• Amazon ($Amazon.com(AMZN)$ ) continues to hold the position of the largest e-commerce player based on market cap, and its dominance in the e-commerce sector seems likely to persist.
• Despite a general decline in profit margins for all e-commerce players post-COVID, investors maintain a positive outlook on Amazon, primarily due to its additional revenue stream from AWS Cloud.
• The recovery of Amazon's market cap in 2023 is attributed in part to optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI).
• Alibaba($Alibaba(BABA)$ ) has been losing market cap momentum in recent years, influenced by the competitive Chinese e-commerce landscape, with Pinduoduo($Pinduoduo Inc.(PDD)$ ) making significant gains at Alibaba's expense.
• Alibaba's price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is expected to trend lower as its revenue and operating income growth have slowed down.
• Pinduoduo's unique business model, charging a lower take rate and making money mainly from advertising income, has propelled its market cap beyond Alibaba's.
• Pinduoduo remains a favored choice in the Chinese e-commerce landscape, but its exceptionally high year-over-year revenue growth may not be sustainable (+58%, +66%, and +94% in Q1, Q2, and Q3 2023, respectively), with Bloomberg consensus forecasting a 29% growth in Q3 2024.
• Investors in Pinduoduo will likely need to adjust their expectations for high revenue growth in the future, but for now, they seem to be enjoying the ride.
• In summary, Amazon remains the safest investment among e-commerce players, primarily due to its cloud business. Aside from Amazon, Pinduoduo appears to be a worthwhile investment choice for those seeking exposure to the Chinese e-commerce market.

Source: Tiger Brokers, Bloomberg, as of January 8, 2024. The market cap data for 2024 is as of January 8, 2024.