Tencent Posts Steepest Profit Decline Since Going Public

Tencent Holdings posted its worst quarterly profit drop since listing in Hong Kong in 2004, with its revenue essentially flat as China’s pandemic resurgence added to the headwinds from a yearlong regulatory crackdown.

The social-media and videogame behemoth said it would need time to absorb regulatory actions that over the past year cut into its advertising and videogaming revenues and warned that China’s Covid-19 restrictions could delay a recovery in its advertising business. But executives said they welcomed recent signals that Beijing wants to support the tech sector, which could give Tencent and other embattled tech giants some breathing space.