Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has announced an additional $25 billion authorization to its share buyback program, following lower-than-expected sales revenue for the last quarter of 2023. The company reported a 5% increase in sales to 260.3 billion yuan ($36.67 billion) for the quarter ending in December, slightly missing analyst estimates. However, net income plummeted to 14.4 billion yuan ($2 billion), a staggering 77% decrease compared to the same period last year. Alibaba attributed this drastic drop in net income to the devaluation of its equity investments and a decline in income from operations.

The news of Alibaba's disappointing financial results caused its New York-listed stock price to fall approximately 4% in premarket trading. In response to this setback, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu stated, "Our top priority is to reignite the growth of our core businesses, e-commerce and cloud computing." He emphasized the company's commitment to improving user experience and driving growth for its e-commerce platforms, Taobao and Tmall, as well as strengthening its market leadership.

Alibaba, once a dominant force in China's e-commerce industry, has been facing increasing competition from rivals such as Pinduoduo and ByteDance, the parent company of popular social media platforms TikTok and Douyin. In December, Alibaba appointed Eddie Wu as the new head of its e-commerce business, replacing longtime executive Trudy Dai, in an effort to revitalize growth. This decision came shortly after Pinduoduo surpassed Alibaba in market value.

The company has been grappling with the aftermath of a regulatory crackdown on the technology industry and a $2.8 billion fine for violating antitrust regulations. While Alibaba's revenue growth has slowed, its e-commerce competitors have been gaining market share. Over the past year, the company's New York-listed stock has plunged nearly 26%.

Alibaba restructured its businesses in March, dividing them into six units that would eventually raise their own capital and go public. Initially, the cloud unit was expected to be among the first to hold an initial public offering (IPO). However, Alibaba has since abandoned plans to spin-off the business due to uncertainties surrounding U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips used for artificial intelligence.

Overall, Alibaba's latest financial results reflect the challenges the company is facing in regaining its position as a dominant player in the Chinese e-commerce industry. With a renewed focus on its core businesses and increased investment in user experience, Alibaba aims to overcome these obstacles and regain its market leadership.