Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has published information about its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024, according to which the revenue of this Chinese Internet pioneer for the mentioned period demonstrated growth at an upward dynamic pace, which is the fastest in more than a year, and this is another signal in favor of the statement that the company is gradually starting to moving along a recovery trajectory after several years of turbulence.
The mentioned firm, co-founded by Jack Ma, has reported a revenue surge in two of its most important units. In this case, it means the e-commerce and cloud computing units, in which the company’s developments in the area of artificial intelligence are concentrated. It is worth noting that the mentioned revenue demonstrated growth, which exceeded preliminary expectations regarding the pace of the upward dynamic of the corresponding indicator.
Alibaba’s results, published this week, indicate not only an improvement in the company’s position in terms of its financial readings but also reflect a more global process, which in this case is the recovery of consumer activity in China. In recent years, the Asian country has faced a significant weakening of domestic consumption against the background of such circumstance of a new historical reality as the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, the financial indicators demonstrated by Alibaba indicate that the company has achieved success in competing in the Chinese market. The main rivals of the business giant are, among others, ByteDance Ltd. and PDD Holdings Inc., which have eroded its market share in recent years.
Against the background of the positive result for the fourth quarter of 2024, the value of Alibaba shares showed growth of as much as 11% on Thursday, February 20, after the markets opened in New York.
With a high degree of probability, investors perceived the company’s high level of determination in the context of intentions aimed at competing in the space of the artificial intelligence industry as a sufficient and solid argument in favor of an optimistic attitude. Alibaba chief executive officer Eddie Wu said that in the next three years, the firm will spend more on machine intelligence infrastructure than it has done in the last decade. He also stated that artificial general intelligence is the primary objective of the company. It is worth noting that the term AGI does not have yet what could be called a single and generally accepted definition. One interpretation suggests that the mentioned version of machine intelligence should be able to perform several tasks just like a human. At the same time, another approach to explaining what AGI is envisaged that this form of digital intelligence should surpass the human mind in terms of cognitive abilities and in the context of the capacity to cope with objectives.
During a conference call with analysts, Eddie Wu stated that there is currently an opportunity for industry transformation that actually only happens once every several decades. In the relevant context, he separately noted that for the mentioned reason, as part of the discussion of Alibaba’s strategy in the area of artificial intelligence, the company’s first and foremost goal is to pursue AGI.
The specified statement is another confirmation of the growing importance of machine intelligence as an advanced technology of modernity. Artificial intelligence has already demonstrated impressive abilities and has great potential. It is possible that in the course of its evolution, AI will become something like a new form of intelligence that is independent and capable of autonomous development. This means that artificial intelligence can potentially provide breakthroughs in areas of science and technology, and in understanding the world as a vast cosmological space in general.
The financial figures recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024 signal that Alibaba has managed to start rebuilding its business, which faced significant difficulties in 2020 amid a government clampdown. The company is also returning to a more favorable position after Beijing began to pull back in scrutiny in 2023. In this case, it implies, among other things, measures taken by the Chinese government aimed at countering the coronavirus pandemic. The relevant decisions and actions have limited many business processes, having a significant impact on the economy of the Asian country. It is worth noting that this situation against the background of the coronavirus pandemic had a global scale and was not a state of affairs unique existed in China.
Joe Tsai and Eddie Wu, two of co-founder Jack Ma’s most trusted lieutenants, took the helm in 2023 and refocused investments on artificial intelligence and e-commerce.
Data released on Thursday by Alibaba shows that the company’s revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was recorded at the 280.2 billion yuan ($38.6 billion) mark. This indicator showed an increase of 8% compared to the result for the same period in 2023. At the same time, the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by LSEG predicted that the company’s revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 would be fixed at the 279.34 billion yuan mark.
Alibaba’s cloud services unit’s revenue for the mentioned period was $4.3 billion. This indicator increased by 13% year-on-year. The mentioned unit of the company specializes in projects related to artificial intelligence and hosts computing power for external clients.
International commerce sales driven by overseas marketplaces such as AliExpress and Trendyol increased by 32% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024. The corresponding figure was $5.17 billion.
Alibaba’s market capitalization has gained some $100 billion of market value in 2025. At the same time, this indicator is still significantly lower than the peak level that was observed before 2020. Jack Ma joined a select group of the biggest representatives of Chinese technology and business at the summit, which was convened by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and broadcast on television this week. This means restoring Alibaba’s position, including in the context of the company’s interaction with the authorities of an Asian country. The mentioned meeting was attended by entrepreneurs from across a broad swath of industry, notable from the area of artificial intelligence. This indicates Beijing’s significant attention as a political center to AI and the authorities’ awareness of the importance and potential of digital intelligence as an advanced technology of modernity. With a high degree of probability, already in the foreseeable future, the ability to develop artificial intelligence will determine the positions of countries in the international arena.
Li Chengdong, head of Beijing-based Internet think-tank Haitun, said that now that Alibaba has defended its main business in the e-commerce sector, its side business in the area of machine intelligence is also booming. Moreover, in this context, the forecast was given that the company’s results of operations will flourish in upcoming quarters. Li Chengdong noted that Alibaba’s relationship with the Chinese government has not been in good shape over the past few years, and this must have caused a huge loss of customers. It was also highlighted that the artificial intelligence business is finally reviving the company.
Jack Ma was the highest-profile casualty of Xi Jinping’s crackdown on the Internet and the private sector in 2020. At that time, the Asian country’s authorities scuttled the blockbuster initial public offering of Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group Co. This case actually became the initial stage of a multi-year campaign to tighten state control over the economic system of China. In the context of appropriate measures and actions, Beijing has embarked on what can be described as reining the billionaire class. There was also the shift of resources in favor of Xi Jinping’s priorities, which included national security and technological self-sufficiency. Against the backdrop of Beijing’s mentioned actions, Jack Ma, who was one of China’s most outspoken entrepreneurs, has largely disappeared from public view.
Over time, the authorities of the Asian country have softened their approach to interaction with the private sector, including in the framework of relationships with the e-commerce industry and the area of technologies. To a large extent, Beijing’s decision was what can be called a response to the challenges of reality. China’s economic growth has started to slow down. The corresponding process was the result of the complex impact of several factors, the main of which are the prolonged downturn in the real estate market, sluggish domestic consumer demand, and falling investor confidence. In an effort to revitalize the economy, Beijing has decided, among other things, to rely on the private sector, especially its segment that develops advanced technologies and high-tech products.
Moreover, Xi Jinping demonstrates his commitment to ensuring China’s leadership in the global artificial intelligence industry. In this context, the issue of technological sovereignty of the Asian country has become relevant. It is worth noting that the corresponding issue has already become existential for China in a certain sense. As part of the growing geopolitical tensions, the United States and some of its allies have limited the export of advanced chips and equipment for the production of cut-edge microcircuits to the Asian country. At the same time, chips are currently of critical importance. Microcircuits are used in almost all categories of technology products, including smartphones, laptops, and personal computers. Chips are also necessary for training and ensuring the subsequent functioning of artificial intelligence systems. Microcircuits are what can be called the basic material component of the machine intelligence industry. Also, chips are gradually becoming a kind of foundation for the evolving economy of a new generation, based on or heavily relying on technology. Against the background of the deteriorating situation in the space of geopolitical relationships, it is existentially important for China to achieve industrial and technological independence to ensure its growth opportunities.
Alibaba has aligned itself with Xi Jinping’s seeking for leadership in the area of artificial intelligence. The company operates one of the world’s largest cloud service platforms and has achieved significant results in this sector.
Jeffrey Towson, partner at TechMoat Consulting, said Alibaba’s results for the fourth quarter of 2024 showed very good progress and noted that the back-to-basics strategy is paying off.
After the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, which actually started the so-called artificial intelligence boom, Alibaba invested in several of the most promising Chinese startups, including Moonshot and Zhipu. The company has prioritized the expansion of its cloud business, which underpins the development of machine intelligence. Alibaba also lowered prices to bring back customers who fled during the turbulence.
Moreover, the company has decided to make significant financial injections directly into the development of artificial intelligence. In this case, Alibaba stated its firm intentions to participate in the so-called AI race led by Baidu Inc. at the time.
The sudden global rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence developer, came as a shock to Silicon Valley and Wall Street last month. The highly efficient AI model from this company can fully compete with similar virtual products from Western firms in terms of performance. Many experts have stated that DeepSeek has actually challenged the dominance of the United States in the global artificial intelligence industry. Against this background, the value of shares of Chinese technology companies, including Alibaba securities, has begun to grow in recent weeks. It is unknown how long this tendency will last.
In January, Alibaba unveiled a new version of its artificial intelligence model Qwen 2.5. The company claims that this virtual product surpasses DeepSeek V3. Moreover, Apple Inc. is incorporating Alibaba’s AI technology into the iPhone in China. Some experts argue that this action by the US technology giant shows confidence in the Chinese company.
Eddie Wu on Thursday focused on Alibaba’s quest to ride the wave of artificial intelligence and develop AGI, a kind of holy grail of digital intelligence. He, like many of his peers, stopped short of outlining a profitable use case for machine intelligence. At the same time, according to him, artificial intelligence should enhance services throughout the company’s business. He also noted that Alibaba, as an infrastructure provider, should benefit.
Eddie Wu, in the context of statements on the company’s efforts to develop artificial intelligence technologies, noted that the firm is still at the very beginning of the path. He also underlined that future business models and ways to monetize these models are not necessarily clear to anybody today.
It is worth noting that Alibaba’s positive results for the fourth quarter of 2024 form arguments in favor of the fact that in 2025 and beyond, the financial component of the company’s activities will demonstrate an upward dynamic. The relevant assumption is based on the fact that the figures for the last three months of the past year are a clear signal that the firm has been able to create a strategy that has allowed it to improve its competitiveness and has already generated a specific result of an appropriate nature. The company’s intentions related to activities in the area of artificial intelligence also contain significant potential. Moreover, it is also worth noting that the e-commerce sector, in which Alibaba is one of the main players, is on a trajectory of active development and scaling. In a certain sense, this sector is what can be called a kind of brainchild of the era of digitalization. Virtual trading is highly likely to continue to become more widespread, which means significant prospects for Alibaba.
