Alibaba runs consumer marketplaces in China and abroad and charges the merchants who sell on them, mainly for traffic: customer management fees billed per click, per thousand impressions, per period or as a share of the value sold, with Tmall commissions typically between 0.1% and 5.0% and, since September 2024, a software service fee on completed transactions. Around that core sit businesses where Alibaba is itself the seller, a delivery and local-services platform, a cloud business billed on consumption or subscription, and smaller units. The segment structure changed during the year: Taobao and Tmall, Ele.me and Fliggy were merged into Alibaba China E-commerce Group, while Cainiao, Amap and digital media moved into All others, with comparatives reclassified.
The business in one page
Revenue was RMB 1,023,670 million, up 2.74% — 11% on a like-for-like basis according to the company, which removes the sold Sun Art and Intime, without giving the underlying figures. The gross margin held at 39.81%. Customer management revenue, the core fee, grew 5.23% to RMB 343,867 million; Cloud grew 33.98% to RMB 158,132 million with its EBITA up 35.14%; quick commerce grew 46.53%; and international commerce cut its loss from RMB 15,137 million to RMB 2,051 million. Net cash was RMB 260,828 million and employees 131,462, against 204,891 two years earlier.
Three things sit against that. Operating income fell 64.41%, from RMB 140,905 million to RMB 50,150 million, because sales and marketing rose RMB 101,002 million — 3.70 times the increase in revenue — of which RMB 100,673 million is advertising and promotion, up 88.64%, which the document does not split between quick commerce, the Taobao marketplace and the Qwen app. Operating cash flow fell 53.39% and free cash flow turned negative at RMB −49,850 million against capex of RMB 126,063 million and off-balance-sheet commitments up 137.53% to RMB 200,062 million. And investment items supplied 57.51% of pre-tax income: net income without them was RMB 35,435 million, 34.70% of the reported figure.
Figures for 3 fiscal years, taken from the Key Metrics tables of each annual report. When a later filing restates a figure, we use the figure reported for that year's own filing.
Key metrics
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥941.2B | ¥996.3B | ¥1,023.7B |
| Gross margin | 37.7% | 40.0% | 39.8% |
| Operating margin | 12.0% | 14.1% | 4.9% |
| Net margin (GAAP) | 8.5% | 13.1% | 10.1% |
| Operating cash flow | ¥182.6B | ¥163.5B | ¥76.2B |
| Capex | ¥32.1B | ¥86.0B | ¥126.1B |
| Free cash flow | ¥150.5B | ¥77.5B | -¥49.9B |
| Stock-based compensation | ¥18.5B | ¥15.6B | ¥14.8B |
| Dividends + buybacks | ¥106.7B | ¥115.7B | ¥41.4B |
| Net cash | – | ¥366.4B | ¥260.8B |
| Total debt | – | ¥248.1B | ¥281.7B |
| Shareholders’ equity | – | ¥1,078.4B | ¥1,118.4B |
| Effective tax rate | 22.2% | 22.8% | 23.2% |
| Our construction: NOPAT at a 25% rate on year-end invested capital | – | 31.9% | 9.0% |
How Alibaba Group Holding Limited makes money
Competitive advantage
The measurable part is narrow: customer management revenue grew 5.23% to RMB 343,867 million, which the document attributes to an improved take rate — while disclosing neither the take rate nor the GMV behind it.
Retention of 88VIP members, the highest-spending users, is described only as a similar level to the prior year.
Product development spending rose 16.42% to 6.50% of revenue in a year when operating income fell by almost two thirds, so research was not cut under pressure.
The rest is the company's own description — largest retail commerce business by GMV, largest Chinese public cloud provider — attributed to third-party research houses. The document also shows a dependence: Alipay, owned by the equity investee Ant Group, processes payments for a significant majority of commerce at a cost of RMB 18,019 million. Whether the advantage is widening or narrowing cannot be established.
Pricing power
Both directions appear, in different places. On the marketplaces the company describes a higher take rate and a new GMV-based software fee, and customer management revenue grew faster than consolidated revenue.
In quick commerce the reverse: revenue is reported net of subsidies treated as contra revenue, so part of the subsidy cost never appears as an expense, and the amount is not quantified.
Group-wide, advertising and promotional expenses rose 88.64% to RMB 214,246 million, 87.44% of sales and marketing.
The evidence therefore supports pricing power on merchants and the opposite on consumers, where Alibaba is buying demand.
Transparency of growth
Acquisitions were negligible: business combinations added RMB 2,297 million of goodwill and no pro forma results were presented because they were not material.
The distortion runs the other way: the sale of Sun Art and Intime removed revenue, so sales of goods fell 16.96% and All others fell 24.82%. The company quantifies like-for-like growth at 11% without providing the underlying figures.
Quick-commerce revenue rose RMB 24,932 million after the launch of Taobao Instant Commerce at the end of April 2025; that increase equals 24.77% of the year's increase in advertising and promotion.
In Cloud, revenue from related parties grew faster than the segment: Ant Group up 72.18% to RMB 19,134 million and other investees up 108.90% to RMB 9,415 million, together 18.05% of segment revenue. Cash spent on securities rose from RMB 10,342 million to RMB 63,753 million, and the investees are not named, so the two cannot be checked against each other.
Scalability
Not this year, and the cause sits in one line. Revenue grew 2.74% and cost of revenue 2.98%, so the gross margin held at 39.81%; general and administrative expenses fell 25.22% and product development rose 16.42%.
Sales and marketing rose 70.13%, an increase of RMB 101,002 million — 3.70 times the increase in revenue — which the document attributes to investment in user experiences and to user acquisition for the Qwen app, without amounts.
The segment view shows where it landed: China E-commerce added RMB 45,837 million of revenue and RMB 131,551 million of costs, and its EBITA fell RMB 85,714 million; All others, which carries the Qwen consumer business, widened its loss by RMB 26,238 million.
The business has not lost operating leverage in its cost of serving: it has added a marketing line whose size is a management decision. What the document does not show is whether the promotion can be withdrawn without losing the orders it bought.
Catalysts identified in the filing
- Capacity already under contract
Capital commitments of RMB 54,136 million, RMB 53,484 million of them within a year, plus co-location and bandwidth commitments. It will reach either Cloud revenue or Cloud depreciation, and the document gives no date.
- A valuation allowance that could reverse
RMB 72,161 million sits as a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets; the document states that if realisation becomes more certain, income tax expense will fall.
- Listed equity coming free to sell
RMB 41,800 million of listed equity whose sale restrictions lapse within twelve months of March 31, 2026, adding to disposable liquidity.
- An unused repurchase authorisation
US$19,050 million remains authorised through March 2027, unused since August 2025. Repurchases fell from RMB 86,662 million to RMB 7,638 million in the year.
- International commerce near break-even
The loss narrowed from RMB 15,137 million to RMB 2,051 million. The regulator's review of quick-commerce subsidies, whose outcome the document does not predict, bears on the line that changed most this year.
Financial analysis
Click any line to chart it.
| Income statement · ¥ millions | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | Where in the filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 941,168 | 996,347 | 1,023,670 | IS, Revenue |
| % change year on year | – | 5.9% | 2.7% | computed |
| Cost of revenue | (586,323) | (598,285) | (616,136) | IS |
| Gross profit (calculated) | 354,845 | 398,062 | 407,534 | Revenue − cost of revenue |
| % gross margin | 37.7% | 40.0% | 39.8% | computed |
| Product development expenses | (52,256) | (57,151) | (66,533) | IS |
| Sales and marketing expenses | (115,141) | (144,021) | (245,023) | IS |
| General and administrative expenses | (41,985) | (44,239) | (33,082) | IS |
| Amortization and impairment of intangible assets | (21,592) | (6,336) | (5,079) | IS |
| Impairment of goodwill | (10,521) | (6,171) | (9,515) | IS; N17 |
| Other gains, net | – | 761 | 1,848 | IS |
| Income from operations | 113,350 | 140,905 | 50,150 | IS |
| % operating margin | 12.0% | 14.1% | 4.9% | computed |
| Interest and investment income, net | (9,964) | 20,759 | 87,512 | IS |
| Interest expense | (7,947) | (9,596) | (9,793) | IS |
| Other income, net | 6,157 | 3,387 | 1,518 | IS |
| Income before income tax and share of equity method investees | 101,596 | 155,455 | 129,387 | IS |
| Income tax expenses | (22,529) | (35,445) | (30,045) | IS; N7 |
| Share of results of equity method investees | (7,735) | 5,966 | 2,785 | IS |
| Net income | 71,332 | 125,976 | 102,127 | IS |
| % net margin | 7.6% | 12.6% | 10.0% | computed |
| Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests | 8,677 | 4,133 | 1,465 | IS |
| Net income attributable to Alibaba Group Holding Limited | 80,009 | 130,109 | 103,592 | IS |
| (Accretion) / reversal of accretion of mezzanine equity | (268) | (639) | 2,312 | IS |
| Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders | 79,741 | 129,470 | 105,904 | IS |
| EPS basic (RMB per share) | 4 | 7 | 6 | IS; N9 |
| EPS diluted (RMB per share) | 4 | 7 | 6 | IS; N9 |
| EPS basic (RMB per ADS) | 32 | 55 | 46 | IS; N9 |
| EPS diluted (RMB per ADS) | 31 | 54 | 44 | IS; N9 |
| Weighted average shares, basic (million) | 20,182 | 18,791 | 18,568 | IS; N9 |
| Weighted average shares, diluted (million) | 20,359 | 19,318 | 19,235 | IS; N9 |
| Shares outstanding at year-end (cover / BS) | not available | 18,474,235,708 | 18,580,374,278 | Cover; BS |
| Interest income (inside interest and investment income) | 24,868 | 20,449 | 18,806 | N2(ah) |
| Advertising and promotional expenses (inside S&M) | 88,217 | 113,573 | 214,246 | N2(j) |
| Depreciation expense | 23,344 | 24,515 | 34,963 | N15 |
| Share-based compensation, total (cash + non-cash) | 18,546 | 15,577 | 14,821 | N8(c); Item 5 |
| — of which non-cash (equity-settled) | 18,546 | 13,970 | 11,180 | CF; Item 5 non-GAAP |
| Employees (full-time, March 31) | 204,891 | 124,320 | 131,462 | Item 6.D |
| Balance sheet · ¥ millions | FY2025 | FY2026 | Where in the filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 145,487 | 131,530 | BS |
| Short-term investments | 228,826 | 155,310 | BS; N2(q) |
| — of which unrestricted | 228,169 | 155,236 | N2(q) |
| Restricted cash and escrow receivables | 43,781 | 42,038 | BS; N10 |
| Equity securities and other investments, current | 53,780 | 30,054 | BS |
| Prepayments, receivables and other assets, current | 202,175 | 251,837 | BS; N13 |
| Total current assets | 674,049 | 610,769 | BS |
| Equity securities and other investments, non-current | 356,818 | 449,942 | BS |
| Prepayments, receivables and other assets, non-current | 83,431 | 94,996 | BS; N13 |
| Investments in equity method investees | 210,169 | 206,803 | BS; N14 |
| Property and equipment, net | 203,348 | 282,699 | BS; N15 |
| Intangible assets, net | 20,911 | 16,983 | BS; N16 |
| Goodwill | 255,501 | 247,378 | BS; N17 |
| Total assets | 1,804,227 | 1,909,570 | BS |
| Current bank borrowings | 22,562 | 28,224 | BS; N21 |
| Income tax payable | 11,638 | 10,630 | BS |
| Accrued expenses, accounts payable and other liabilities | 332,537 | 359,893 | BS; N19 |
| Merchant deposits | 274 | 236 | BS |
| Deferred revenue and customer advances, current | 68,335 | 77,415 | BS; N18 |
| Total current liabilities | 435,346 | 476,398 | BS |
| Deferred revenue, non-current | 4,536 | 4,885 | BS |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 48,454 | 46,060 | BS; N7 |
| Non-current bank borrowings | 49,909 | 47,450 | BS; N21 |
| Non-current unsecured senior notes | 122,398 | 117,485 | BS; N22 |
| Non-current convertible unsecured senior notes | 35,834 | 55,861 | BS; N23 |
| Non-current exchangeable bonds | – | 10,976 | BS; N24 |
| Other liabilities | 17,644 | 24,185 | BS; N19 |
| Total liabilities | 714,121 | 783,300 | BS |
| Mezzanine equity | 11,713 | 7,845 | BS |
| Additional paid-in capital | 381,379 | 385,086 | BS |
| Treasury shares, at cost | (36,329) | (36,141) | BS |
| Statutory reserves | 15,936 | 16,628 | BS |
| Cumulative translation adjustments | 3,286 | (13,404) | BS |
| Unrealized gains on interest rate swaps and others | 107 | 334 | BS |
| Retained earnings | 645,478 | 708,382 | BS |
| Total shareholders' equity | 1,009,858 | 1,060,886 | BS |
| Noncontrolling interests | 68,535 | 57,539 | BS |
| Total equity | 1,078,393 | 1,118,425 | BS |
| Total shareholders' equity at March 31, 2024 | 986,544 | – | SE |
| Cash flow statement · ¥ millions | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | Where in the filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net income | 71,332 | 125,976 | 102,127 | CF |
| Revaluation (gain) loss on previously held equity interest | – | (628) | 99 | CF |
| Loss on disposals of equity method investees | 10 | 27 | 529 | CF |
| Loss (gain) related to equity securities and other investments | 23,480 | (28,652) | (66,089) | CF |
| Change in fair value of other assets and liabilities | (708) | 590 | (992) | CF |
| (Gain) loss on disposals of subsidiaries | (1,550) | 21,509 | (8,387) | CF |
| Depreciation and impairment of PP&E, and land-use-right lease cost | 26,640 | 29,260 | 37,067 | CF |
| Amortization of intangible assets and licensed copyrights | 17,864 | 13,199 | 10,051 | CF |
| Equity-settled share-based compensation | 18,546 | 13,970 | 11,180 | CF |
| Impairment of equity securities and other investments | 12,244 | 8,801 | 7,724 | CF |
| Impairment of goodwill, intangible assets and licensed copyrights | 22,610 | 6,805 | 11,244 | CF |
| Gain on disposals of PP&E | (107) | (784) | (1,848) | CF |
| Share of results of equity method investees | 7,735 | (5,966) | (2,785) | CF |
| Deferred income taxes | (5,263) | 374 | (2,528) | CF |
| Allowance for doubtful accounts | 3,509 | 3,016 | 1,368 | CF |
| Prepayments, receivables and other assets, and long-term licensed copyrights | (37,621) | (50,590) | (67,931) | CF |
| Income tax payable | (4,764) | 1,968 | (1,973) | CF |
| Accrued expenses, accounts payable and other liabilities | 27,126 | 25,873 | 37,933 | CF |
| Merchant deposits | (560) | (12,463) | (38) | CF |
| Deferred revenue and customer advances | 2,070 | 11,224 | 9,462 | CF |
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 182,593 | 163,509 | 76,213 | CF |
| Acquisition of land use rights, property and equipment (capex) | (32,087) | (85,972) | (126,063) | CF; Item 5.B |
| Acquisition of intangible assets | (842) | – | (874) | CF |
| Decrease in short-term investments, net | 71,426 | 23,395 | 42,235 | CF |
| Increase in other treasury investments, net | (64,392) | (126,041) | (12,687) | CF |
| Settlement of forward exchange contracts, net | 658 | (335) | 229 | CF |
| Acquisitions of equity and debt securities, and others | (15,240) | (10,342) | (63,753) | CF |
| Disposals of equity and debt securities, and others | 21,966 | 18,214 | 80,685 | CF |
| Acquisitions of equity method investees | (3,525) | (3,822) | (3,723) | CF |
| Disposals of and distributions from equity method investees | 1,265 | 1,520 | 5,627 | CF |
| Disposals of property and equipment | 373 | 2,428 | 541 | CF |
| Cash (paid) received for business combinations, net of cash acquired | (2,204) | 353 | (1,212) | CF |
| Deconsolidation and disposal of subsidiaries, net of cash proceeds | 699 | (5,077) | 11,421 | CF |
| Loans to employees, net of repayments | 79 | 264 | 238 | CF |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (21,824) | (185,415) | (67,336) | CF |
| Issuance of ordinary shares | 843 | 10 | 1,042 | CF |
| Repurchase of ordinary shares | (88,745) | (86,662) | (7,638) | CF |
| Dividend distribution | (17,946) | (29,077) | (33,732) | CF |
| Acquisition of additional equity interests in non-wholly owned subsidiaries | (5,821) | (21,949) | (16,768) | CF |
| Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests | (546) | (664) | (1,317) | CF |
| Contingent consideration payments after business combinations and others | (71) | (197) | (232) | CF |
| Capital injection from noncontrolling interests | 1,577 | 2,402 | 349 | CF |
| Proceeds from bank and other borrowings | 20,570 | 52,788 | 84,228 | CF |
| Repayment of bank borrowings | (13,092) | (43,678) | (78,458) | CF |
| Proceeds from convertible senior notes, net | – | 35,665 | 22,276 | CF |
| Payments for capped call transactions | – | (4,612) | (1,309) | CF |
| Proceeds from exchangeable bonds, net | – | – | 10,986 | CF |
| Proceeds from unsecured senior notes, net | – | 35,979 | – | CF |
| Repayment of unsecured senior notes | (5,013) | (16,220) | – | CF |
| Net cash used in financing activities | (108,244) | (76,215) | (20,573) | CF |
| Effect of exchange rate changes | 4,389 | 965 | (4,004) | CF |
| Change in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and escrow | 56,914 | (97,156) | (15,700) | CF |
| Free cash flow (CFO − capex), used in the report | 150,506 | 77,537 | (49,850) | calc. |
| Income tax paid in cash | 32,486 | 33,409 | 34,013 | N7 |
| Interest paid | 7,832 | 8,866 | 9,384 | CF supplemental |
| Per share · ¥ per diluted share | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | Where in the filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 46.63 | 53.02 | 55.13 | computed |
| Net income | 3.96 | 6.92 | 5.58 | computed |
| Free cash flow | 7.46 | 4.13 | (2.68) | computed |
| Shareholders' equity | – | 57.39 | 60.23 | computed |
Computed on the weighted average diluted share count the filing reports (18,568 in FY2026, 18,791 in FY2025, 20,182 in FY2024, in millions), checked against the diluted earnings per share printed in the filing.
| Ratios · percent | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | Where in the filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Returns and margins | ||||
| Revenue growth | – | 5.9% | 2.7% | computed |
| Gross margin | 37.7% | 40.0% | 39.8% | from the statements |
| Operating margin | 12.0% | 14.1% | 4.9% | from the statements |
| Net margin | 8.5% | 13.1% | 10.1% | from the statements |
| Our construction: NOPAT at a 25% rate on year-end invested capital | – | 31.9% | 9.0% | our construction |
| Effective tax rate | 22.2% | 22.8% | 23.2% | from the statements |
| Cash | ||||
| Operating cash flow / revenue | 19.4% | 16.4% | 7.4% | computed |
| Capital expenditure / revenue | 3.4% | 8.6% | 12.3% | computed |
| Free cash flow / revenue | 16.0% | 7.8% | -4.9% | computed |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1.4% | computed |
| Dividends and buybacks / free cash flow | 70.9% | 149.3% | -83.0% | computed |
| Balance sheet | ||||
| Total debt / equity | – | 23.0% | 25.2% | computed |
| Net cash / equity | – | 34.0% | 23.3% | computed |
Every ratio is computed from the figures in the statements on the left; none is a target or a benchmark.
The three statements as the filing presents them, with the note or schedule each line comes from. Percentage rows are computed from the lines above them; nothing is restated. Negative figures are the ones the filing itself signs as negative.
Key risks
The main weaknesses and risks identified in the latest annual report, in the order the report presents them.
- Operating income fell by almost two thirds
From RMB 140,905 million to RMB 50,150 million, a fall of 64.41%, as sales and marketing rose 70.13% to 23.94% of revenue — an increase of RMB 101,002 million, 3.70 times the increase in revenue. Advertising and promotion alone rose 88.64% to RMB 214,246 million, and the document gives no split between quick commerce, the Taobao marketplace and the Qwen app.
- Free cash flow turned negative
Operating cash flow fell 53.39% to RMB 76,213 million while revenue rose, and capex of RMB 126,063 million — the highest of the three years — left free cash flow at RMB −49,850 million against RMB +77,537 million. Off-balance-sheet commitments rose 137.53% to RMB 200,062 million on top of it.
- Most of the profit is not the business
Investment items supplied 57.51% of pre-tax income, with RMB 124,979 million carried at management's marks. Net income excluding them was RMB 35,435 million, 34.70% of the reported figure, which makes the headline price-to-earnings ratio a poor description of the operating business.
- Working capital moved in ways the document does not explain
Advances to and receivables from customers and merchants rose 71.15% against revenue at 2.74%, an unexplained increase of RMB 37,695 million to RMB 90,671 million. Receivables grew 15.55% while the allowance for doubtful accounts fell 13.04%.
- Part of the growth is bought, and part is sold to related parties
Quick-commerce revenue is reported net of subsidies treated as contra revenue, an amount the document does not quantify, while the regulator has been scrutinising quick-commerce platforms for aggressive subsidies since early 2026. In Cloud, revenue from Ant Group rose 72.18% and from other investees 108.90%, together 18.05% of segment revenue and 32.24% of its increase.
Open questions the filing does not answer
- What did quick commerce earn or lose, and how much of the RMB 214,246 million of advertising and promotion went to it, to the Taobao marketplace and to the Qwen app?
- What are the advances of RMB 90,671 million to customers, merchants and others, and why did they rise RMB 37,695 million?
- Which investees received the RMB 63,753 million spent on equity and debt securities, and do any of them buy cloud services?
- What utilisation and what return does the company expect from the committed computing capacity behind RMB 200,062 million of commitments?
- What is the take rate and the GMV behind customer management revenue? The document attributes the growth to an improved take rate without disclosing either.
- How much subsidy is netted against quick-commerce revenue as contra revenue, and therefore never appears as a cost?
The fall in operating income looks like chosen spending rather than lost earning power: the gross margin held, customer management revenue grew 5.23%, and the rise in advertising and promotion is larger than the whole fall in operating income. What the document cannot show is whether that spending can be withdrawn without losing what it bought, because it reports neither the quick-commerce result nor its volumes. Removing net cash and investments from the market value leaves RMB 1,298,229.5 million for the operating businesses: 16.99 times FY2026 adjusted EBITA and 9.21 times FY2025 operating income. The same price is a high multiple of this year's operating earnings and a moderate one of last year's, and which base applies is exactly the question the document does not settle.
The capital behind the year is not yet earning: return on invested capital fell to 9.03% from 31.93%, the incremental return is negative, and Cloud's EBITA margin barely moved as its depreciation grew 81.77% against revenue at 33.98%. Two further things qualify the growth. Cloud revenue from Ant Group and other investees rose 72.18% and 108.90% to a combined 18.05% of segment revenue and 32.24% of its increase, in a year when cash spent on securities rose from RMB 10,342 million to RMB 63,753 million without the investees being named. And quick commerce is reported net of subsidies treated as contra revenue, so part of the cost of buying that demand never appears as an expense at all.
Strengths
- Net cash of RMB 260.8 billion, with no covenants on the notes
Liquidity of RMB 286,766 million against gross debt including leases of RMB 281,722 million leaves net cash of RMB 260,828 million excluding leases. Interest income was RMB 18,806 million and EBIT covered interest expense 5.12 times even in this year's depressed profit.
- The core fee kept growing on a stable gross margin
Customer management revenue, what merchants pay for traffic, grew 5.23% to RMB 343,867 million, which the document attributes to an improved take rate and a new GMV-based software fee. The gross margin held at 39.81% against 39.95%, and cost of revenue grew 2.98% against revenue at 2.74%.
- Cloud growing with its margin intact
Cloud revenue rose 33.98% to RMB 158,132 million and its EBITA 35.14%, even as segment depreciation grew 81.77%. Product development across the group rose 16.42% to 6.50% of revenue in a year when operating income fell by almost two thirds: the company did not cut research under pressure.
- International commerce close to break-even
The segment cut its loss from RMB 15,137 million to RMB 2,051 million on revenue of RMB 144,170 million, which the document attributes to AliExpress's operating efficiency.
- Investments and cash are a third of the market value
Net cash and the carrying value of investments equal 35.34% of market value, including RMB 41,800 million of listed equity whose sale restrictions lapse within twelve months, and a US$19,050 million repurchase authorisation runs to March 2027, unused since August 2025.
Last year’s watch-list, checked against this filing
| What we flagged | What happened | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Margin or growth targets stated a year earlier | The 20-F does not restate them and the prior-year filing was not supplied, so the comparison cannot be made on this document. | NOT VERIFIABLE - no earlier filing attached |
| Capital expenditure contracted at the start of the year | RMB 45,321 million was contracted at the start against capex of RMB 126,063 million in the year, so most of the spending was committed during the year itself. | DONE - verifiable from the commitments note |
| FY2025 dividend of about US$4.6 billion | Paid during the year as RMB 33,732 million. | DONE - paid as stated |
| Share repurchase authorisation of US$19,050 million through March 2027 | US$1,046 million used; unused since August 2025, with repurchases down from RMB 86,662 million to RMB 7,638 million. | IN PROGRESS - largely unused |
| Regulatory scrutiny of quick-commerce subsidies, disclosed as a risk factor since early 2026 | Stated in this filing without a predicted outcome; it bears on the line that changed most in the year. | TO BE CHECKED NEXT YEAR |
What to watch in the next filing
- Sales and marketing as a share of revenue, 23.94% in FY2026. It tells whether the year's promotion was a phase or a new cost base.
- The China E-commerce EBITA margin, 19.40% against 38.01% a year earlier. It measures whether the marketplace's earning power returns once the spending changes.
- Cloud depreciation against Cloud revenue, 18.29%. It shows whether the computing assets are being filled with paying demand.
- Investment gains and revaluations against pre-tax income, 57.51%. It measures how far reported profit depends on marks, RMB 124,979 million of which are management's.
- Advances to customers, merchants and others, RMB 90,671 million after an unexplained rise of RMB 37,695 million. It is the largest unexplained movement in the balance sheet.
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