Alibaba Q4 - Slowest Growth Since Going Public

Alibaba posted its slowest growth in quarterly revenues since it went public in 2014. The e-commerce giant reported revenues of $38.07 billion, up 10% year-on-year and profits of $3.21 billion, down 74%. This has been a year where it has grappled with a host of challenges from, supply chain constraints, competition, to regulatory crackdowns which led to a record anti-monopoly fine in China.

In an earnings call, CEO Daniel Zhang said: "We believe we have substantively captured all consumers with purchasing power in China, our focus will shift from new user acquisition to user retention." I'm not sure if this change in strategy is what the company really wanted to do or if there is an invisible hand at play here.

Alibaba's "Singles-Day" sales grew by 8.5%, its worst-ever increase since the company launched the signature promotion extravaganza in 2009. Steep losses were also seen in two of its new businesses, Taobao Deals, an app that sells lower-priced goods, and Taocaicai, a grocery and fresh produce operation.

Alibaba is trading at a third of its all-time highs seen in October 2020 but its business hasn't shrunk at all, in fact it has grown in that same period, just at a much slower clip. Let's see how management addresses the current issues at hand, and how the share price reacts in the next five years.