The Shanghai-based company reported better-than-projected revenue of 52.3 billion yuan in the quarter ended June 30, beating analysts’ average estimates. Its US-traded shares climbed as much as 19% — the most intraday in a year — and were trading at $94.25 at 11:45 a.m.
PDD in recent years has used promotions to grab market share from more established Chinese rivals including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. In an attempt to replicate that success abroad, it created Temu, which was introduced with much fanfare during this year’s Super Bowl.Since it launched last year, Temu has exploded into one of the top US apps, targeting cash-strapped Americans with cheap unbranded products shipped directly from Guangzhou, China.
Like the English teacher-turned founder of Alibaba, Huang came from humble beginnings. His talent at mathematics earned him a place in the prestigious Hangzhou Foreign Languages School at age 12, where he shared a classroom with the children of China’s political and social elite. He went on to study at Zhejiang University and then got a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin.