The 10% sales increase is the company’s worst quarterly growth rate since its 2014 IPO.
Alibaba has been hit hard by China’s macroeconomic issues and growing competition.
Thursday’s closing price was down 0.7%.
On Thursday, Alibaba posted its worst quarterly revenue increase since going public, but beat on earnings.
Here’s how Alibaba fared in the third quarter according to Refinitiv estimates:
Revenue: 242.58 billion ($38.06 billion) vs 246.37 billion yuan anticipated, up 10%.
EPS: 16.87 ($2.65) yuan vs. 16.18 yuan expected, a 23% drop.
The 10% sales increase is the company’s worst quarterly growth rate since its 2014 IPO. Alibaba’s stock dipped early, but subsequently recovered. The stock fell 0.7% on Thursday.
China’s macroeconomic issues have hampered Alibaba’s business. For example, Chinese retail sales slowed in the fourth quarter. And e-commerce in China is becoming more competitive.
The company’s stock has dropped over 50% in the last year as China tightened its technology sector regulations, from antitrust to data protection. Regulators fined Alibaba 18.23 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) last year as part of an antitrust inquiry.
The scrutiny of China’s tech titans continues, adding to the company’s woes.
“Our current share price does not reflect our company’s value. We intend to continue repurchasing shares at present prices. Meanwhile, we will maintain a healthy cash position to fund future investments,”
… on the earnings call.
Alibaba repurchased 10.1 million of its American depositary shares for $1.4 billion in the December quarter. Its share repurchase programme ends in December 2022.
