Tencent has missed market expectations after effectively reporting flat revenue growth for the first quarter of this year. The Chinese tech giant reported RMB 135.5 billion ($21.2 billion) revenue for the first quarter of 2022, compared with RMB 135.3 billion in the same period last year. The company’s profit for the period was RMB 26.3 billion, a decrease of 24% year-on-year, while net margins decreased to 19% from 26% last year. Tencent’s worst performance since its IPO in 2014 is mainly attributed to clients’ shrinking ad budgets and intensified rivalry from competitors like TikTok owner ByteDance. In a Wednesday conference call, Tencent president Martin Lau warned that the impact of regulatory crackdowns will linger despite the state signaling a releasing pressure on tech majors because it will “take time for specific regulators to translate direction into real action.” The company’s shares slid 8% in Hong Kong today. [Tencent release]