Alibaba stock jumps nearly 8% as AI spending exceeds $56B
Alibaba just got a big boost: its U.S.-listed shares jumped nearly 8% to $145.47 after the company revealed it's going above its massive $56 billion AI investment target.
Early results are already showing up, especially in cloud computing, helping drive this surge.
Alibaba Cloud revenue up 38%
Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Group saw revenue shoot up 38% in the March quarter to about $6.1 billion.
CEO Eddie Wu shared that their AI spending is "beginning to pay off commercially," but profits took a hit because of heavy investment in tech and quick-commerce projects.
Right now, AI products make up 30% of Alibaba Cloud's external revenue and are expected to cross 50% within a year.
To boost margins and stay ahead, Alibaba enhanced its Qwen chatbot and separated its AI business from cloud services (smart moves for future growth).