Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) released its fiscal first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The Chinese e-commerce giant said that it had $1.17 in earnings per share (EPS) and $7.4 billion in revenue, which compared with consensus estimates of $0.93 in EPS and revenue of $7.13 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.74 and $4.84 billion in revenue.
During the quarter, annual active consumers on Alibaba’s China retail marketplaces reached 466 million, an increase of 12 million from the 12-month period ended March 31, 2017.
At the same time, mobile monthly active users on the China retail marketplaces totaled 529 million in June, an increase of 22 million sequentially.
In terms of its segments, the company reported the following:
- Revenue from core commerce increased 58% year over year to $6.35 billion.
- Revenue from cloud computing increased 96% year over year to $359 million.
- Revenue from digital media and entertainment increased 30% year over year to $602 million.
- Revenue from innovation initiatives and others increased 21% year over year to $95 million.
On the books, Alibaba ended the quarter with $21.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, commented:
Alibaba had a strong start to fiscal 2018, reflecting the strength and diversity of our businesses and the value we bring to customers on our platforms. Our technology is driving significant growth across our business and strengthening our position beyond core commerce. We are excited about the future as we continue to innovate and drive synergies among the businesses throughout the Alibaba ecosystem.
Shares of Alibaba closed Wednesday at $159.50, with a consensus analyst price target of $171.44 and a 52-week range of $86.01 to $160.39. Following the announcement, the stock was up over 5% at $168.00 in early trading indications Thursday.
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