(Photo Illustration by Jaque Silva/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Temu app downloads have completely flatlined in the US

The number of US downloads declined slightly for the first time in February, according to Apptopia, coinciding with a pause in paid search ads.

Yiwen Lu

8/28/24 12:45PM

Even before a lackluster earnings report wiped out $55 billion worth of Temu parent company PDD Holdingsmarket value on Monday, there were signs that US interest in Temu was waning.

The number of Temu app downloads in the US dropped 2% in February and 15% in March, compared to the same months last year, according to Apptopia estimates. There were declines in April and June as well, though the growth rate ticked up slightly in July.

On the other hand, global downloads remained strong and kept growing sharply. Increasingly, US downloads have become a much smaller portion of worldwide downloads.

The reasons for the drop were unclear, but Apptopia’s Vice President of Research, Tom Grant, said it was a strategic shift. He pointed out a pause in paid search efforts by Temu during the second quarter corresponded with the decline in downloads. Both mobile ad impressions and paid ads by Temu in the App Store and Google Play Store were down, Apptopia's research showed.

“Maybe they stopped spending as much on advertising, which would normally make their growth slow down, but it could also help them to be profitable,” Grant said. PDD reported an operating profit of 32.56 billion yuan, a 156% surge from a year ago.

And as American officials started to question the data risks and trade loophole exploitations associated with Temu and other Chinese e-commerce companies, the company has also aimed to reduce its reliance on the US market, The Information reported earlier this year. Temu launched in the US in September 2022, and the US market accounted for 60% of its total sales in 2023.

Max Knoblauch1h

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch8h

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

Exclusive: With Some 100 Rehired Cruise Employees, GM Pursues Eyes-Off Autonomous Cars

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