Chart of the Day: China’s Tea Chains Serve Up a Mixed Brew

China’s major tea chains are diverging as fading delivery subsidies and intensifying competition test the industry’s shift from rapid expansion to profitable growth.

First-half results from six listed Chinese tea chains show an industry pulling in different directions. Mixue Group, the runaway leader by revenue and store count, reported slowing sales growth and a drop in profit as revenue per store fell. Smaller rivals Chagee Holdings Ltd. and Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Co. Ltd., meanwhile, delivered double-digit increases in profit.