Alibaba Shares Fall After Earnings Miss

By Tracy Qu

Shares of Alibaba Group fell Friday after the e-commerce giant's profit missed analysts' expectations for the fiscal third quarter, amid heavy investment in food delivery and an aggressive push to advance its technology.

The Hangzhou-based company's profit fell 67% in the three months ended December, while revenue grew about 2%.

Its Hong Kong listed shares were 4.8% lower at HK$125.60, or US$ 16.03, in Friday morning trading, following a 7.1% drop of its ADRs overnight in U.S. That compared with Hang Seng Tech's 1.2% drop.

Investors are closely watching how the tech giant is positioning AI as its next growth engine.

"The business goal of Alibaba's AI strategy is very clear. Over the next five years, our goal is to surpass US$100 billion in combined cloud and AI external revenue," Chief Executive Eddie Wu said on the conference call following the earnings release.

Cloud revenue from external customers accelerated to 35% this quarter, he said.

Alibaba recently reorganized its AI operations, creating a new unit to consolidate its various AI businesses under one umbrella overseen by Wu. It has also recently raised prices for AI services, accelerating a broader shift in an industry previously characterized by price competition.

The company has also faced setbacks in AI, as several key technical talents, including Qwen's tech lead, Lin Yunyang, left the company this month.

Jefferies analysts said that both revenue and adjusted profit missed consensus expectations in the December quarter. The company's adjusted profit fell 67% during the period.

Despite the quarterly miss, Jefferies analysts said Alibaba remains well-positioned to capture opportunities in consumption, AI and cloud. Losses from food delivery are also likely to narrow in the March quarter, compared with the December quarter, they said. The analysts maintained a buy rating but slightly cut their target price to HK$206.00 from HK$218.00.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2026 23:40 ET (03:40 GMT)