Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA; HKEX: 9988) — research brief (BMC #083 on gallery, queue id 82)

Prepared 2026-10-11 (America/Chicago). Labels: FACT = stated by the company in its results announcements (unaudited, reviewed by its audit committee) or annual report. SECONDARY = press report. INFERENCE = ratios computed by this project from company numbers.

Sources (accessed 2026-10-11)

March quarter 2026 and fiscal year 2026 results (filed with the SEC, May 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1577552/000110465926060224/tm2614494d1_ex99-1.htm
June quarter 2026 results (Aug 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1577552/000110465926099220/tm2623667d1_ex99-1.htm
Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report (business description; customer management revenue charging bases): https://static.alibabagroup.com/reports/fy2024/ar/ebook/EN/index.html
Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance (0.6% software service fee, SECONDARY): https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-shares-jump-plans-boost-061012116.html
Logo: project monogram ("A" on an orange tile), not Alibaba's official mark. Trademark of its owner; identification only.

Teaching arc

Run the marketplaces without owning most of the goods and charge merchants for traffic (customer management revenue), then spend the profits on quick commerce subsidies, user experience and AI infrastructure — so revenue grows 3% while operating income falls 64% and capex runs ahead of cash flow, betting that cloud and AI become the next engine.

Key numbers (FACT unless noted). Fiscal year ends Mar 31; RMB millions; US$ = company convenience translation

FY2026 (year ended Mar 31, 2026)

Revenue 1,023,670 (US$148,401), +3% vs 996,347; +11% excluding Sun Art and Intime.
Alibaba China E-commerce Group 554,217 (+9%): customer management 343,867 (+5%; +7% like-for-like excluding the business development program contra revenue); direct sales, logistics and others 105,518 (+2%); quick commerce 78,520 (+47%); China commerce wholesale 26,312 (+8%).
Alibaba International Digital Commerce 144,170 (+9%): retail 117,731 (+9%), wholesale 26,439 (+11%).
Cloud Intelligence 158,132 (US$22,924), +34%; external customers +33%. All others 254,367 (-25%). Unallocated 2,340. Inter-segment elimination -89,556.
Adjusted EBITA 76,416 (-56%): China E-commerce 107,509 (-44%); International -2,051 (vs -15,137); Cloud 14,265 (+35%); All others -35,737.
Income from operations 50,150 (US$7,270), -64%. Net income 102,127 (US$14,805), -19%; attributable 105,904; non-GAAP net income 60,658 (-62%). Goodwill impairment 9,515 (vs 6,171).
Cost of revenue 616,136 (60.2%); product development 66,533 (6.5%); sales and marketing 245,023 (23.9% vs 144,021, 14.5%); G&A 33,082 (3.2%); share-based compensation 14,821.
Operating cash flow 76,213 (-53%); capex 126,063; free cash flow -46,609 (vs +73,870). Cash and other liquid investments 520,824 (US$75,504). Employees 131,462. FY26 dividend US$1.05 per ADS (~US$2.5B).
Shares of revenue and capex/OCF ratio (33.6% customer management; ~1.65x) are INFERENCE.

March quarter 2026: revenue 243,380 (+3%); customer management +1% (+8% like-for-like); Cloud 41,626 (+38%), external +40%, AI-related products 8,971 (11th straight quarter of triple-digit growth); 88VIP members over 62 million; Model Studio customers up eight-fold; over 100,000 Zhenwu PPUs on public cloud; 30+ automakers/autonomous-driving firms.

June quarter 2026: revenue 268,953 (US$39,639), +9%; customer management 82,547 (-7%; +1% like-for-like); AI Cloud and Compute Services 48,437 (+45%), AI-related products 12,376; China quick commerce 53,295 (+45%); income from operations 15,161 (-57%); adjusted EBITA 27,329 (-30%); net income 10,444 (-75%); OCF 22,945; free cash flow -44,670; cash and liquid investments 474,505 (US$69,933). Segments were regrouped in 2026 into Alibaba E-commerce Group, AI Cloud and Compute Services (Cloud plus T-Head) and AI Labs and Applications.

Cautions

Results announcements are unaudited. Fiscal years are not calendar years (FY26 ended Mar 31, 2026).
Segment structures changed (Cainiao, Amap, media moved to All others in FY26; further regrouping in 2026), so segment trends are not like-for-like with older filings.
Net income includes large equity-investment and disposal gains; non-GAAP net income is much lower.
The 0.6% software service fee is SECONDARY (Bloomberg); Alibaba does not publish a take rate or GMV in these announcements.

# Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA; HKEX: 9988) — research brief (BMC #083 on gallery, queue id 82) Prepared 2026-10-11 (America/Chicago). Labels: **FACT** = stated by the company in its results announcements (unaudited, reviewed by its audit committee) or annual report. **SECONDARY** = press report. **INFERENCE** = ratios computed by this project from company numbers. ## Sources (accessed 2026-10-11) - March quarter 2026 and fiscal year 2026 results (filed with the SEC, May 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1577552/000110465926060224/tm2614494d1_ex99-1.htm - June quarter 2026 results (Aug 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1577552/000110465926099220/tm2623667d1_ex99-1.htm - Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report (business description; customer management revenue charging bases): https://static.alibabagroup.com/reports/fy2024/ar/ebook/EN/index.html - Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance (0.6% software service fee, SECONDARY): https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-shares-jump-plans-boost-061012116.html - Logo: project monogram ("A" on an orange tile), **not** Alibaba's official mark. Trademark of its owner; identification only. ## Teaching arc **Run the marketplaces without owning most of the goods and charge merchants for traffic (customer management revenue), then spend the profits on quick commerce subsidies, user experience and AI infrastructure — so revenue grows 3% while operating income falls 64% and capex runs ahead of cash flow, betting that cloud and AI become the next engine.** ## Key numbers (FACT unless noted). Fiscal year ends Mar 31; RMB millions; US$ = company convenience translation **FY2026 (year ended Mar 31, 2026)** - Revenue 1,023,670 (US$148,401), +3% vs 996,347; +11% excluding Sun Art and Intime. - Alibaba China E-commerce Group 554,217 (+9%): customer management 343,867 (+5%; +7% like-for-like excluding the business development program contra revenue); direct sales, logistics and others 105,518 (+2%); quick commerce 78,520 (+47%); China commerce wholesale 26,312 (+8%). - Alibaba International Digital Commerce 144,170 (+9%): retail 117,731 (+9%), wholesale 26,439 (+11%). - Cloud Intelligence 158,132 (US$22,924), +34%; external customers +33%. All others 254,367 (-25%). Unallocated 2,340. Inter-segment elimination -89,556. - Adjusted EBITA 76,416 (-56%): China E-commerce 107,509 (-44%); International -2,051 (vs -15,137); Cloud 14,265 (+35%); All others -35,737. - Income from operations 50,150 (US$7,270), -64%. Net income 102,127 (US$14,805), -19%; attributable 105,904; non-GAAP net income 60,658 (-62%). Goodwill impairment 9,515 (vs 6,171). - Cost of revenue 616,136 (60.2%); product development 66,533 (6.5%); sales and marketing 245,023 (23.9% vs 144,021, 14.5%); G&A 33,082 (3.2%); share-based compensation 14,821. - Operating cash flow 76,213 (-53%); capex 126,063; free cash flow -46,609 (vs +73,870). Cash and other liquid investments 520,824 (US$75,504). Employees 131,462. FY26 dividend US$1.05 per ADS (~US$2.5B). - Shares of revenue and capex/OCF ratio (33.6% customer management; ~1.65x) are **INFERENCE**. **March quarter 2026**: revenue 243,380 (+3%); customer management +1% (+8% like-for-like); Cloud 41,626 (+38%), external +40%, AI-related products 8,971 (11th straight quarter of triple-digit growth); 88VIP members over 62 million; Model Studio customers up eight-fold; over 100,000 Zhenwu PPUs on public cloud; 30+ automakers/autonomous-driving firms. **June quarter 2026**: revenue 268,953 (US$39,639), +9%; customer management 82,547 (-7%; +1% like-for-like); AI Cloud and Compute Services 48,437 (+45%), AI-related products 12,376; China quick commerce 53,295 (+45%); income from operations 15,161 (-57%); adjusted EBITA 27,329 (-30%); net income 10,444 (-75%); OCF 22,945; free cash flow -44,670; cash and liquid investments 474,505 (US$69,933). Segments were regrouped in 2026 into Alibaba E-commerce Group, AI Cloud and Compute Services (Cloud plus T-Head) and AI Labs and Applications. ## Cautions - Results announcements are unaudited. Fiscal years are not calendar years (FY26 ended Mar 31, 2026). - Segment structures changed (Cainiao, Amap, media moved to All others in FY26; further regrouping in 2026), so segment trends are not like-for-like with older filings. - Net income includes large equity-investment and disposal gains; non-GAAP net income is much lower. - The 0.6% software service fee is SECONDARY (Bloomberg); Alibaba does not publish a take rate or GMV in these announcements.