Zhang Xiaolong, the outspoken CEO of Fenbi, one of China’s premier civil service exam preparation firms, sparked a firestorm of controversy following a lecture at the prestigious Renmin University of China. Invited to discuss career planning in an era of precarious employment, Zhang instead delivered an unsolicited endorsement of stock market speculation. He boasted of earning 53 million RMB in a single month, primarily through U.S. tech stocks, suggesting that the ultimate career path for students is to trade alongside their families.
This display of bravado sits in stark contrast to the sobering reality of Fenbi’s financial trajectory. Once a titan of the so-called 'iron bowl' coaching industry, the company’s market valuation has cratered from a peak of 33.6 billion HKD to approximately 1.4 billion HKD. While Zhang urged the youth to seek riches in the markets, his own firm has faced two consecutive years of revenue decline and a sharp 22.6% drop in net profit for 2025.
The incident highlights a profound disconnect between China’s ed-tech leadership and a youth demographic increasingly desperate for stability. Fenbi profits from millions of graduates vying for a shrinking number of government positions, yet Zhang’s personal pivot toward high-risk speculation reflects a growing cynicism toward the very traditional employment paths his company sells. The immediate backlash from students, who were reportedly cold to his remarks, forced a formal apology from the CEO the following morning.
Beyond the PR disaster, Fenbi is currently navigating a painful structural shift toward artificial intelligence to salvage its margins. In the face of aggressive price wars from smaller competitors, the firm has slashed its full-time teaching staff from over 4,500 to fewer than 2,900 in just four years. This 'AI-first' pivot attempts to automate the educational experience, replacing human instructors with algorithmic interview critiques and practice systems.
As Fenbi moves into 2026, the company’s survival depends on whether its digital transition can offset the erosion of its core business model. Zhang’s outburst serves as a reminder of the volatility inherent in China’s private education sector, where even the market leaders are struggling to reconcile a shrinking economy with the high-pressure demands of public-market investors. The path forward for Fenbi remains obscured by both financial headwinds and the unpredictability of its leadership.