The company has spent big on e-commerce business Temu to drive its global presence and escape an ailing Chinese economy. But executives have kept a lid on the overseas unit’s performance as competition turns cutthroat. On Monday, Chen said PDD needed to invest more in supporting merchants — at a time rivals are trying to woo them away.
PDD Holdings’ shares fell the most on record after Temu’s owner warned that revenue growth will inevitably dwindle, highlighting the challenges of sustaining its pace of expansion against aggressive rivals like ByteDance.
Co-founder Chen Lei repeatedly stressed that PDD’s current trajectory wasn’t sustainable, at a time competitors such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Alibaba Group Holding are vying for budget-conscious shoppers. PDD’s US depositary receipts tumbled 29% in New York, the stock’s worst loss since its initial public offering in 2018.
