Alibaba saw strong growth in revenue and income last quarter, with major increases in its e-commerce and cloud divisions.
Its revenue was CN¥280.2 billion, besting LSEG forecasts of ¥279.3 billion. This is an 8% year-over-year jump.
“This quarter’s results demonstrated substantial progress in our ‘user first, AI-driven’ strategies and the re-accelerated growth of our core businesses,” said CEO Eddie Wu.
“Looking ahead, revenue growth at Cloud Intelligence Group driven by AI will continue to accelerate. We will continue to execute against our strategic priorities in e-commerce and cloud computing, including further investment to drive long-term growth.”
The company’s net income was CN¥48.9 billion, up 333% year-over-year and above analyst estimates of ¥40.6 billion.
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were CN¥2.67, rising 13% from the prior year.
Alibaba’s International Digital Commerce division posted the sharpest year-over-year revenue growth, increasing 32% to CN¥37.76 billion. This was largely driven by cross-border business, the company said, including investments during international shopping events and user growth initiatives in Europe and the Gulf region.
Its Taobao and Tmall division reported the highest revenue, growing 9% year-over-year to reach CN¥100.8 billion. Alibaba credited this to a growth in online gross merchandise volume and a higher take rate.
Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group saw CN¥31.74 billion in revenue last quarter, a 13% increase. Revenue from its artificial intelligence products grew by triple digits year-over-year for the sixth consecutive quarter.
The company released its Qwen 2.5-Max AI model in January, saying it outperformed OpenAI’s GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and Meta’s Llama-3.1. Alibaba announced a deal with Apple to develop AI for iPhones in China last month, with these features already submitted to Chinese authorities for approval.
Alibaba’s share price (NYSE: BABA) closed more than 8% higher at US$135.97 after the results were released, up from its previous close at $125.79. Its market capitalisation is $327.96 billion.
