What can you do with 80 yuan today?
Two people eating a hot pot with two drinks is just about right.
But in the A-share market, 80 yuan can serve as fuel, propelling a company with a market cap of 4.3 billion to 8.3 billion in just two weeks—seven consecutive limit-ups, with a cumulative gain of 97%.
The company is Longban Media, a state-owned publishing enterprise in Heilongjiang Province, primarily engaged in distributing textbooks and supplementary materials for primary and secondary school students.
And those 80 yuan represent the entire revenue from its AI video business in June.
Seven consecutive limit-up boards are fueled by an 80-yuan receipt.
The story begins on August 26, when Longban Media disclosed in its interim report: "The first AI animated series, 'Time Traveling to 1988,' has completed production of 170 episodes and been released online, with total views exceeding 120 million and a Hongguo heat score surpassing 40 million."
Figure | Source: Semi-annual report of a listed company
When the news first broke, it didn’t stir much in the market, as “a publishing company releasing an AI-generated comic” was just an isolated story without any resonant impact.
The turning point came on August 31, when Mango Super Media’s 30-episode AI-generated series “The Later Journey to the West” premiered in the prime time slot on Hunan Satellite TV, ranking first in viewership among provincial satellite channels during its timeslot and trending on Weibo. On that day, Mango Super Media’s stock surged 20% to its daily limit, followed by another 20% limit the next day, pushing its market capitalization to approximately RMB 38.1 billion over two days.
It was like a spark falling into a hot oil pan—capital rapidly applied the logic of “AI reducing costs and improving efficiency” to all assets possessing IP that could be reprocessed by AI—publishers, film and television companies, and short-form drama producers with existing story libraries or IP portfolios were all swept up. Longban Media emerged as the purest small-cap target in this space, becoming the first stock in the AI comic sector to hit its daily trading limit on the 31st.
Over the past seven trading days since August 31, Longban Media has achieved seven consecutive daily price limits, with its stock price rising from 9.58 yuan per share to a recent 18.82 yuan per share, representing a cumulative gain of 96.45%. Its market capitalization has nearly doubled, increasing from 4.3 billion yuan to 8.3 billion yuan.
Figure | Source: Wind
As of September 4, the company stated in its risk advisory notice that revenue from its AI video business was approximately RMB 80 in June and approximately RMB 75,000 in July, accounting for less than 0.01% of the audited revenue for 2025.
80 yuan, not 800,000, and certainly not 8 billion. A couple of lunches for a worker boosted a listed company’s market cap by billions.
In the previous two trading days, Longban Media's statement in its abnormal fluctuation notice was: "AI video business has not generated any revenue."
Within three days, income went from zero to 80 yuan. The extreme contrast between massive traffic and minimal earnings even attracted the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
On September 4, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued a regulatory warning to Longban Media and its board secretary, Sun Fujun, using strongly worded language: inaccurate information disclosure, insufficient risk disclosure, and inconsistent prior disclosures may mislead investors' decision-making.
In response to inquiries about the origin of the 80 yuan, the Board Secretary’s Office told the media: “The revenue of approximately 80 yuan disclosed in the announcement from the AI video business is confirmed to come from the AI animated series 'Crossing 1988.' We explain that, to our knowledge, the series was launched in late June, though the exact date is unclear. If the launch occurred late in the month, it is understandable that the revenue would be relatively small.”
A video with 120 million views earned only 80 yuan, and because it was “launched late,” it seems absurd. No wonder netizens joked: the sincerity of this explanation is probably worth 80 yuan.
The market is buying AI; Longban Media is still selling textbooks.
Now that the excitement is over, let’s take a look at our fundamentals.
Longban Media is a legitimate local state-owned enterprise, established in 2014 and listed in 2021. It remains the only listed cultural enterprise in Heilongjiang Province, with a complete "editing, printing, and distribution" industrial chain and exclusive rights to distribute textbooks for primary and secondary schools throughout the province.
Although the business is stable and profitable, its growth potential is limited.
Total revenue for 2025 amounted to RMB 1.518 billion, with textbook and teaching aid sales reaching RMB 1.029 billion, accounting for 67.78% of total revenue; general books generated RMB 385 million, or 25.35%. Together, these two categories accounted for over 90%.
Data source: Wind
So, it was still that textbook publishing company, with no connection to AI videos before June.
More concerning is that the core business itself is under pressure. Financial results show that revenue for the first half of this year reached RMB 659 million, a modest increase of 5.62%; however, net profit attributable to shareholders amounted to only RMB 78.68 million, a 34.46% year-over-year decline; the net profit margin fell by 7.3 percentage points year over year; and looking specifically at the second quarter, net profit plunged by 492.81% year over year.
Objectively speaking, this dilemma of increased revenue without increased profits is not unique to Longban Media. Affected by the public's shifting reading habits toward short videos and AI-generated short dramas, the entire traditional publishing industry is undergoing a collective period of adjustment as it moves away from mass appeal.
Although China South Publishing & Media’s revenue declined by 8.24%, its net profit dropped by only 8.25%, remaining at RMB 933 million, primarily because its core moat lies in textbooks and teaching aids. Amid the overall contraction of the general book market and intense online discount wars, reliance on the essential, education-system-linked business provides a buffer against economic cycles. From this perspective, although Longban Publishing also depends on textbooks and teaching aids, its profit decline far exceeds that of China South Publishing & Media, indicating deeper underlying issues in its cost structure and distribution channels.
When the underlying issues can no longer be hidden, capital markets begin to crave a new narrative.
Objectively, Longban Media's AI animated series is real, the 120 million views are real, and AI video is indeed an industry trend. But when we put these two "facts" together, we arrive at an absurd conclusion: in June, after just a few days of launch, revenue was confirmed at just 80 yuan; in July, with full operations, revenue amounted to only 75,000 yuan.
A hit with 120 million cumulative views and a red fruit heat value exceeding 40 million earned less than 80,000 yuan over two months—equating to one yuan for every 16,000 views.
This amount of money would be considered insignificant on the financial statements of any content company—so minor that analysts wouldn’t even bother looking at it—but the capital market sees it differently.
Yet it was this seemingly insignificant detail, ignored by most, that triggered a $4 billion market cap frenzy within days. We must ask: How did a traditional publishing company get rebranded as an AI firm in just a few days? How was a $4 billion increase in market value created by an AI narrative that couldn’t even cover its electricity costs? Which seemingly casual disclosure precisely struck the right chord, generating a collective illusion that AI operations were already commercialized?
This article is from the WeChat public account "Phoenix Tech," authored by Lu Chunfeng.