CITIC Securities: Three main themes to focus on in the food and beverage industry in the first quarter.

CITIC Securities released a research report on the food and beverage industry, stating that in the liquor sector, by 2025, the performance of Shuijingfang and Yanghe will see a significant decline, mainly due to deep industry adjustments combined with companies actively controlling inventory and stabilizing prices. Yanghe also promised that dividends in the next three years will not be less than 100% of that year's net profit. The logic of industry recovery and concentration improvement remains unchanged, with clear elasticity in industry long-term performance improvement relying on brand and channel barriers. Looking ahead to the first quarter, focus on three main themes: firstly, in the cross-year market, snacks, dairy products and other mass-market products are leading the rise, while the liquor industry is poised to rebound after the Spring Festival; secondly, as the annual report preview period approaches, leading companies in the mass market segments are expected to exceed profit expectations; thirdly, the late January stockpiling for the Spring Festival will boost data, combined with low valuation and emotional recovery, amplifying the first quarter's elasticity in performance exceeding expectations.