Alibaba Sales Better Than Feared Despite Economic Turmoil
- Revenue barely changed but that exceeded lowered expectations
- Alibaba’s shares slide in Hong Kong as challenges remain
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted better results than many investors feared, avoiding a sharp sales contraction while signaling an improvement in Chinese consumer sentiment in recent months.
Its shares slid about 2% in Hong Kong, shedding part of the 5.2% gained on Thursday before the results. Revenue shrank for the first time on record in the June quarter, albeit by a fractional amount that was less than analysts projected. The contraction marked an official end to a decade of sizzling growth for China’s internet giants, which began to wind down in 2021 when regulators slapped curbs on a range of sectors from e-commerce to social media.