Ant Group profit estimated to rise 10% to $1.2b

Ant Group’s profit rose 10% in the three months ended June 30, with Bloomberg estimating the figure at 8.3 billion yuan (US$1.17 billion) based on Alibaba’s earnings report.

The Hangzhou-based company, which operates Alipay, has increased its investments in AI, including humanoid robots and healthcare applications.

Its international arm, based in Singapore, generated US$3 billion in revenue for 2024, paving the way for a potential IPO.

Ant’s reported profit comes after a period of regulatory restructuring that ended two years ago.

The company recently launched an AI assistant that reached a million users in days, and is expanding its healthcare app, AQ, which has served 140 million users as of September.

In 2023, Ant’s share repurchase proposal valued the firm at about US$79 billion, down from its US$280 billion valuation during its canceled 2020 IPO attempt.

Jack Ma, who gave up control of Ant in 2023, no longer holds a position at the company.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Ant’s 10% profit bump hides regulatory hurdles that could stall its IPO

Profit rose 10 percent, yet a past report put profit down 60 percent from AI and global expansion costs 1. The swing hints at bumpy earnings. Ant paid nearly $1 billion in fines during restructuring 2, and ongoing rules still weigh on any IPO plan.
Ant Group is still seeking a financial holding company license (a status that would place it under bank-like oversight) 3 4. Without that sign-off, an Ant International listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange stays uncertain 3 even with the Singapore-based unit at about $3 billion in 2024 revenue.
Valuation sat near $79 billion in 2023, down from about $280 billion in 2020 2, which signals ongoing regulatory risk and investor doubts about operating room under China’s tighter fintech rules. Treat the profit lift as provisional until approvals arrive.

Payment service providers (PSPs) can win cross-border volume by integrating Alipay+ before any IPO lift

For acquiring service providers (companies that sign up merchants to accept payments), Alipay+ is a cross-border network that links many Asian e-wallets to merchants 5 6. Merchant-presented payment modes support static and dynamic Quick Response (QR) codes across 50 plus countries 7. The application programming interfaces (APIs) cover acceptance and refunds 8. They also support cancellations and dispute management 8. PSPs can onboard merchants before any post-IPO push.
The integration process requires a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), work with Alipay+ solution architects (technical consultants who guide integrations), and sandbox testing (a secure test environment) before production 9 10. Early movers tap over 1.6 billion users through partner wallets 7. Merchants also want Asian e-wallet access through one connection.
Ant International is exploring a Hong Kong listing 3. Providers that integrate now can lock in merchant ties in emerging markets.