Alibaba beats quarterly sales estimates on e-commerce strength

China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd beat estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as its core e-commerce business continued to grow following China's emergence from coronavirus lockdowns.

The results come on the heels of China's surprise suspension of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group's record $37 billion Shanghai listing that was viewed by analysts and investors as an attempt to cut founder Jack Ma and his financial services empire down to size.

Alibaba's results also coincide with U.S. presidential election results, with Democrat Joe Biden edging closer to victory.


Under Donald Trump's presidency, the world's top two economies have clashed often over trade, forcing many Chinese companies to put off U.S. listings or return to exchanges close to home.

Revenue at Alibaba's cloud computing business, a focus area for the company, jumped 60 per cent to 14.9 billion yuan.

Sales from Alibaba's core e-commerce business rose 29 per cent to 130.92 billion yuan in the reported quarter.

Net income slumped 63 per cent to 26.52 billion yuan, as the company had booked a one-time gain last year from its 33 per cent equity interest in Ant Group.

Revenue rose 30 per cent to 155.06 billion yuan in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to estimates of 154.74 yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company's U.S.-listed shares, which have gained about 39 per cent this year, fell 1.8 per cent in trading before the bell.