Jack Ma-Backed Ant’s Profit Dives 60% After AI, Global Expansion

Ant Group Co.’s quarterly profit fell 60%, after the Chinese digital payments giant made more inroads overseas and invested in artificial intelligence to grow its revenue.

The Hangzhou-based online finance company contributed 1.5 billion yuan ($216 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which owns a third of Ant. That translates to an estimated $654.5 million in profit for the three months ended March. 31, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Alibaba’s earnings report.

It follows a previous quarter that saw Ant’s profit fall 31% year on year. The company’s reported earnings lag a quarter behind Alibaba’s. ...