Alibaba shares surge 7% in Hong Kong as firm accelerates pivot to AI
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding rose 7.8% at the start of trading in Hong Kong, following the company's announcement of robust growth in its artificial intelligence offerings and an increased focus on the technology. In New York, the tech giant's stock climbed 8.2% on Wednesday, closing at US$145.81, after revealing that AI-related revenue reached 8.97 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in the first quarter. This segment has experienced triple-digit growth for 11 straight quarters. Alibaba anticipates that annual recurring revenue from AI applications will reach 30 billion yuan by year-end, with AI expected to contribute over 50% of its cloud revenue in the coming year. Total revenue for the first three months of 2026 was 243.4 billion yuan, falling short of the Bloomberg estimate of 246.5 billion yuan, though the cloud unit achieved 38% year-on-year growth to 41.6 billion yuan, marking its sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Key facts
- Alibaba shares opened 7.8% higher in Hong Kong
- New York-listed shares surged 8.2% to US$145.81
- AI-related product revenues hit 8.97 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in Q1
- AI segment has registered triple-digit growth for 11 consecutive quarters
- Annualized recurring revenue from AI expected to reach 30 billion yuan by year-end
- AI products projected to generate over 50% of cloud-computing revenue within next year
- Total revenues reached 243.4 billion yuan, missing Bloomberg estimate of 246.5 billion yuan
- Cloud-computing unit posted 38% year-on-year revenue growth to 41.6 billion yuan
Entities
Institutions
- Alibaba Group Holding
- Bloomberg
Locations
- Hong Kong
- New York