy from Heaven).

In recent years, this has been volatile:

• The market price for a 500ml bottle currently trades between ¥1,700 RMB ($234.48 USD) to ¥1,800 RMB ($248.28 USD).
• This represents a noticeable pullback from peak prices during the bull market.

The million-dollar question: Is this a temporary blip, or a sign of structural demand destruction?

Interestingly, one shareholder named Mr. Luo flipped the narrative:

“The downward move in Moutai prices actually makes it more inclusive. Since ‘iMoutai’ launched the ¥1,499 RMB ($206.76 USD) bottle, many friends and I have been able to grab it at the official retail guidance price. This reflects its accessibility. Moutai is no longer just a luxury item; it is entering the homes of ordinary people (Laobaixing 老百姓). This is a benefit brought by social development and will continue to expand the Moutai consumer base.”

Lower prices aren’t always bad. Sometimes they signal expansion into broader consumer segments.

The iMoutai app’s ¥1,499 RMB ($206.76 USD) offering is intentionally pricing lower to build mass-market adoption.

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The Dividend Shock: Why Lin Yuan Said “This is the Best I’ve Felt”

Now we’re getting to the actual reason Lin Yuan is feeling bullish amid a 50% stock decline.

The company just announced something significant: record-high dividend payouts.

Here’s what went down:

• Kweichow Moutai completed a ¥3 billion RMB ($413.79 million USD) share buyback and cancellation.
• The company is increasing the 2025 dividend per share from ¥27.993 RMB ($3.86 USD) to ¥28.02423 RMB ($3.87 USD) (including tax).
• This maintains the total dividend amount while spreading it across fewer shares—which mathematically increases the dividend per share for remaining shareholders.

This is the kind of capital allocation that makes long-term holders smile.

The company is taking cash and either returning it to shareholders or reducing share count—both of which boost per-share value.

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What Shareholders Actually Want at This Meeting

Beyond the official proceedings, investors made their priorities crystal clear.

Priority #1: Even Higher Dividend Payouts

Independent industry analyst Xiao Zhuqing suggested an ambitious move: increase the dividend payout ratio to no less than 75% and make it permanent.

His reasoning:

• A consistently high dividend would boost investor confidence.
• It would support local government finances (Moutai is state-owned and politically important).
• It creates a win-win for both capital and the state.

Priority #2: More Aggressive Buybacks

Xiao also pushed for continued share buybacks and cancellations, framing it strategically:

“The market expects the company to continue its efforts in buybacks and cancellations to enhance per-share value by reducing circulating capital, directly conveying management’s firm confidence in long-term development.”

Translation: Buybacks are a signal that management believes the stock is undervalued.

Lin Yuan agrees. He wants even more aggressive buyback and cancellation programs.

Priority #3: Better Capital Utilization

This is where Gen Z shareholder Mr. Xie got specific—and practical.

“What I care about is that Moutai has a lot of cash on its books, but annual capital expenditure is low. A large amount of funds sits idle for a long time. In fact, annual depreciation expenses are enough to support expansion. The money earned could be given back to shareholders to improve capital utilization. I hope the dividend intensity can be even greater.”

This is the efficiency argument: If Moutai doesn’t need massive capex to grow (because the baijiu business has low reinvestment needs), why is it sitting on a mountain of cash?

Return it to shareholders.

Mr. Xie even prepared specific questions for management on this exact topic.

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The Broader Picture: Industry Adjustment vs. Business Quality

Here’s what’s actually happening beneath the surface:

• The baijiu industry is in a cyclical downturn. This is real. Paradoxically, the leading brand remains highly profitable.
• Kweichow Moutai’s profitability and cash generation haven’t collapsed. The fundamentals have deteriorated, but not catastrophically.
• The stock decline is partly rational (multiple compression) and partly emotional (rotation out of consumer stocks).
• Long-term shareholders are using the weakness as an opportunity to lock in higher dividend yields. When a quality business generates record dividends while trading down, that’s mathematically attractive.

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What This Means for Investors

There’s a real lesson here for anyone watching this unfold:

Market trends and business quality are not the same thing.

Right now, tech is hot and consumer stocks are cold. That’s a trend. But Moutai’s ability to generate cash and pay dividends didn’t disappear just because the fund flows rotated.

The question for investors is simple: Are you betting on trends, or are you betting on businesses?

Lin Yuan and the other long-term holders seem to have made their choice.

They’re betting on the business—and they’re comfortable letting the stock do whatever it wants for the next 20 years while they collect dividends.

That’s a fundamentally different approach than most retail traders take, and it’s why seeing record-high dividends during a stock decline can actually be “the best I’ve felt” holding a position.

The baijiu market may be adjusting, but for long-term Kweichow Moutai shareholders, the payouts say everything.

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References

• Lin Yuan: This is the Best I’ve Felt Since Holding Kweichow Moutai – China Fund News
• Investor Relations – Kweichow Moutai Official
• Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd (600519) Stock Price and News – Bloomberg