Alibaba Revenue Surpasses Expectations with AI & Instant Retail Push | November 2025 Earnings

Alibaba Revenue Tops Estimates with Strong Instant Retail and AI Push

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group surpassed analysts’ expectations in its latest quarterly earnings report released on 25 November 2025. The company reported total revenue of CNY 247.80 billion (approximately $34.97 billion), exceeding market estimates of CNY 242.65 billion.

The revenue growth was primarily driven by two strategic fronts — instant retail (one-hour delivery) and artificial intelligence (AI). Alibaba has expanded its one-hour delivery operations to increase customer engagement, particularly on its smart shopping apps. The instant retail sector in China is highly competitive, with major players like JD.com and Meituan attracting customers through subsidies and discounted pricing.

Industry experts estimate that subsidies in this sector have led to total cash outlays of approximately $4 billion. Alibaba itself projects substantial future gains, forecasting that the annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of instant retail could reach CNY 1 trillion over the next three years.

Alibaba’s cloud division also showed strong performance, reporting 34% year-on-year growth, reflecting the growing demand for AI-driven services. Over the past four quarters, the company has invested around CNY 120 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure.

CEO Eddie Wu stated:

> “We are making strategic investments that will create long-term value — in AI technology and infrastructure, and in a consumer platform that integrates everyday services with e-commerce.”

Alibaba also launched a free consumer app based on its Qwen large language model (LLM), which recorded over 10 million downloads in its first week. The company aims to develop Qwen into a comprehensive AI assistant capable of supporting shopping, navigation, travel bookings, education, and other daily activities.

Although revenue performed well, net profit fell by 53% to CNY 20.61 billion, primarily due to heavy subsidies and strategic investments. It is clear that Alibaba is temporarily sacrificing short-term profits to focus on long-term growth. Investment in AI and rapid delivery remains a top priority to strengthen market presence and expand share in the long run.

Alibaba’s current earnings report demonstrates that the company is transforming its e-commerce model through AI and fast delivery. With rapidly growing cloud and AI segments, Alibaba is not only reinforcing its traditional e-commerce operations but also building an integrated, advanced platform for the future.