Pinduoduo operator PDD’s profit slides as Chinese firm cites higher reinvestment

Revenue from online marketing services and other segments – primarily indicating revenue from domestic platform Pinduoduo – grew 5 per cent year on year.

Photo: Shutterstock PDD Holdings, the Chinese e-commerce group behind Pinduoduo and global budget marketplace Temu, on Wednesday reported an 11 per cent drop in quarterly profit amid higher sales as the company continued a pivot towards greater reinvestment.

Net profit for the quarter fell to 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion), missing a consensus analyst estimate of 29.1 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, revenue rose 12 per cent from a year earlier to 123.9 billion yuan, aligning with a consensus analyst estimate of 123.7 billion yuan.

For the full year, net profit fell 12 per cent from a year earlier to 99.3 billion yuan, while full-year revenue rose 10 per cent to 431.8 billion yuan.

The results reflected a pivotal year for PDD, as breakneck growth gave way to a more stable pace.

In 2024, revenue had jumped 59 per cent over 2023, while net income grew 87 per cent.

Factors in the shift in 2025 included weak consumer demand in China, rising tariff and regulatory uncertainty around Temu and a deliberate shift by management towards reinvestment – notably a 100 billion yuan merchant support programme launched in April. “Over the past year, we stayed firmly committed to our strategic focus on high-quality development,” said co-chairman and co-CEO Chen Lei. “We will continue to uphold our long-term philosophy, channelling greater resources into the stakeholders we serve, as we look ahead to the next decade of growth.” Nasdaq-listed shares in PDD rose 4.3 per cent in pre-market trading following the earnings.

The stock has lost 22 per cent over the past 12 months.

Revenue from online marketing services and other segments – primarily indicating revenue from domestic platform Pinduoduo – totalled 60 billion yuan in the fourth quarter, up 5 per cent year on year.

Transaction services revenue, which mainly includes commissions from PDD’s grocery business and Temu, reached 63.9 billion yuan, up 19 per cent from a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg estimated PDD’s take rate – the percentage of total transaction value the platform keeps – to be 4.44 per cent for the main platform, 13.51 per cent for groceries and 36.14 per cent for Temu, underscoring the overseas unit’s stronger monetisation potential.

During an earnings call, PDD management attributed the growth of the company’s international business in

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