JD.com slumps 11% as revenue growth slows down
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JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) shares slumped almost 11% Thursday as the Chinese e-commerce reported fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations, but also showed revenue growing at a much slower rate than a year ago.
Before U.S. stock markets opened, JD (JD) reported a profit of 70 cents a share, on revenue of $42.8B, compared to analysts' consensus expectations for earnings of 51 cents a share on $42.53B in revenue.
While sales grew by 7% from a year ago, that rate was less that one-third the 23% revenue increase JD (JD) recorded in last year's fourth quarter.
Sales showed some impact from China's stringent COVID-19 related restrictions on businesses and public activities that only began to ease up toward the end of 2022.
The company also said it would close its shopping sites in Indonesia and Thailand, and invest $1.5B in creating a new subsidiary that will focus on lower-cost items and more-budget-conscious consumers in China. That announcement led to some initial speculation that revenue could begin to show the effects of price wars among JD (JD) and its domestic rivals.
Another leading Chinese Internet company, Baidu (BIDU) watched its shares give up more than 4% amid reports that it is dealing with widespread technical issues involving the planned launch of its upcoming AI chatbot, dubbed "Ernie Bot".