Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein saw its net profit drop by 40% in 2024, potentially jeopardizing the company's ongoing push for an initial public offering on the London stock exchange.

According to Financial Times, Shein's $1 billion in net profit was well below the $4.6 billion the company had projected for the year. That now has some investors and stakeholders questioning the retailer's $66 billion valuation from 2023, which could force Shein to lower that number to around $30 billion in order to facilitate its IPO, sources tell the Times. 

Shein also faces an uncertain future in the U.S., with the Trump administration looking to crack down on so-called de minimis loopholes that allow shipments valued under $800 to enter the country duty-free, and which have allowed Shein and rival e-commerce retailer Temu to skirt tariffs and customs scrutiny of the millions of low-value packages they each ship into the U.S. each day. In early February, President Trump briefly revoked the U.S. de minimis rules for China, before pausing the move days later to allow for time to put "adequate systems in place" to collect tariff revenue. It's unclear when Trump might reinstate the ban, but when that day comes, it could spell the end of Shein and Temu's ability to sell products well below the price points of their U.S. competitors. 

Read More: Will Trump Tariffs Spell the End of Temu, Shein in the U.S.?

Tightened de minimis regulations could also force Shein to delay its IPO until the second half of 2025, which would require the company to refile with U.K. regulators. Shein initially intended to go public in New York in 2023, but opted instead to focus its efforts on the London stock exchange, after U.S. regulators voiced concerns over Shein's alleged use of forced labor and anti-competitive business practices. In January, U.K. lawmakers reprimanded Shein's general counsel Yinan Zhu during a hearing to discuss the company's IPO, after Zhu refused to comment on whether the company sources cotton from China's controversial Xinjiang region. 

"For a company which is seeking to float on the London Stock Exchange, the committee has been pretty horrified by the lack of evidence that you have provided today," Labour Party MP Liam Byrne said at the time.