After years of heavy investment, returns are beginning to show up for Alibaba.
The Chinese internet giant’s revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which corresponds to the first calendar quarter, reached RMB 243.38 billion (USD 35.7 billion), up 3% year-on-year (YoY). Excluding revenue from divested businesses such as Sun Art Retail and Intime, comparable revenue grew 11% YoY.
The double-digit comparable revenue growth was driven mainly by Alibaba Cloud. The cloud business continued to grow quickly in the first quarter, with revenue up 38% YoY, broadly in line with market expectations.
Revenue from external customers grew by more than 40% YoY, accelerating from 35% in the previous quarter. AI-related product revenue recorded triple-digit growth for the 11th consecutive quarter, while continued growth in public cloud also contributed to the segment’s performance. E-commerce revenue was comparatively stable, with domestic and international e-commerce each growing 6% YoY.
Alibaba’s profitability weakened amid its current transition phase. The company recorded an operating loss, while adjusted EBITA fell 84% YoY to RMB 5.2 billion (USD 763.4 million) from RMB 32.6 billion (USD 4.8 billion) in the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income fell to RMB 86 million (USD 12.6 million) from RMB 29.85 billion (USD 4.4 billion) a year earlier.
