With 41% year-over-year revenue growth, it's the slowest pace for the Chinese e-commerce giant since the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
Alibaba's cloud business exited the fourth quarter nearing a $4 billion annual revenue run rate.
"We live in an environment where external factors seem to drive investor sentiment regarding Alibaba's business", Tsai said in a call with analysts following the results on Wednesday.
China's economic growth in 2018 slowed to its weakest in almost three decades amid faltering domestic demand and bruising US tariffs.
Cloud computing is a bright spot for Alibaba. Core Commerce revenue increased by 40% year-over-year to Dollars 14.95 Billion, while Cloud Computing revenue rose by 84% to USD 962 Million.