Why did JD.com shares slump Thursday? Blame it on a wary business outlook
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JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) shares fell early Thursday, and had given up more than 11% by the time U.S. stock markets closed due to negative reaction to the Chinese Internet and e-commerce giant's outlook on consumer spending levels.
Prior to Thursday's stock market open, JD (JD) reported and fourth-quarter profit of 70 cents a share, on $42.8B in revenue. Wall Street analysts had forecast JD (JD) to earn 51 cents a share, on sales of $42.53B.
While JD's (JD) revenue did grow from the year-ago quarter, it also advanced at a slower rate than it did is last year's fourth quarter.
Speaking on a conference call with industry analysts, JD (JD) Chief Executive Xu Lei said that "it will take a relatively long time" for stimulus measures approved by Beijing to work their way into consumers' wallets. Like many leading Chinese Internet and tech companies, JD (JD) has been hamstrung to a degree by China's COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions that only began to be relaxed late last year.
Along with its earnings results, JD (JD) also declared a quarterly dividend payment of an 62 cents a share.