Alibaba (BABA) reported quarterly results Thursday morning that beat estimates on the top and bottom lines, as the China e-commerce giant fought through softer demand and supply chain woes. BABA stock jumped in early trading, then pulled back.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.79 a share on revenue of $35.92 billion. Analysts expected Alibaba to show earnings of $2.44 a share on revenue of $35.8 billion, according to FactSet. Revenue rose 2% from the year-ago period. Earnings jumped 14%.
The results were for Alibaba’s fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31.
BABA stock, which was up nearly 6% in early morning trading, pulled back. It finished the day down o.7%, closing at 94.16 on the stock market today.
Before China ended its zero-Covid policy late last year, a surge of coronavirus cases had already disrupted consumption and order fulfillment across the world’s second-largest economy. Alibaba managed to overcome those obstacles.
BABA Stock: Continued Economic Recovery
“Looking ahead, we expect a continued recovery in consumer sentiment and economic activity,” Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said in a written statement with the Alibaba earnings report. He added, “We delivered a solid quarter despite softer demand, supply chain and logistics disruptions due to the impact of changes in Covid-19 measures.”
In the conference call with analysts that followed Zhang said, “Everything is now quickly getting back on track. In general, consumer confidence and business confidence are rising. Logistics has resumed normal operations, with the entire supply and manufacturing chains becoming active.”
On Monday, several of China’s largest internet players, including JD.com (JD) and PDD Holdings (PDD) — formerly Pinduoduo — tumbled. That was in reaction to the news that JD.com plans to spend $1.5 billion to create a subsidiary to rival PDD Holdings. That raised fears of increased competition ahead.
Also, on Thursday, PDD stock jumped 4.8% to 87.50. JD stock climbed 1.7% to 47.30. Alibaba, JD and PDD are the three largest e-commerce companies in China.
