(Reuters) -Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba reported quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as the firm works on new strategies to keep consumers spending amid persistent economic weakness and global trade uncertainties.
U.S.-listed shares of the company fell more than 4% in premarket trading. They have risen about 58% so far this year.
Grappling with high unemployment rates and prolonged weakness in the economy, Chinese consumers have turned increasingly cost conscious, with deep discounts and rock-bottom prices required to lure spending.
That has led to a price battle among China’s largest online e-commerce platforms as they jostle for market share, sparking intense competition between companies such as Alibaba, PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and JD.com.
Alibaba’s results are in contrast with those of JD.com, which on Tuesday topped first-quarter revenue estimates and said it was seeing strong user growth.
Alibaba reported revenue of 236.45 billion yuan ($32.79 billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts’ estimates of 237.24 billion yuan, according to data compiled by LSEG.
($1 = 7.2107 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Casey Hall in Shanghai; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Shinjini Ganguli)
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