Since its IPO in November 2023, DDC shares have lost almost all their value. / Photo: instagram.com/cookingnorma
Shares of DayDayCook (DDC), a Hong Kong-based ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat Asian food producer that targets Gen Z consumers, plunged more than 12% yesterday, April 21, on the first day of trading after an exchange-imposed suspension. The New York Stock Exchange had suspended trading for over two weeks after the company’s shares were nearly zeroed during the global stock market selloff.
Details
DayDayCook shares fell more than 12% yesterday to close at $1.85 apiece as they resumed trading on the NYSE.
Trading had been suspended back on April 4, when DDC dropped below $0.10 per share during a broad market selloff triggered by U.S. tariff announcements.
The following day, the company convened its board to approve a 1-for-25 reverse stock split. The move aimed to boost the share price so trading could resume, according to a letter to shareholders from founder Norma Chu.
Stock performance
The trading halt marked just the latest in a string of setbacks for DDC in its short history as a public company. The trouble began immediately with its IPO in November 2023, which failed to attract much investor interest. The offering priced below the indicated range, at $8.50 per share. The company later bought back some shares in the secondary market to support the share price, but the move has failed to change things — DDC has since lost over 99% of its market value.
The plunge in the stock price, along with other issues, caught the attention of the NYSE last year. The exchange issued the company three noncompliance notices. The first was for a stockholders' equity deficit, and the second over a delay in filing 2023 financial results. DayDayCook only published them in January 2025, reporting a 16.5% revenue increase to $28.9 million. The third notice concerned the company’s stock trading below the required $1 average minimum price.
The company does not believe the market properly values it. “Market fluctuations often obscure fundamentals,” Chu wrote in her letter to shareholders. “Today, DDC is stronger operationally, financially, and strategically than at any point in our history. Our China-centric model, fortified by strong local demand and regional exports, offers stability and growth in uncertain times.”