Alibaba missed third-quarter revenue expectations on beyond eroticismWednesday, as the tech giant’s e-commerce and cloud-computing businesses remained sluggish due to increased competition from Pinduoduo and weak consumer sentiment at home. This led to shares falling an additional 2.6% after the closing bell. The company reported year-on-year growth rates of only 2% and 3% for the Taobao and Tmall Group, as well as its cloud computing businesses, in the three months ending Dec. 31. This is compared with the 3% and 2% growth percentages achieved three months earlier. Overall, third-quarter revenue grew 5% year-on-year to RMB 260.4 billion ($36.7 billion), driven in part by the robust growth of its international commerce business, including Southeast Asian arm Lazada, which experienced a 44% growth from a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income, typically excluding irregular or non-cash expenses, declined 4% year-on-year to RMB 47.9 billion. [CNBC]
