Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Holding Ltd reported a modest 2% increase in quarterly revenue, falling short of market expectations.
The Chinese e-commerce giant's revenue for the three months ending in March reached 208.20 billion yuan ($30.12 billion), below the Refinitiv consensus estimate of 210.3 billion yuan from 26 analysts.
Alibaba's full-year revenue also rose 2% to 868.69 billion yuan ($123.5 billion), marking its slowest growth rate since its initial public offering in 2014. The company continues to navigate a changing market landscape while seeking avenues for expansion and diversification.
While Chinese consumer spending has shown some improvement since the easing of strict COVID-19 policies, the overall economic recovery remains uncertain, impacting Alibaba's growth prospects.
Alibaba's board also approved the spinoff of its cloud-computing business, the Cloud Intelligence Group, through a stock dividend distribution to shareholders. The company aims to complete this spinoff within the next year.
That sent US-listed shares of Alibaba up around 1.2% in premarket trading Thursday.
Additionally, Alibaba plans to seek external financing for its Alibaba International Digital Commerce Business Group and explore initial public offerings (IPOs) for Cainiao Smart Logistics Group and Freshippo.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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