Why Is Alibaba Stock Trading Lower Thursday?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA stock is trading lower on Thursday, a day after it released its third-quarter results. The stock lost close to 6% on Wednesday’s close.

The e-commerce giant reported revenue growth of 5% year-on-year to $36.67 billion, marginally short of the consensus of $36.74 billion. Adjusted earnings per ADS of $2.67 lagged the consensus of $2.69. 

The board approved an increase of up to $25 billion in its share repurchase program.

Also Read: Jack Ma, Joe Tsai Overtake Softbank As Alibaba’s Largest Shareholders After Aggressively Buying Tech Giant’s Tumbling Shares

The Jack Ma co-founded company shelved the initial public offerings (IPOs) of its logistics arm, Cainiao Smart Logistics, and brick-and-mortar chain Freshippo as it battled intense domestic competition. 

The company had just recuperated from a fierce domestic regulatory crackdown. The stock lost 30% in market value last year.

In 2023, the company announced an organizational restructuring under which it proposed to split the company into six units, seeking fundraising or listings for most of them. 

The year saw changes, including a significant restructuring into six independent groups, several top management shifts, and the departure of former CEO Daniel Zhang Yong.

Meanwhile, Alibaba let go of 20,000 positions throughout 2023, akin to its U.S. Big Tech counterparts like Amazon.Com Inc AMZN and Google parent Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL.

Alibaba ended December with 219,260 employees, down from 240,000 a year ago, Bloomberg reports.

Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 2.10% at $72.10 premarket on the last check Thursday.

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