Alibaba's big revenue win: Fast delivery and smart tech pay off

Business Nov 25, 2025

Alibaba just outperformed Wall Street expectations this quarter, mainly by doubling down on speedy one-hour deliveries.
Their cloud business also chipped in, helping push Alibaba's US shares up 2.5% in premarket trading.

What's behind the numbers?

For the second quarter, Alibaba pulled in 247.8 billion yuan ($34.97 billion)—beating what analysts predicted.
The company is betting big on artificial intelligence to boost both its cloud and consumer services, investing heavily in new tech and smarter products.
Facing tough competition from other Chinese retailers, Alibaba is also using strategic pricing and quick delivery to stay ahead, plus it got a lift from government appliance trade-in subsidies (which wrap up at the end of December).