On March 20th, Pinduoduo Group released its performance reports for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023 as of December 31st.
Against the backdrop of steady recovery in overall consumption, Pinduoduo's revenue in the fourth quarter of last year was 88.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 123%; The operating profit under US GAAP is 22.4 billion yuan. Last year, the annual revenue was 247.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90%.
The dividend of China's Internet traffic is gradually turning to the era of stock. After the intensive price war in 2023, e-commerce is trying to adjust its strategy and find new increments.
Last year, Pinduoduo surpassed Alibaba in market value and became the most valuable Chinese concept stock in the US stock market. Some people believe that this is a "watershed" in China's Internet industry. The rise of the new generation of Internet tycoons, such as Pinduoduo and ByteDance, is subverting the traditional Internet market.
At the beginning of 2024, all Internet companies are working hard to attract consumers and businesses by offering services and lowering the threshold.
"The revenue growth of the platform is the result of our effective consumer promotion measures and overall consumer recovery," said Zhao Jiazhen, Executive Director and Co CEO of Pinduoduo Group, at the performance meeting.
2023 is a year of boosting consumption, and various regions across the country are actively implementing policies to restore and expand consumption. Pinduoduo executives also mentioned that the demand for consumer upgrades is not only widespread, but also increasingly strong.
"2024 will be an important year for Pinduoduo to deepen its high-quality development strategy." Zhao Jiazhen revealed at the performance meeting that this year Pinduoduo will make long-term investments around high-quality development, focusing on both price and service businesses.
Trading and marketing boosted overall market revenue, with annual R&D expenses reaching 11 billion yuan
According to the financial report, in the fourth quarter of 2023, Pinduoduo achieved a revenue of 88.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 123%, and a net profit of 23.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 146%. In 2023, Pinduoduo's revenue was 247.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90%, and its net profit was 60 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90%.
It is worth noting that in 2023, Pinduoduo's transaction service revenue increased by 241% year-on-year, reaching 94.1 billion yuan. Online marketing services and other revenue amounted to 153.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49%. Both jointly drive up Pinduoduo's total revenue. Along with a significant increase in revenue, Pinduoduo's total revenue cost also surged by 192%, including performance fees, payment processing fees, maintenance costs, and so on.
The financial report shows that Pinduoduo Group's R&D expenses in the fourth quarter of last year were 2.9 billion yuan, and the annual R&D expenses reached 11 billion yuan. Chen Lei, Chairman and Co CEO of Pinduoduo Group, stated at the performance meeting that investment will continue to be maintained in 2024.
When it comes to income growth, Zhao Jiazhen believes that the platform's revenue growth is the result of implementing effective consumer promotion measures and overall consumption recovery, as well as creating value for consumers and businesses. The demand for consumer upgrading is not only widespread but also increasingly strong. However, at the same time, consumers are also concerned about how to obtain higher quality of life in more economical and convenient ways.
Senior executives discuss that Temu is still a new business and is preparing for long-term investment
In addition to the domestic market, Pinduoduo also accelerated its global market layout last year. The latest data shows that Duoduo Cross border has entered 50 countries and regions.
In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has continued to grow, with risks and opportunities coexisting, and the dividend period is not yet over. The scale of China's cross-border e-commerce industry has reached 14 trillion yuan, and the industrial chain is gradually being laid out and improved. Benefiting from the continuous increase in overseas online penetration rate, exports of B2C and B2B (business to customer, business to business e-commerce models) continue to grow.
When it comes to the development of Temu, Chen Lei said that the business is still very new. With an attitude of learning from consumers and the market, he is exploring more technological and model innovations. At present, the business is in its early stages. No matter how the competitive landscape of the market environment changes, the demands of consumers for e-commerce platforms remain unchanged. We will firmly implement a high-quality development strategy into global business and be prepared for long-term investment.
Against the backdrop of slowing growth in the domestic market, "going abroad" seems to be the only choice for e-commerce to seek incremental growth at this stage. What cannot be ignored is that the cross-border e-commerce industry realizes cross-border trade of goods and services and desalinates international trade boundaries with the help of Internet technology progress, and has strong growth capacity in the tide of consumption globalization, industrial upgrading and transformation.
It cannot be ignored that cross-border e-commerce has also been influenced by multiple international factors in recent years, and the survival space of Chinese platforms and Chinese sellers overseas is constantly changing. Not long ago, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress passed a bill requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok (short video e-commerce under Tiktok Group) within 165 days. Geopolitical conflicts and uncertainties also affect the fate of cross-border e-commerce.
Currently, China is actively joining cross-border digital trade partner organizations such as the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). In the future, this will further reduce external barriers to cross-border e-commerce. In the field of cross-border e-commerce, due to China's strong supply chain and logistics system, there will still be dividends in the industry in the future. Chinese made goods will also continue to inject vitality into the global consumer market.
Is the new rich overturning the traditional market? E-commerce needs to compete for services at the beginning of the year
According to research reports, Pinduoduo's key investment last year focused on technological innovation and agricultural strategy.
After the R&D expenses exceeded 10 billion in 2022, Pinduoduo Group's R&D investment in 2023 once again exceeded 10 billion, setting a new historical high. According to the financial report, Pinduoduo will continue to "re develop" this year.
Agriculture was a key sector that Pinduoduo continued to invest in last year. "This year, we will increase investment in key agricultural projects such as the Agricultural Cloud Action and Agricultural Research Competitions, and continue to promote the construction of more resilient digital agricultural belts in various regions," Zhao Jiazhen said at the performance meeting. This year, Pinduoduo will also focus on domestic products.
On November 29th last year, Pinduoduo rose more than 3% during trading, surpassing Alibaba in market value and becoming the largest Chinese concept stock in the US stock market. Although the share price of Pinduoduo fell back at the end of the day, some people believe that this is a "watershed" in China's Internet industry. The rise of Pinduoduo, ByteDance and other new Internet tycoons is subverting the traditional Internet market.
The price war of 2023 has become a thing of the past. At the beginning of 2024, various e-commerce companies are vigorously competing to attract consumers and businesses by offering services and lowering barriers, preparing to launch a big battle.
Last year, the rise of AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) and big models brought greater imagination space to e-commerce. At the beginning of 2024, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has quietly integrated into platform operations and merchant operations, participating in cross-border trade. 2024 is also destined to be a year of AI transformation.
As Alibaba founder Jack Ma said in his response to a post on the intranet expressing his admiration for the growth of Pinduoduo, "The era of AI e-commerce has just begun, and it is both an opportunity and a challenge for everyone.". Looking at the domestic e-commerce market, the pattern is evolving again.
Cheng Zijiao, a reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance