Ant Group Q4 profit falls 79% as AI spending rises

China-based fintech firm Ant Group, which operates Alipay, posted an estimated profit of 1.1 billion yuan (US$166 million) for the quarter ended December 31.

The figure was down 79% from a year earlier based on Bloomberg calculations from Alibaba’s earnings report.

Alibaba, which owns a third of Ant, booked 375 million yuan (US$55.2 million) from the company for the period. Ant’s results trail Alibaba’s by one quarter.

The drop came as Ant stepped up spending on AI for healthcare, large language models, and payments after its profit fell 91% in the previous quarter.

Ant has been seeking new revenue after China’s regulatory crackdown, investing in digital healthcare and robots while its online lending business likely saw moderate growth.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Ant’s profit drop comes from heavier AI healthcare spending

Ant’s profit fell sharply after it spent more on AI following China’s regulatory crackdown. A 2023 share repurchase proposal valued Ant at about US$79 billion, down from roughly US$280 billion during its attempted initial public offering (IPO) in 2020 1.
The outlay backs more than research. It supports a broad product push for Ant Afu, while Ant’s healthcare platform AQ had reached 140 million users as of September 1.
The app ties into Alipay’s hospital payment links and medical insurance accounts. That edge helps explain the investment 2.

Ant’s revival plan gives global tech companies two lessons

The planned spin-off of Ant International, Ant Group’s overseas unit, offers one way to limit risk in global expansion. The business brought in US$3 billion in revenue for 2024 3.
A Hong Kong listing could value Ant International at US$8 billion to US$24 billion. An IPO remains a possible outcome rather than a confirmed plan 4.
Its healthcare push lays out how a large tech platform can move into a regulated field. Existing ties across its ecosystem give it an advantage that smaller startups may struggle to match 2.