Alibaba’s revenues surge in Q4
Alibaba continued its strong financial performance in the fourth quarter, driven by the company’s marketplaces and cloud computing division.
For the quarter ended March 31, revenue increased by a staggering 61% to $9.87 billion (all financial metrics in U.S. dollars). This marks two years of continuous quarterly revenue growth above 50% for the company. Earnings per share were $0.91. Not only was this this a 32% increase from a year ago, it also beat analyst estimates of $0.85.
Alibaba credits a majority of this increase to its core commerce division, which jumped 62% to $8.17 billion; and its cloud computing business, which increased 103% to $699 million.
Net income was $1.18 billion, a 29% drop from the same period last year. Alibaba reported that the decrease was a result of "non-recurring disposal gains" booked in the fourth quarter, specifically the sale of its stake in Chinese internet firm Momo.
Annual active consumers on Chinese retail marketplaces reached 552 million, an increase of 37 million from the 12 months ending December 31, 2017. Meanwhile, mobile active users (MAUs) reached 617 million for the quarter, an increase of 37 million over December 2017.
For the fiscal year, revenue increased 58% to $39.89 billion, mainly driven by the continued rapid growth of the company’s Chinese and international retail business; its cloud services, and the consolidation of newly acquired businesses, mainly Cainiao Network and Intime Department Stores.
For example, revenue from the Chinese commerce retail business was $28.14 billion, a segment that accounted for 71% of total revenue. The division grew 55% compared to fiscal year 2017. Alibaba credited this growth to its New Retail initiatives — a business model that blends the company’s online and offline worlds — which includes its Hema fresh food grocery business, the import business, and its Intime department stores.
Revenue Alibaba’s cloud computing business for the year $2.13 billion, an increase of 101% compared to fiscal 2017. This jump was driven by an increase in paying customers, and their growing usage of the company’s cloud computing services, including Alibaba’s content delivery network and database services.
“With the continuing roll out of our New Retail strategy, our e-commerce platform is developing into the leading retail infrastructure of China,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “During the past year, we also doubled down on technology development, cloud computing, logistics, digital entertainment and local services so that we are in a position to capture consumption growth in China and other emerging markets.”
For the quarter ended March 31, revenue increased by a staggering 61% to $9.87 billion (all financial metrics in U.S. dollars). This marks two years of continuous quarterly revenue growth above 50% for the company. Earnings per share were $0.91. Not only was this this a 32% increase from a year ago, it also beat analyst estimates of $0.85.
Alibaba credits a majority of this increase to its core commerce division, which jumped 62% to $8.17 billion; and its cloud computing business, which increased 103% to $699 million.
Net income was $1.18 billion, a 29% drop from the same period last year. Alibaba reported that the decrease was a result of "non-recurring disposal gains" booked in the fourth quarter, specifically the sale of its stake in Chinese internet firm Momo.
Annual active consumers on Chinese retail marketplaces reached 552 million, an increase of 37 million from the 12 months ending December 31, 2017. Meanwhile, mobile active users (MAUs) reached 617 million for the quarter, an increase of 37 million over December 2017.
For the fiscal year, revenue increased 58% to $39.89 billion, mainly driven by the continued rapid growth of the company’s Chinese and international retail business; its cloud services, and the consolidation of newly acquired businesses, mainly Cainiao Network and Intime Department Stores.
For example, revenue from the Chinese commerce retail business was $28.14 billion, a segment that accounted for 71% of total revenue. The division grew 55% compared to fiscal year 2017. Alibaba credited this growth to its New Retail initiatives — a business model that blends the company’s online and offline worlds — which includes its Hema fresh food grocery business, the import business, and its Intime department stores.
Revenue Alibaba’s cloud computing business for the year $2.13 billion, an increase of 101% compared to fiscal 2017. This jump was driven by an increase in paying customers, and their growing usage of the company’s cloud computing services, including Alibaba’s content delivery network and database services.
“With the continuing roll out of our New Retail strategy, our e-commerce platform is developing into the leading retail infrastructure of China,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “During the past year, we also doubled down on technology development, cloud computing, logistics, digital entertainment and local services so that we are in a position to capture consumption growth in China and other emerging markets.”