New York, May 26, 2026, 11:04 (EDT)
Shares of Happy City Holdings Limited jumped roughly 5% in late-morning trading Tuesday on Nasdaq. U.S. markets reopened after Memorial Day, and buyers came back to the Hong Kong hotpot group’s lightly traded stock.
Class A shares last traded at $3.62, up 18 cents on the day, with 454,531 shares exchanging hands. The stock opened at $3.53 and ranged from $3.47 to $3.69, according to market data.
Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday calendar puts a full closure on May 25 for Memorial Day. That makes Tuesday the next U.S. trading session after the long break.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.12% at 10:02 a.m. ET, with AI stocks leading as Wall Street’s major indexes hovered near all-time highs. “Cautious optimism” is how Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, put it to Reuters. Reuters
Happy City is keeping attention on capital in its latest filings. In a Form 6-K dated April 23, the company said it has a standby equity purchase agreement with YA II PN, Ltd. That gives Happy City the right—though not the obligation—to sell up to $20 million in Class A ordinary shares over 36 months. The standby equity line lets the company raise cash by selling new stock.
The filing also said the pricing would link to the lowest daily VWAP, or volume-weighted average price, during a three-day period following an advance notice. The VWAP weights the average share price by trading volume. According to the filing, share sales can start only after certain conditions are satisfied, including having an effective resale registration statement.
Happy City raised $2.96 million in March through a PIPE deal, selling 10.56 million Class A shares at 28 cents each. That pushed its outstanding Class A shares to 17.77 million, the company said.
Nasdaq flagged balance-sheet strain earlier. In January, Happy City said the exchange sent a notice after its stockholders’ equity was $2.21 million as of Aug. 31, 2025, which is under the $2.5 million needed to keep a spot on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company said back then that the notice didn’t change its listing or business right away.
Happy City posted mixed results. The company’s annual report showed revenue dropped 18% to $6.80 million for the year ended Aug. 31, 2025. Net loss was $2.43 million, compared to net income of $1.32 million in the previous year. The company said weaker customer demand drove the decline, as some diners chose Shenzhen for cheaper prices and more dining options.
The company runs all-you-can-eat hotpot outlets in Hong Kong and went public on the Nasdaq Capital Market in June 2025. It raised $6.06 million gross from the IPO and a partial over-allotment at $5 per share. The shares last traded at $3.62 Tuesday, down about 28% from the IPO price.
Super Hi International, which runs Haidilao hotpot restaurants outside Greater China, raised $52.7 million in its 2024 U.S. IPO, Reuters reported. The company had 119 self-operated restaurants across 13 countries as of March. By comparison, Happy City is still much smaller and focused on Hong Kong.
But the rally may not last if investors start worrying about dilution risk again — that is, new share sales cutting each holder’s stake — or focus on weak 2025 numbers and the ongoing Nasdaq compliance issue. Tuesday’s move got a boost from a strong market, but the company’s own problems are still there.
