Pinduoduo, who once asked Jack Ma to shout "Alibaba will change", handed over an enviable transcript.
On March 20th, Pinduoduo Group (Nasdaq: PDD) released its financial reports for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023 as of December 31st last year. Pinduoduo's revenue in the fourth quarter of last year was 88.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 123%, and its net profit was 23.28 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 146%; The annual revenue for 2023 was 247.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90%, and the net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was 60.0265 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90%.
However, in response to such rapid revenue growth, Pinduoduo's management has kept a low profile. "The platform's revenue growth is due to the overall rebound in consumption, as well as the direct and effective measures we have implemented to promote consumption, which is also a natural result of continuously creating more value for consumers and businesses." Pinduoduo's executive director and co CEO Zhao Jiazhen mentioned the reason for the revenue growth in the financial report.
"In the 8 years since the establishment of Pinduoduo, we have always focused on our main business. The performance we have achieved today is not only the short-term effects brought by the three quarters of promotional activities, but also the returns generated by long-term investments in the past." Chen Lei, Chairman and Co CEO of Pinduoduo, admitted in a conference call.
Regarding the recent development of Pinduoduo's overseas business (Temu), which has attracted attention from the outside world, Pinduoduo has disclosed that as of now, Temu has opened more than 50 sites. Currently, Temu's business has achieved coverage across all continents, with the largest number of sites in Europe and the largest volume in the US market. According to third-party data, as of December 2023, the number of independent visitors to TEMU reached 467 million, second only to Amazon and ranking second in the world.
Perhaps influenced by the news, Pinduoduo's US stock market rose by over 17% before trading, closing at $132.17, up 3.52%, with a total market value of $175.599 billion.
On Net Profit Growth: Profitability is not the Primary Task
From a business perspective, 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 of these factors have driven up Pinduoduo's total revenue. Along with a significant increase in revenue, Pinduoduo's total revenue cost also increased by 192% year-on-year, including performance fees, payment processing fees, maintenance costs, etc.
However, the reporter from The Paper noticed that Pinduoduo still did not disclose Temu's revenue data separately in its financial report, and its performance is mainly included in trading service revenue.
When it comes to the significant increase in net profit that has attracted attention from the outside world, Pinduoduo executives reiterated in a conference call that profitability is not the company's top priority in the short term. The company is still in the development stage and focuses on high-quality platform development. Therefore, they will pay more attention to long-term value, "which is consistent with the interests of our shareholders and investors."
The executive stated that Pinduoduo's investment in research and development has exceeded 10 billion yuan for two consecutive years. The above investments have achieved good initial returns.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to make decisive and patient investments, which will also help the company achieve good and long-term investment returns." The executive said that Pinduoduo's business execution cycle is influenced by multiple factors, and its quarterly profitability is also related to different investment opportunities. The fourth quarter of Pinduoduo's performance may not be a reference for the future.
The executive stated that each company is in a different stage of development regarding the stock and dividend issues of external concern. Pinduoduo is still in the investment stage, and its current focus is still on investing in long-term value.
On the "Price War" in E-commerce: Competition is the Main Melody of the E-commerce Industry
It is worth noting that because Pinduoduo's performance continues to grow rapidly, Alibaba, JD, Tiktok and other competitors are gradually following its strategy.
Previously, JD.com launched a "billion yuan subsidy" benchmarking against Pinduoduo. At the end of last year, as Pinduoduo's market value approached surpassing that of Alibaba, Jack Ma once posted on the Alibaba intranet, saying: I firmly believe that Alibaba will change, Alibaba will change. All great companies were born in winter. The era of AI e-commerce has just begun, which is both an opportunity and a challenge for everyone, causing a sensation in the industry.
"In the context of consumer recovery, e-commerce platforms are seizing opportunities, increasing promotion efforts, and focusing on pricing. We believe this is a normal response in the industry." Zhao Jiazhen said, "Competition is the main theme of the e-commerce industry. In the face of competition, we return to the essence, always starting from understanding and meeting consumer needs, and focusing on improving our own capabilities."
He revealed that during the Double Eleven period, Pinduoduo's "10 billion subsidy" users exceeded 620 million, and the order volume of "10 billion subsidy" also doubled year-on-year.
Zhao Jiazhen stated that in the past year, Pinduoduo's "high-quality development strategy" has shown initial results and is full of confidence in the overall strategic direction. In the future, we will continue to conduct simple and direct promotional placements in product categories and price ranges to give back to consumers.
"By returning to the essence and focusing on these truly valuable long-term investments, Pinduoduo can maintain a calm mindset and continuously improve itself in a fiercely competitive environment, creating greater value for consumers and society," said Zhao Jiazhen.
When it comes to the Temu business that has attracted attention from the outside world, Chen Lei said that it is still in its early stages and there will be many changes and challenges in the future. "To deal with these unknowns, what we can grasp is to continuously cultivate our internal skills, with a sincere attitude of learning from consumers and the market, actively explore more technological and model innovations, and face market competition and various challenges."
Chen Lei candidly stated that he is prepared for long-term investment in Temu and has confidence in the unique value of the platform. For legal compliance, Pinduoduo will continue to invest and research well, laying a solid foundation for the long-term healthy development of the platform.