Taiwan's Gourmet Master, the company behind the 85°C coffee and cake chain, is making much more money after closing hundreds of loss-making stores in China — good news for shareholders.

• Second-quarter earnings per share reached their highest level since 2021, and first-half earnings jumped more than 70% from a year earlier.
• The turnaround came from shutting unprofitable stores in China, leaving fewer than 300 there, which cut total sales by 11% but lifted profits.
• The remaining China stores are each selling more per day than last year, so the slimmed-down business is healthier.
• The United States is now the main growth engine, accounting for 58% of sales, with the store count expected to reach 100 by the end of the year.
• Separately, chip packaging equipment maker Wanrun reported that July profit more than doubled from a year earlier as it expands into silicon photonics and co-packaged optics equipment.

Outlook: The US business is expected to keep driving growth toward 60% of sales, while the slimmed-down China operation should show clearly better profits this year.