Alibaba beats quarterly revenue estimates

China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd beat estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as its core e-commerce business continued to grow following China's emergence from the coronavirus lockdown.

The company's U.S.-listed shares, which have gained about 39% this year, fell nearly 2% in trading before the bell.

The results come on the heels of China's surprise suspension of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group's record $37 billion (28.4 billion pounds)listing at Shanghai stock exchange on Tuesday that was viewed by analysts and investors as an attempt to cut founder Jack Ma and his financial services empire down to size.

Sales from Alibaba's core e-commerce business rose 29% to 130.92 billion yuan in the reported quarter.

Net income slumped 63% to 26.52 billion yuan, as the company had booked a one-time gain last year from its 33% equity interest in Ant Group.

Revenue rose 30% to 155.06 billion yuan in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to estimates of 154.74 yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.