What's going on?

Alibaba reported worse-than-expected earnings on Thursday, adding salt to the Chinese ecommerce giant�s wounds after a grueling year in the trenches.

What does this mean?

It�s fair to say investors were already pessimistic going into Alibaba�s earnings update: it�s hard not to be when you�re sifting through slowing economic growth numbers, rising coronavirus cases, and a slew of government-led crackdowns on China�s tech industry. But Alibaba�s revenue still fell short of expectations, and so did its sales outlook for this quarter despite record Singles� Day sales. The only thing that came in higher than expected, in fact, was the 39% drop in profit compared to the same time last year. Investors didn�t take it well: they sent Alibaba�s shares 11% lower.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Pinduoduo spies an opportunity.
Alibaba�s had a tough year, having been slapped with a $2.8 billion fine for �anticompetitive practices� in April. But the $390 billion company could take that pocket change on the chin. What it couldn�t shrug off was the fact that it also had to dial back on those practices. That�s since opened up the way for rivals like JD.com and Pinduoduo to step in, with both firms recently ramping up spending to win over Alibaba�s customers. It seems to be working: the number of shoppers on Pinduoduo overtook those on Alibaba earlier this year.

Zooming out: Anything you can do, I can�t do better.
China�s recent tech crackdowns have left investors looking for alternatives, and India�s been happy to oblige: Paytm � the country�s answer to Alibaba�s digital payments company Ant Group, and backed by the same � made its stock market debut at a $20 billion valuation on Thursday, raising $2.5 billion in India�s biggest-ever initial public offering (tweet this). It was all downhill from there, mind you: investors � skeptical about the company�s high valuation and path to profitability � sent its shares down 27% on its first day of trading.