Chinese technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba on Thursday reported robust sales growth in its latest quarter, beating analyst expectations as Beijing looks to revive faith in the private sector.
The Hangzhou-based firm operates some of China鈥檚 most widely used online shopping platforms, making its performance a bellwether for consumer sentiment.
The company is enjoying a comeback with its share price soaring so far this year and legendary co-founder Jack Ma being pictured with President Xi Jinping after spending several years out of the public eye.
It said Thursday that revenue rose eight per cent to 280 billion yuan (38.4 billion) in the three months through December, exceeding the 277 billion yuan estimated by a Bloomberg pool of analysts.
Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders jumped to nearly 49 billion yuan, a rise of 239 per cent, the company said.
鈥楾his quarter鈥檚 results demonstrated substantial progress in our 鈥榰ser first, AI-driven鈥� strategies and the re-accelerated growth of our core businesses,鈥� Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said.
鈥榃e will continue to execute against our strategic priorities in e-commerce and cloud computing, including further investment to drive long-term growth,鈥� he added.
Alibaba has benefitted from a strong rally among Chinese technology stocks and has seen its shares soar over 40 per cent so far this year.
The strong upturn has owed much to investor optimism over Chinese breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, with insurgent firm DeepSeek causing a global stir last month with an AI chatbot that seemingly matches US peers at a fraction of the cost.
Thursday鈥檚 results came as China battles slowing economic growth, with weak consumption adding to high youth unemployment and a debt crisis in the crucial property sector.
Beijing has unveiled a string of measures designed to stimulate spending, from rate cuts to easing restrictions on home purchases.
In a rare meeting with business leaders this week, Xi acknowledged the challenges faced by the private sector but called them 鈥榯emporary rather than long-term, and surmountable rather than unsolvable鈥�.
Xi lauded China鈥檚 socialist market system and called on entrepreneurs to 鈥榰nify鈥� around the ruling Communist Party鈥檚 policies, urging them to 鈥榮ee the prospects, see the light, and see the future鈥�, state media reported.
A surprise participant at the meeting was Ma, the Alibaba co-founder who remains one of China鈥檚 most recognisable business luminaries but has kept a low profile in recent years.
The charismatic billionaire once spoke boldly about the shortcomings of China鈥檚 financial and regulatory systems but has held his tongue in recent years following Xi鈥檚 sweeping crackdown on the tech sector and the scuttling of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group鈥檚 IPO.
Ma is no longer an executive at Alibaba but is believed to retain a significant shareholding in the company.
State media showed him applauding as Xi entered the meeting hall and shaking hands with the Chinese leader, but did not say whether he addressed the conference and published no remarks from him.