Alibaba shares slide five per cent as earnings fall short of forecasts
![](https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/tagreuters.com2021binary_LYNXMPEH3T0A6-VIEWIMAGE.jpg?w=450)
Alibaba shares tumbled five per cent after the company’s third quarter financials disappointed investors.
In results released today, Chinese tech giant Alibaba revealed that revenue for the three months to October 2021 was $31.1bn (£23bn), up by 29 per cent compared to a year prior, but a far cry from analyst predictions of $32.1bn
Net income attributable to shareholders plummeted by 81 per cent year-on-year to $833m, with annual earnings per share a measly $0.04.
On the back of tougher market conditions, Alibaba has revised its full year profit guidance downwards. Having previously said revenue for the fiscal year 2022 would grow 30 per cent compared to the previous year the company now predicts growth of just 20 to 23 per cent.
Commenting on the results Daniel Zhang, the chairman and chief executive of Alibaba Group, said “this quarter, Alibaba continued to firmly invest into our three strategic pillars of domestic consumption, globalization, and cloud computing to establish solid foundations for our long-term goal of sustainable growth in the future.”
Zhang praised growth to the company’s user base which has grown to approximately 1.24bn in the third quarter, a net increase of 62m over the three month period.
Alibaba shares closed down 5.34 per cent today at 156.00 HKD, shares have slumped 31.46 per cent this year to date.
Read more: Mysterious Ma: Billionaire Alibaba founder spotted in Spain