Shares of Alibaba (BABA) are up 6% after the Chinese e-commerce company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
For its fiscal third quarter that ran from October through December 2022, Alibaba reported revenue of 247.76 billion Chinese yuan ($35.92 billion U.S.) versus 245.18 billion Chinese yuan that was expected, and up 2% from a year earlier.
Earnings per share (EPS) came in at 19.26 yuan compared to 16.26 yuan that had been expected, up 14% year-over-year.
Perhaps most impressive, Alibaba’s net income in the quarter rose 69% from a year ago to 46.82 billion yuan.
Alibaba is benefitting from China’s economic re-opening and rising consumer spending, which is boosting sales at the e-commerce giant that is often referred to as the “Amazon of China.”
Authorities in China have also ended their years long crackdown on publicly listed Chinese companies, tech stocks in particular. At its peak, the crackdown led Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma to go into hiding.
The COVID-19 lockdowns and government crackdown led to a sharp downturn in Alibaba’s share price in recent years, wiping $600 billion U.S. off its market capitalization.
Owing to the difficult domestic situation, Alibaba has sought growth in overseas markets through its Southeast Asia business Lazada and global e-commerce site AliExpress.
Alibaba’s international revenue grew 18% year-over-year to 19.47 billion Chinese yuan in the most recent quarter.
Last November, Alibaba said that its board of directors approved an additional $15 billion U.S. in stock buybacks, which comes on top of a previous $25 billion U.S. share repurchase program.
Alibaba is also in the process of making the Hong Kong Stock Exchange its primary listing location, a move that will enable Chinese investors to trade the stock directly.
Alibaba’s stock has gained 3% year-to-date to trade at $94.78 U.S. per share. However, the stock remains down 14% from where it was at a year ago.
