(WS News) – China’s PDD Holdings fell short of market estimates for third-quarter revenue on Thursday, indicating that promotional offers and discounts were not enough to lure cost-conscious consumers to its e-commerce platform.
PDD’s US-listed shares fell more than 14% in premarket trading.
The higher unemployment rate among youth and a property sector crisis has taken a toll on consumer confidence, knocking sales at Pinduoduo, PDD’s domestic online shopping site. At the same time, e-commerce majors Alibaba and JD.com have also reported tepid quarterly sales growth.
While Pinduoduo has benefited from its low-cost focus, competitive pressure has been increasing with rivals ramping up their promotions and discounts, resulting in a price war.
PDD’s revenue jumped 44% to 99.35 billion yuan ($13.72 billion) for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compared with the 102.65 billion yuan average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.
Net income rose to 24.98 billion yuan from 15.54 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier.
