Disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 are likely to remain a concern for Alibaba's domestic businesses.
The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (Chinese: 阿里巴巴, NYSE:BABA) reported second quarter fiscal 2023 earnings results recently. The financial report showed that its total revenue stood at CNY 207.18 billion (USD 29 million) during the July-September period, only up 3% year-on-year. Its net loss was CNY 22,467 million, compared to net income of CNY 3,377 million in the same quarter of 2021, primarily attributable to an increase in net losses arising from the decrease in market prices of its equity investments in publicly-traded companies and a decrease in share of results of equity method investees, partly offset by the increase in adjusted EBITA.
For the first time, both Alibaba and rival JD.com did not reveal gross merchandise volume (GMV) data from China's Double 11 Shopping Festival. Alibaba said its total GMV was in line with its performance last year during the same period.
Revenues by Segments
China Commerce (65% of total revenues): The segment comprises marketplaces operating in China's retail and wholesale commerce markets. Alibaba generated CNY 135.4 billion (USD19 billion) of revenues from the segment, which fell 1% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reported figure.
International Commerce(8% of total revenues): The segment comprises marketplaces operating in the international retail and wholesale commerce markets. Alibaba generated CNY 15.7 billion (USD2.2 billion) revenues from the segment, which grew 4% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reported figure.
Local consumer services (6% of total revenues): Revenues grossed CNY 13.1 billion (USD1.8 billion), up 21% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reported figure. The rise was driven by strong order growth of the Amap business.
Cainiao logistics services (7% of total revenues): Revenues summed CNY 13.4 billion (USD 1.9 billion), up 36% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reported figure. The upside was led by strong momentum across domestic consumer logistics services.
Cloud Computing (10% of total revenues): The segment generated revenues of CNY 20.8 billion (USD 2.9 billion), up 4% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reading, aided by solid momentum across financial services, public services and telecommunication industries.
Digital Media and Entertainment (4% of total revenues): Revenues logged CNY 8.4 billion (USD1.2 billion), increasing 4% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reported figure. The increment resulted from revenue growth of Alibaba Pictures and Youku businesses.
Innovation Initiatives and Others (0.6% of total revenues): Revenues from the segment were CNY 409 million (USD 57 million), down 45% from the year-ago fiscal quarter's reported figure.
The domestic rivals of the firm include JD.com Inc (Chinese: 京东集团, HK:9618) and PDD (Chinese: 拼多多, NASDAQ:PDD). As of press time, Alibaba closed at USD 80.48 apiece, with a market cap of USD 213.1 billion.