'Blowout Quarter,' Alibaba Says About Itself

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA were trading higher by nearly 5 percent early Tuesday morning after the company reported its third-quarter results.

In a tweet, Alibaba described its earnings report as being a "blowout quarter," including a "strong" beat on the top and bottom lines.

Quarter, In Review

Specifically, the company earned $1.30 per share in the quarter on revenue of $7.67 billion. Wall Street analysts were projecting the company to earn $1.13 per share on revenue of $7.33 billion.

Net income for the quarter totaled $2.471 billion, while income from operations totaled $2.976 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.892 billion, operating margin was 39 percent and adjusted EBITDA margin was 51 percent.

Mobile monthly active users on Alibaba's China retail marketplace totaled 493 million at the end of December, marking an increase of 43 million from the end of September.

Here is a breakdown of revenue by segment:

• Total revenue of $7.669 billion rose 54 percent year-over-year.
• Revenue from the core commerce segment rose 45 percent year-over-year to $6.708 billion.
• Revenue from cloud computing rose 115 percent year-over-year to $254 million.
• Revenue from digital media and entertainment rose 273 percent year-over-year to $585 million.
• Revenue from innovation initiatives and others rose 61 percent year-over-year to $122 million.

CEO Commentary

"Our robust December quarter demonstrates the strength of the Chinese consumer and Alibaba's ability to create value across our vast ecosystem," said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. "The 11.11 Shopping Festival featured Alibaba at its best, integrating commerce, entertainment and social engagement, all happening globally at record scale. We are driving the age of ‘New Retail,' which leverages big data and innovation to provide a seamless online and offline experience for nearly half a billion mobile monthly active users. This retail transformation will make it even easier and more efficient for brands and retailers to engage with these consumers anywhere, anytime."

Image Credit: By Rico Shen, CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0, via Wikimedia Commons