The Card That Out-Profited PopMart

In 2024, Kayou — a Chinese trading card company most Western investors have never heard of — posted ¥10 billion in revenue and a 44.4% net profit margin.

For context: PopMart, the blind box giant that made global headlines, posted a 25% margin on ¥13 billion in revenue. Kayou made less revenue. Kayou made more profit.

The economics: each card costs ¥0.4 to produce (material + IP licensing). It sells for ¥1.7. Each pack generates ¥1.21 in gross profit. The company sold 4.8 billion cards last year.

But the more interesting number isn't the margin. It's the market share: 71.1% of China's trading card market. Kayou didn't build a product. It built the infrastructure for children's social currency — the way Tencent built messaging, the way Maotai built business culture.

When a product becomes the medium through which an entire demographic builds friendships, it stops competing on features. Kayou's moat isn't cards. It's the social system that runs on them.