'Clear runway' to 5,000 BTC: Benchmark initiates Asian food platform DDC, sees 70% upside

Benchmark initiated coverage of DDC Enterprise (NASDAQ: DDC) in a Monday note, giving it a Buy rating and $3 share price target, pointing to what it calls a "clear runway" for the company to more than double its bitcoin holdings in 2026.

In the report, Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer said DDC stands out among a now-crowded sea of corporate bitcoin treasury firms aiming to replicate the playbook popularized by companies like Strategy, citing its established roots as a global Asian food platform that includes a portfolio of brands like DayDayCook, Nona Lim, and Yai's Thai.

DDC held 2,383 bitcoin as of April 21 and is looking to reach 5,000 BTC by year-end 2026. If achieved, the move would push the company from roughly the 30th-largest public bitcoin holder closer to breaking into the top 20, according to The Block's data.

Expand Chart

Benchmark said that its accumulation strategy, which has leaned on equity-linked deals and other purchases, allows the company to scale holdings while preserving "balance sheet flexibility."

Palmer also noted that DDC's ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook meal business gives it more operational stability and revenue channels contributing to its overall valuation, compared to other pure-play bitcoin treasuries.  

The company reported $39.2 million in revenue for its 2025 fiscal year, up 4.6% year over year, and posted its first full year of positive adjusted EBITDA.

Benchmark therefore sees a disconnect between DDC’s share price and its underlying asset value, a gap commonly measured by bitcoin treasury companies using metrics like modified net asset value, or mNAV.

Palmer pointed to DDC trading at an mNAV of about 0.45, while its net asset value per diluted share sits at $3.61, more than double its current share price of $1.65.

AI treasury pivot

DDC has also rolled out what it describes as an "AI‑driven operating system" for managing its bitcoin treasury accumulation.

"Many companies now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, but few have built dedicated infrastructure around how these positions are managed," DDC CEO Norma Chu said in a release last week.

The system is said to aggregate data to help guide capital allocation decisions, with the goal of "improving the quality, consistency, and speed of treasury analysis within clearly defined governance parameters."