Jack Ma-Backed Ant’s Profit Fell 91% on AI Spending, Fair Value

Ant Group Co.’s quarterly profit plunged 91% after the Chinese digital payments firm ramped up spending to compete in artificial intelligence and health care, while a decline in the fair value of certain investments weighed on results.

The Hangzhou-based company contributed 393 million yuan ($57 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which owns a third of Ant. That translates to an estimated 1.2 billion yuan in profit for the three months ended Sept. 30, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Alibaba’s earnings report.