Alibaba Misses on 243.38 Billion Yuan Revenue as AI and Quick Commerce Spending Crush Profit
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 13
Alibaba Misses on 243.38 Billion Yuan Revenue as AI and Quick Commerce Spending Crush Profit
2 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 13
243.38 billion yuan in March-quarter revenue rose 3% from a year earlier but missed the 247.22 billion yuan consensus, while adjusted earnings per ADS came in at 0.62 yuan versus 5.79 yuan expected.
84% adjusted EBITA and a 99.7% drop in net income reflected heavier spending on AI, cloud infrastructure and 60-minute delivery operations in Alibaba's quick commerce push.
38% growth at Cloud Intelligence to 41.63 billion yuan offered a bright spot, with AI products now contributing 30% of external cloud customer revenue.
122.22 billion yuan in China e-commerce beat estimates, but weaker international e-commerce limited overall growth and sent U.S.-listed shares down 2.3% in premarket trading.
Alibaba has separated its AI businesses from cloud, put CEO Eddie Wu over the new Alibaba Token Hub, and is targeting more than $100 billion in combined AI and cloud external revenue over five years.
Alibaba's profits crashed 84%. Is its multi-billion dollar AI bet a genius move or a desperate gamble?
With US chip sanctions in place, can Alibaba's huge AI investment create Asia's new tech kingpin?