Temu Parent PDD Holdings Jumps As Q1 Earnings Blow Past Expectations

Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings ( PDD ), which owns the discount marketplace Temu, saw its American depositary receipts (ADRs ) surge after the opening bell Wednesday following a first-quarter earnings report that blew past expectations.

Like last quarter , PDD more than doubled its revenue year-over-year, reporting revenue of 86.81 billion Chinese yuan ($12.02 billion) compared with CNY37.64 billion last year, well above the CNY76.38 billion analysts had expected, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

PDD more than tripled its profits year-over-year, recording CNY28 billion for the quarter from CNY8.1 billion a year ago, and more than doubled analyst estimates of CNY13.02 billion. The company reported diluted earnings per share (EPS ) of CNY4.74, while analysts had projected CNY2.25.

Temu Continues To Grow, But Not Without Scrutiny

Temu has grown substantially since launching in the U.S. in September 2022, helping PDD repeatedly beat expectations in its earnings reports over the last year . The company also made headlines earlier this year, when it bought multiple slots of commercial space during the Super Bowl , which has also led to increased scrutiny of Temu’s business model.

Allegations have been made against Temu and Chinese fast-fashion rival Shein that their businesses benefit from forced labor, including in a June 2023 House committee report, as they each depend on thousands of different suppliers. Both companies have denied the allegations.

Jefferies analysts in March upgraded their rating of PDD to “buy” from “hold,” saying they believed “that concerns on geopolitical risks are priced in, and Temu’s market share gain story in domestic and overseas markets is intact.”

ADRs of the company rose 5.4% to $153.31 as of 9:52 a.m. ET Wednesday, and have more than doubled over the last 12 months.