Alibaba Posts First Loss Since Going Public After Antitrust Fine

Alibaba Group Holding posted its first-ever quarterly loss since it went public after being hit by a record antitrust fine in China and pledged to invest future profits into improving its business and warding off competition.

Over the past year, the Chinese e-commerce giant has been under pressure from both encroaching competitors and an antitrust investigation, which ruled that Alibaba had abused its dominant market position. In a Thursday, May 13, earnings call, CEO Daniel Zhang said the company would focus on bettering its platform following the fine.

“We have gone through all kinds of challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic, fierce competition as well as the antimonopoly investigation and the penalty decision by Chinese regulators,” Mr. Zhang said. “We believe the best way to overcome these challenges is to look forward and invest for the long-term.”

Mr. Zhang said any profits this fiscal year’s figure that surpassed last year would go toward areas including improving user growth and engagement, merchant support, infrastructure, and logistics.

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