China's Alibaba sees revenue surge on back of artificial intelligence, e-commerce
by Naharnet Newsdesk 21 February 2025, 14:34
Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding posted its fastest revenue growth in more than a year, beating analyst expectations as it capitalizes on the artificial intelligence boom in China.
Alibaba said Thursday that its revenue for the quarter ended December grew 8% to 280.2 billion yuan ($38.38 billion) compared to the same period last year.
Net income surged to 48.9 billion yuan ($6.71 billion). Alibaba's New York-traded stock was up over 12% following the earnings results.
In an earnings call, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said that Alibaba plans to "aggressively invest" in artificial intelligence and cloud computing infrastructure in the coming three years, with upcoming spending expected to exceed what the firm has already invested over the past decade.
"This quarter's results demonstrated substantial progress in our 'user first, AI-driven' strategies and the re-accelerated growth of our core businesses," Wu said.
He said that Alibaba's artificial intelligence strategy was to pursue artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is artificial intelligence that can match or surpass human intelligence and can self-teach.
He added that such an opportunity for industry transformation is something that comes along "once every several decades" and said that AGI was Alibaba's primary goal.
Alibaba's plan to go big on artificial intelligence comes as rivalry in the AI space heats up between U.S. and China. Chinese AI firm DeepSeek recently rattled the U.S. AI industry after its AI model appeared to rival those of leading U.S. companies while being trained on cheaper hardware.
The Hangzhou-headquartered firm is one of many technology firms in China who are racing to get ahead in the AI space. In January, it unveiled its latest Qwen AI models that have performed well in benchmark tests, placing Alibaba among the leading companies in China's AI industry.
Alibaba is working with Apple to incorporate its AI technology into Chinese iPhones, the firm said earlier this month.
Alibaba has already implemented AI technology into its cloud products, with its cloud business unit generating 13% revenue growth compared to the same time last year – the fastest pace in about two years.
Its international commerce unit, which includes platforms such as AliExpress and Lazada, saw revenue growth of 32% driven by "strong performance of cross-border businesses."
Alibaba was one of several prominent Chinese technology companies which suffered the brunt of a regulatory crackdown on the technology industry in 2020, when authorities scuppered the initial public offering of its financial affiliate Ant Group.
The company was later fined a record $2.8 billion for violating anti-monopoly laws. Jack Ma, one of Alibaba's cofounders, disappeared from public view and the company's stock price slumped for several years.
But Beijing appears to have shifted gears towards the technology industry as it pursues technology supremacy and self-sufficiency amid deteriorating U.S.-China relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently held a private symposium, meeting with prominent entrepreneurs including Ma.
The meeting, coupled with DeepSeek's AI advancements, were among the factors that sparked renewed interest in the Chinese technology industry, sending technology stocks soaring in recent weeks.
Alibaba's stock price is up more than 60% this year. Its U.S.-listed shares rose 8.5% in morning trading, to $136.58.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
10 hours ago
- Nahar Net
What's targeted in Trump's request for $9.4 billion in budget cuts from Congress
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 June 2025, 16:06 President Donald Trump is looking to cancel $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress. That's just a sliver of the $1.7 trillion that lawmakers OK'd for the budget year ending Sept. 30. The package of 21 budget rescissions will have to be approved by both chambers of Congress for the cuts to take place, beginning with a House vote expected Thursday. Otherwise, the spending remains in place. The White House is betting that cutting federal investments in public media and some foreign aid programs will prove politically popular. Republicans say if this first effort is successful, they hope more rescission packages will follow as they look to continue work by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency once run by billionaire Elon Musk. Democrats describe the cuts as inhumane and say they would rip life-saving support from hungry and sick people across the globe. Republicans are describing the cuts as "modest" and say the U.S. will continue to play a critical role in helping the world's most vulnerable people. Here's a look at some of the spending the White House is trying to claw back: Public media on the chopping block The Republican president has asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it's slated to receive during the next two budget years. Congress has traditionally provided public media with advanced funds to reduce political pressures. The corporation distributes the money mostly to public television and radio stations around the country, with some assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System to support national programming. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. Much of the conservatives' ire is focused on NPR and PBS. "We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime," said Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, during a hearing in March. But about two-thirds of the money goes to more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and television stations. Nearly half of those stations serve rural areas of the country. "They want to punish the national guys, that's fine," said Rep. Mark Amodei, a Republican who said he was undecided going into this week's vote. "But I'm trying to get a handle on what it means for my stations in Nevada, because the ability to fundraise at the national level ain't the same as the ability to fundraise in Reno." The association representing local public television stations warns that many of them would be forced to close if the GOP bill passes. Those stations provide emergency alerts, free educational programming and high school sports coverage and highlight hometown heroes. Meanwhile, local radio stations say their share of the allocation provides funding for 386 stations employing nearly 10,000 people. Dozens of stations rely on the public grants for more than half of their budget. Many others for nearly half. Some Republicans say they worry about what the cuts would mean for local public stations but tough decisions are necessary. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said South Dakota Public Broadcasting does a "really good job of covering the state Legislature" and other public affairs. "So these rescissions are not going to be comfortable for South Dakota to deal with," Johnson said. "That being said, we're $37 trillion in debt." Funding to combat diseases Trump's administration is looking to claw back about $900 million from $10 billion that Congress has approved for global health programs. That includes canceling $500 million for activities related to infectious diseases and child and maternal health and another $400 million to address the global HIV epidemic. The administration says the $500 million rescission for infectious diseases would not reduce treatment but would "eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children, like 'family planning' and 'reproductive health,' LGBTQI+ activities, and equity programs." It makes a similar assurance on the HIV funding, saying it would eliminate "only those programs that neither provide life-saving treatment nor support American interests." Scores of humanitarian aid groups have asked lawmakers to oppose the proposed cuts. Catholic Relief Services called on donors to contact their members of Congress to urge them to vote against the bill. Without the U.S. assistance, "countless lives are at risk, and the needs will continue to rise," said the plea to supporters. The importance of the United States' contribution to the global HIV response cannot be overstated, according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. It says the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has saved more than 26 million lives and averted almost 5 million new HIV infections since it was launched in 2003 under President George W. Bush, a Republican. "Instead of facing a death sentence, people supported by PEPFAR are raising families, building their communities, and helping their communities grow and develop," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. Refugee assistance The Trump administration is looking to cancel $800 million, or a quarter of the amount Congress approved, for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation, and family reunification for those forced to flee their own country. The program also helps vetted refugees who come to the U.S. get started in their new country. The White House says "these funds support activities that could be more fairly shared with non-U.S. Government donors, providing savings to the U.S. taxpayer." Refugees International urged Congress to reject what it described as a reckless proposal. Promoting stability About 45% of the savings sought by the White House would come from two programs designed to boost the economies, democratic institutions and civil societies in developing countries. The administration wants to claw back $2.5 billion of the $3.9 billion approved for the Development Assistance program at the U.S. Agency for International Development and about $1.7 billion, or nearly half of the funds, dedicated to the State Department's Economic Support Fund. The administration says in its request to Congress that the Development Assistance account is supposed to fund programs that work to end extreme poverty and promote resilient democratic societies, but in practice many of the programs "conflict with American values" and bankroll corrupt leaders' evasion of responsibilities to their citizens while providing "no clear benefit to Americans." U.S. leaders have often argued over the years that helping to eradicate conditions that lead to political upheaval abroad is not just the right thing to do but also the smart thing. "By helping stem pandemics and war and helping countries become healthy, free-market democracies, we are actually helping our own country," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Republicans are rejecting the dire warnings. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., said " waste, fraud and abuse is what this is all about."
Nahar Net
10 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Trump says China deal 'done', Beijing to supply rare earths
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 June 2025, 15:49 President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States will get magnets and rare earth minerals from China under a new trade deal and that tariffs on Chinese goods will rise to 55%. In return, Trump said, the U.S. will provide China "what was agreed to," including allowing Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities. The Republican president had recently begun to clamp down on the presence of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses. The new 55% tariff rate would mark a meaningful increase from the 30% levy set in Switzerland during talks in May. "OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME.," Trump wrote Wednesday on his social media site. He said full magnets and any necessary rare earths will be supplied up front by China. "WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!" Trump wrote. Senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators announced late Tuesday in London that they had agreed on a framework to get their trade negotiations back on track after a series of disputes that threatened to derail them. The announcement came at the end of two days of talks in the British capital that wrapped up late Tuesday. It came as an international rights group said that several global brands are among dozens of companies at risk of using forced labor through their Chinese supply chains because they use critical minerals or buy minerals-based products sourced from the far-western Xinjiang region of China. The report by the Netherlands-based Global Rights Compliance says companies including Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams may be linked to titanium sourced from Xinjiang, where rights groups allege the Chinese government runs coercive labor practices targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. The report found 77 Chinese suppliers in the titanium, lithium, beryllium and magnesium industries operating in Xinjiang. It said the suppliers are at risk of participating in the Chinese government's "labor transfer programs," in which Uyghurs are forced to work in factories as part of a long-standing campaign of assimilation and mass detention. Asked about the report, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that "no one has ever been forcibly transferred in China's Xinjiang under work programs." The named companies didn't immediately comment on the report.
Nahar Net
10 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Google offers buyouts to staff in latest round of cost cutting
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 June 2025, 16:33 Google has offered buyouts to staff in several divisions in a fresh round of cost cutting, according to a company statement and reports from several news outlets. It's not clear how many employees are affected, but the offers were made to staff in Google's search, advertising, research and engineering units, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Earlier this year, some of our teams introduced a voluntary exit program with severance for U.S.-based Googlers, and several more are now offering the program to support our important work ahead," a Google spokesperson, Courtenay Mencini, said in a statement. "A number of teams are also asking remote employees who live near an office to return to a hybrid work schedule in order to bring folks more together in-person," Mencini said. The tech company started trimming its headcount in 2023, when it announced that it was laying off 12,000 staff as the economic boom that fueled demand for online services during the COVID-19 pandemic started to fade.
