Yibo's contract with Yuehua is in the news again
There has been a lot of discussion and speculation online about the status of Yibo's contract with Yuehua.
The story has been all over Chinese internet news sites, debates have been brewing among netizens, and hotsearches related to it were trending on Weibo.
The article that sparked it all can be found here. I did some further digging myself and found more information, which I will provide below.
This isn't the first time the issue has come up. Some of you might remember earlier this year there was a lot of speculation about it. At the time there wasn't a lot of available information about the situation, and his official fan club immediately refuted the rumors. Speculation simmered down eventually, but never truly went away.
However the evidence of a potential split between them is growing.
Yibo isn't mentioned in their 2025 interim report, but he appeared in their 2024 annual report and their 2024 interim report, in the 2023 interim report and 2023 annual report, and he was mentioned 22 times in the 2022 prospectus they filed prior to being listed on the stock market.
These mentions typically talk about his projects, his appearances and public welfare ambassador roles, the Yuehua Family Concert and (in the case of the prospectus) details about the earnings he brings in for the company.
It is normal for somebody who is so important to the company to appear in their earnings and business reports. It is unexpected for someone who had previously been the company's key selling point, mentioned prominently in every public document prior to now, to suddenly not be mentioned at all.
It's well known that Yibo has been the primary source of income for Yuehua for years.
So far there has been no official response or statement from his fan club, from Yuehua or from Du Hua, although she did make a post on Weibo that people assume to be a response to the rumors.
Absurd
It's notable that she made a personal post rather than an official statement, but an official response could still be forthcoming.
I feel that the decision not to mention him in the report is pretty compelling evidence that something's going on. What exactly that is, no one can claim to know, but the theory that he won't be renewing is looking more and more credible. No doubt people will be paying close attention to Yuehua's 2025 annual report, and to anything else that could give more clues.
Motos are claiming he will not renew, and they've been posting a pre-written response to every discussion thread about the rumors.
Please be aware of the following: 1 ] Wang Yibo is not a shareholder of Yuehua and does not hold any shares in the company. 2] After his ten-year contract ended, he renewed once in order to help Yuehua go public. His current contract ends in October 2026. 3] In recent years, Wang Yibo has earned billions for Yuehua. Now that Yuehua has successfully gone public and even bought its headquarters building, Wang Yibo has already fulfilled his obligations. It’s quite clear that he does not plan to renew the contract again when it expires. Hopefully Yuehua can part ways with him peacefully!
I think it's important to note that the claims being made in their statement are not verifiable.
While a public company has to disclose the names of all of their major shareholders, information about the remaining shareholders is not publicly available. It's possible he does own some shares of the company. Claims to know whether or not he owns shares are not credible.
He was introduced as a shareholder at Yuehua's IPO ceremony, and that is the only evidence we have either way. All that we can accurately say is that he's not likely to be a major shareholder.
It is true that his current contract ends in October 2026, but his motives for renewing were not publicly stated. The claim that he only renewed to help them with their IPO might be true, or it might not.
As for whether he intends to renew... again, that is completely unknowable at this point. It's not like he is making any public statements about it. The most we can confidently say about it is that renewal looks increasingly doubtful.
But it isn't surprising that motos are posting this kind of statement. They have long bitterly hated Yuehua*, and nothing would make them happier than for him to move on from them.
*This is standard fare for fans of any celebrity. One of the primary fan culture pastimes is critiquing and attacking a star's management company.
There are also discussions swirling about various companies he has an ownership stake in, but again, it is all pointless speculation. His intentions and level of active involvement in those companies are not publicly known.
Despite some of the claims being made online, it is not known whether he will form his own studio and go independent after his contract expires (although that seems the most likely to me).
There are also a lot of people claiming that he has been holding back on releasing new projects until he can be free of Yuehua (and any obligation to share profits with them). I don't even need to comment on this one. It is just so completely unknowable that it doesn't even warrant discussion.
His contract doesn't expire for another year, and I think most of us hope to see more releases come from him prior to then.
While some of this makes for interesting discussion/musing, ultimately our theories are irrelevant and unverifiable. I trust Yibo to make decisions that best support him and his goals, and whatever he chooses I will be 100% behind him.
For those who are interested, the documents mentioned can be found here:
Yuehua 2025 Interim Report
Yuehua 2024 Annual Report
Yuehua 2024 Interim Report
Yuehua 2023 Annual Report
Yuehua 2023 Interim Report
Yuehua 2022 Prospectus