HK Stock Market Move | Tencent (00700) opens more than 4% lower in the fourth quarter and exceeds expectations, future investments in AI development may be reduced.

Tencent (00700) opened more than 4% lower, as of the time of writing, it fell 4.09% to 528 Hong Kong dollars, with a turnover of 10.93 billion Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, on March 18th, TENCENT released its financial report. In the fourth quarter, Tencent achieved revenue of 194.37 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13%; Non-IFRS operating profit was 69.52 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17%. For the whole year, revenue reached 751.77 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14%; Non-IFRS operating profit was 280.6 billion yuan, a 18% year-on-year increase. It is worth noting that in terms of capital allocation, Tencent will seek a balance between investing in AI and shareholder returns. Tencent's President Liu Chiping said that considering the high potential returns in the AI field, in the future, Tencent may reduce share buybacks when the stock price is relatively low and invest more resources in AI development. It is reported that Tencent plans to pay a dividend of 5.30 Hong Kong dollars per share by the end of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 18%.