Jack Ma-backed Ant’s profit fell 91% on AI spending, fair value

Published Thu, Mar 19, 2026 · 07:24 PM

[HONG KONG] Ant Group’s quarterly profit plunged 91 per cent after the Chinese digital payments firm ramped up spending to compete in artificial intelligence and health care, while a decline in the fair value of certain investments weighed on results.

The Hangzhou-based company contributed 393 million yuan (S$73.4 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding, which owns a third of Ant. That translates to an estimated 1.2 billion yuan in profit for the three months ended Sep 30, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Alibaba’s earnings report.

Alibaba’s revenue rose a slower-than-anticipated 2 per cent in results for the three months ended December posted on Thursday (Mar 19). Ant, whose results lag behind Alibaba’s by a quarter, declined to comment.

Ant, the operator of China’s ubiquitous financial services app Alipay, has been investing in AI to find a second chapter following a regulatory crackdown that wrapped up about two years ago. The company has invested hundreds of millions of US dollars in digital health care and built robots, while its global unit is expanding in cash management.

The firm’s Singapore-based international arm brought in US$3 billion of revenue for 2024, paving the way for a potential initial public offering of the unit.

Ant also made progress on its move to acquire a Hong Kong brokerage. The company won approval from China’s regulators to complete its purchase of Bright Smart Securities mmodities Group, clearing the way for a deal agreed nearly a year ago.

Ant last year showcased its first humanoid robot, which can provide medical consultation and perform basic kitchen tasks. It is building out its health care app AQ, which has served 140 million users as of September.

In 2023, an Ant share repurchase proposal valued the company at about US$79 billion, well off the US$280 billion it was valued at during its attempted IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong in late 2020.