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.

Alibaba’s revenue rose a slower-than-anticipated 2% in results for the three months ended ...