Alibaba said it is working on a rival to ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot that has caused excitement across the world. Alibaba said its own product is currently undergoing internal testing.
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Alibaba reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter that smashed expectations, sending U.S.-listed shares soaring 6% higher.
Here’s how Alibaba did in its fiscal third quarter, which ran from Oct. to Dec. 2022, versus Refinitiv consensus estimates:
- Revenue: 247.76 billion Chinese yuan vs 245.18 billion Chinese yuan expected, up 2% year-on-year
- Earnings per American depositary share: 19.26 yuan vs 16.26 yuan expected, up 14% year-on-year.
- Net income: 46.82 billion yuan vs 34.02 billion yuan, up 69% year-on-year.
Around $600 billion has been wiped off the value of Alibaba since its peak in October 2020, as a tightening regulatory environment on tech firms in China along with China’s strict Covid-19 control policies, and subsequent economic slowdown, hit the e-commerce giant.
Alibaba shares in Hong Kong on Thursday closed higher ahead of earnings, as investors bet that China’s economic reopening will help boost consumer sentiment and spending, which will ultimately help the e-commerce giant. During the December quarter, China abruptly ended its strict Covid controls such as lockdowns, although this is not likely to be fully reflected in the quarter.
Meanwhile, China’s regulatory tightening of the past two years is beginning to ease, as enforcement of the rules becomes more predictable.
Revenue from Alibaba’s biggest business, the China commerce division, which includes its popular marketplace Taobao, totaled 169.99 billion yuan, down by 1% year-on-year. The drop was driven by a 9% year-on-year decline in customer management revenue, obtained from services such as marketing that Alibaba sells to merchants on its Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms.
Alibaba said that gross merchandise volume — or the value of transactions…
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