Jack Ma-Backed Ant’s Profit Fell 31% on AI, New Business Costs

Ant Group Co.’s quarterly profit fell 31% as the firm invested in artificial intelligence and other initiatives to bolster revenue growth.

The Hangzhou-based online finance firm contributed 1.76 billion yuan ($244 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Considering Alibaba’s one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 5.3 billion yuan in profit for the three months ended Dec. 31, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Alibaba’s earnings report.