Alibaba Group Announces December Quarter 2023 Results

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988 (HKD Counter) and 89988 (RMB Counter), “Alibaba” or “Alibaba Group”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

“We delivered a solid quarter as we are executing our focused strategies across the organization. Our top priority is to reignite the growth of our core businesses, e-commerce and cloud computing. We will step up investment to improve users’ core experiences to drive growth in Taobao and Tmall Group and strengthen market leadership in the coming year. We will also focus our resources on developing public cloud products and sustaining the strong growth momentum in international commerce business,” said Eddie Wu, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group.

“Alibaba Group delivered a healthy quarter with revenue growth of 5% year-over-year. We increased our investment in strategic priorities and improved shareholder return by leveraging our strong balance sheet and cash flow. Our board of directors approved an increase of US$25 billion to our share repurchase program, demonstrating our confidence in the outlook of our business and cash flow. Our consistent share repurchase has also reduced outstanding share count while achieving EPS and cash flow per share accretion,” said Toby Xu, Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba Group.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

In the quarter ended December 31, 2023:

• Revenue was RMB260,348 million (US$36,669 million), an increase of 5% year-over-year.

• Income from operations was RMB22,511 million (US$3,171 million), a decrease of 36% year-over-year. The year-over-year decrease was primarily attributable to impairment of intangible assets of Sun Art and impairment of goodwill of Youku. Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP measurement (excluding share-based compensation expense, impairment of intangible assets and goodwill and certain other items), increased 2% year-over-year to RMB52,843 million (US$7,443 million).

• Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB14,433 million (US$2,033 million). Net income was RMB10,717 million (US$1,509 million), a decrease of 77% or RMB35,029 million year-over-year, primarily attributable to mark-to-market changes from our equity investments and the decrease in income from operations due to the impairment as mentioned above. Excluding share-based compensation expense, gains/losses of investments, impairment of intangible assets and goodwill, and certain other items, non-GAAP net income in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB47,951 million (US$6,754 million), a decrease of 4% compared to RMB49,932 million in the same quarter of 2022.

• Diluted earnings per ADS was RMB5.65 (US$0.80) and diluted earnings per share was RMB0.71 (US$0.10 or HK$0.78). Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was RMB18.97 (US$2.67), a decrease of 2% year-over-year and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was RMB2.37 (US$0.33 or HK$2.62), a decrease of 2% year-over-year.

• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB64,716 million (US$9,115 million), a decrease of 26% compared to RMB87,370 million in the same quarter of 2022. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measurement of liquidity, was RMB56,540 million (US$7,963 million), a decrease of 31% compared to RMB81,514 million in the same quarter of 2022. The decrease in free cash flow was attributed to increased capex and several one-time factors including timing of income tax payments and working capital changes related to several of our businesses.

BUSINESS AND STRATEGIC UPDATES

Taobao and Tmall Group

We are in the process of revitalizing Taobao and Tmall Group and positioning it for future growth. Our growth strategy is to put users first, build ecosystem for brands and merchants to thrive on our platform, and realize technology-driven innovation. We are committed to building an e-commerce ecosystem where brands, merchants and manufacturers operate with high efficiency, thereby providing multi-tiered Chinese consumers with good products and services at attractive prices. In December 2023, we appointed a new management team to execute Taobao and Tmall Group’s strategy and drive business growth through technological innovation.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, revenue from Taobao and Tmall Group was RMB129,070 million (US$18,179 million), a growth of 2% year-over-year. During the quarter, online GMV achieved healthy growth year-over-year, with the number of transacting buyers and order volume growing strongly, partly offset by decrease in average order value. Under our user engagement and price-competitive strategies, we continued to increase interactive content and broaden the assortment of value-for-money products. Additionally, we continued our efforts to onboard a wider range of brands and merchants. The number of merchants operating on our platform during the quarter continued to grow at double digits year-over-year, and this double-digit growth trend has sustained over the past four quarters.

Following a successful 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, order volume grew double digits year-over-year during the second half of the quarter. This reflected increasing consumer demand and willingness to make purchases on our platform driven by our price-competitive strategy.

On the other hand, we have been successful in retaining and growing premium shoppers as the number of 88VIP members continued to increase double digits year-over-year, surpassing 32 million.

Cloud Intelligence Group

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, revenue from Cloud Intelligence Group was RMB28,066 million (US$3,953 million), a growth of 3% year-over-year. We continue to improve revenue quality by reducing the revenue from low-margin project-based contracts. On the other hand, revenue from public cloud products and services grew healthily which contributed to profitability improvement.

Recent highlights of our proprietary products and technology include:

• Elastic Compute: In January 2024, Alibaba Cloud unveiled its newest general-purpose ECS instance g8i, which significantly boosts overall performance and AI inferencing capabilities.

• Database: In the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Database Management Systems report, Alibaba Cloud was named a Leader for the fourth year in a row.

Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (“AIDC”)

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, revenue from AIDC grew 44% year-over-year to RMB28,516 million (US$4,016 million), and the combined orders of AIDC grew 24% year-over-year. The strong performance was driven by solid growth across all of AIDC’s retail platforms, especially from the cross-border AliExpress Choice business. Our cross-border businesses exhibited rapid year-over-year growth in response to increasing global demand for high-quality products at attractive prices. To sustain this momentum and provide differentiated services to customers, we increased investments during this quarter and will continue to invest in further growth.

During the quarter, AliExpress delivered over 60% year-over-year order growth, driven by Choice, which provides an enhanced experience to consumers by combining better product selection, price and quality with speed of logistics and great customer support. Choice represented about half of AliExpress’ total orders in January 2024 and continues to deliver rapid order growth.

During the quarter, Trendyol continued its robust double-digit order growth. While maintaining its leading e-commerce position in Türkiye, Trendyol has further extended its operations into the Middle East with a wide range of merchandise as well as speedy and reliable logistics experience.

Lazada continues to focus on optimizing its operating efficiency. With further increased monetization and decreased logistics costs, Lazada’s loss per order continued to narrow year-over-year during the quarter.

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited (“Cainiao”)

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, revenue from Cainiao grew 24% year-over-year to RMB28,476 million (US$4,011 million), primarily driven by revenue from cross-border fulfillment solutions.

Cainiao continues to execute its strategy of building a global smart logistics network, reinforcing comprehensive end-to-end capabilities in first-mile pick-up, line haul, customs clearance, sortation, and last-mile delivery. To support cross-border business development, with the upgrade of end-to-end capabilities, Cainiao further expanded its premium 5-day delivery service coverage, adding two more countries during the quarter. The order volume for the premium 5-day delivery service achieved robust triple-digit quarter-over-quarter growth.

Local Services Group

For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, revenue from Local Services Group grew 13% year-over-year to RMB15,160 million (US$2,135 million), driven by healthy growth of Ele.me and rapid growth of Amap. During this quarter, order growth of Local Services Group exceeded 20% year-over-year. Local Services Group’s annual active consumers reached over 390 million and their annual purchasing frequency grew strongly year-over-year for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. For this quarter, its losses continued to narrow driven by improving business scale and efficiency.

Digital Media and Entertainment Group

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, revenue of Digital Media and Entertainment Group was RMB5,040 million (US$710 million), an increase of 18% year-over-year, driven by strong revenue growth of offline entertainment businesses of Alibaba Pictures. During the quarter, Damai, a subsidiary of Alibaba Pictures, consolidated its industry-leading position by servicing almost all the major concerts in China, which contributed to rapid GMV growth year-over-year. Total box office of movies produced, promoted and distributed by Alibaba Pictures’ movie segment accounted for more than half of China’s total box office during the quarter.

Updates on ESG Initiatives

Progress in Decarbonization

We continue to accelerate our transition to clean energy. In November 2023, Bloomberg New Energy Finance released the “China's Top Clean Energy Buyers and Sellers in 2023.” Alibaba Group, with a green electricity transaction volume of 1,610 gigawatt-hours, became the national leader for green electricity procurement for the first time.

In November 2023, Alibaba Group was the first Asian Internet technology company to join the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a group of over 200 businesses, to support WBCSD’s drive to make global value chains more sustainable. At COP28, Alibaba Group together with WBCSD and other corporate members, advocated for “Scope 3+” carbon reduction actions by promoting the "Guidance on Avoided Emissions" report.

Upsize of Share Repurchase Program

As previously announced, during the quarter ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased a total of 292.7 million ordinary shares (equivalent of 36.6 million ADSs) for a total of US$2.9 billion, and a total of 897.9 million ordinary shares (equivalent of 112.2 million ADSs) for a total of US$9.5 billion during the 2023 calendar year. As of December 31, 2023, we had 20.0 billion ordinary shares (equivalent of 2.5 billion ADSs) outstanding. Our share repurchase program resulted in a net reduction of 3.3% in our outstanding shares in the 2023 calendar year after accounting for shares issued under our ESOP.

Our board of directors has approved an increase of US$25 billion to our share repurchase program through the end of March 2027. Following this upsize, we currently have US$35.3 billion available under our share repurchase program through the next three fiscal years. We have undertaken to update investors on our share repurchases immediately after the end of each quarter with the next update expected to be published in early April.

DECEMBER QUARTER SEGMENT RESULTS

Revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB260,348 million (US$36,669 million), an increase of 5% year-over-year compared to RMB247,756 million in the same quarter of 2022.

Starting from the quarter ended June 30, 2023, we have implemented a new organizational structure which includes six major business groups and various other businesses (the “Reorganization”). Our segment reporting has been updated to reflect our Reorganization and how our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) review information under our new structure.

The following table sets forth a breakdown of our revenue by segment for the periods indicated(1):

The following table sets forth a breakdown of our adjusted EBITA by segment for the periods indicated(1):

Taobao and Tmall Group

(i) Segment revenue

• China Commerce Retail Business
  
  Revenue from our China commerce retail business in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB123,762 million (US$17,432 million), an increase of 1% compared to RMB122,736 million in the same quarter of 2022.
  
  Customer management revenue remained stable year-over-year, primarily due to healthy growth in online GMV generated on Taobao and Tmall, excluding unpaid orders, partly offset by decline in overall take rate. The overall take rate decreased slightly year-over-year mainly because the increase in GMV came from Taobao merchants.
  
  Direct sales and others revenue under China commerce retail business in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB31,649 million (US$4,458 million), an increase of 2% compared to RMB31,042 million in the same quarter of 2022.

• China Commerce Wholesale Business
  
  Revenue from our China commerce wholesale business in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB5,308 million (US$747 million), an increase of 23% compared to RMB4,329 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to an increase in revenue from value-added services provided to paying members.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Taobao and Tmall Group adjustedEBITA increased by 1% to RMB59,930 million (US$8,441 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to RMB59,245 million in the same quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to narrowing losses in certain businesses, partly offset by an increase in investment in content, user acquisition and retention of Taobao app, as well as technological innovation.

Cloud Intelligence Group

(i) Segment revenue

Revenue from Cloud Intelligence Group was RMB28,066 million (US$3,953 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 3% compared to RMB27,364 million in the same quarter of 2022. Year-over-year revenue growth was mainly driven by Alibaba-consolidated businesses. Revenue excluding Alibaba-consolidated businesses decreased year-over-year, primarily due to the decrease in revenue from low-margin project-based contracts as a result of continued effort to improve revenue quality. However, revenue from our public cloud products and services experienced healthy year-over-year growth.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Cloud Intelligence Group adjustedEBITA increased by 86% to RMB2,364 million (US$333 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to RMB1,269 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to improving product mix through our focus on public cloud and operating efficiency.

Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group

(i) Segment revenue

• International Commerce Retail Business
  
  Revenue from our International commerce retail business in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB23,260 million (US$3,276 million), an increase of 56% compared to RMB14,954 million in the same quarter of 2022. The increase in revenue was primarily due to solid combined order growth of AIDC’s retail businesses driven by the strong performance of all its major retail platforms, the revenue contribution from AliExpress Choice as well as improvements in monetization. As certain of our international businesses generate revenue in local currencies while our reporting currency is Renminbi, AIDC’s revenue is affected by exchange rate fluctuations.

• International Commerce Wholesale Business
  
  Revenue from our International commerce wholesale business in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB5,256 million (US$740 million), an increase of 8% compared to RMB4,870 million in the same quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue generated by cross-border related value-added services.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group adjusted EBITA was a loss of RMB3,146 million (US$443 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to a loss of RMB645 million in the same quarter of 2022. Losses increased year-over-year primarily because of increased investment in businesses including AliExpress Choice and Trendyol’s international business, partly offset by improvement in monetization.

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited

(i) Segment revenue

Revenue from Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited was RMB28,476 million (US$4,011 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 24% compared to RMB23,023 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily contributed by the increase in revenue from cross-border fulfillment solutions.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited adjusted EBITA was a profit of RMB961 million (US$135 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to a loss of RMB12 million in the same quarter of 2022. The year-over-year increase reflected economies of scale that leads to cost optimization as well as optimized operating expenditure spending. This also reflected Cainiao’s continuous effort in cost optimization in line-haul transportation and last-mile delivery.

Local Services Group

(i) Segment revenue

Revenue from Local Services Group was RMB15,160 million (US$2,135 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 13% compared to RMB13,397 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to the order growth of Amap and Ele.me.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Local Services Group adjusted EBITA was a loss of RMB2,068 million (US$291 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to a loss of RMB2,923 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to the continued narrowing of loss from our “To-Home” business driven by Ele.me’s improved unit economics and increasing scale.

Digital Media and Entertainment Group

(i) Segment revenue

Revenue from Digital Media and Entertainment Group was RMB5,040 million (US$710 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 18% compared to RMB4,261 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily driven by the strong revenue growth of offline entertainment businesses of Alibaba Pictures.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Digital Media and Entertainment Group adjusted EBITA in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was a loss of RMB517 million (US$73 million), compared to a loss of RMB391 million in the same quarter of 2022. Losses increased year-over-year primarily due to the increased losses of Youku.

All Others

(i) Segment revenue

Revenue from All others segment was RMB47,023 million (US$6,623 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of 7% compared to RMB50,334 million in the same quarter of 2022, mainly due to the decrease in revenue from Sun Art, driven by the scale down of supply chain business and the decrease in ticket size.

(ii) Segment adjusted EBITA

Adjusted EBITA from All others segment in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was a loss of RMB3,172 million (US$447 million), compared to a loss of RMB1,698 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to an increase in year-over-year loss from Sun Art due to scale down of certain of its businesses.

DECEMBER QUARTER OTHER FINANCIAL RESULTS

Costs and Expenses

The following tables set forth a breakdown of our costs and expenses, share-based compensation expense, and costs and expenses excluding share-based compensation expense by function for the periods indicated:

Cost of revenue – Cost of revenue in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB156,214 million (US$22,002 million), or 60% of revenue, compared to RMB150,005 million, or 61% of revenue, in the same quarter of 2022. Without the effect of share-based compensation expense, cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue would have remained stable at 60% in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same quarter last year.

Product development expenses – Product development expenses in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 were RMB13,488 million (US$1,900 million), or 5% of revenue, compared to RMB13,521 million, or 6% of revenue, in the same quarter of 2022. Without the effect of share-based compensation expense, product development expenses as a percentage of revenue would have remained stable at 4% in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same quarter last year.

Sales and marketing expenses – Sales and marketing expenses in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 were RMB33,783 million (US$4,758 million), or 13% of revenue, compared to RMB30,628 million, or 12% of revenue, in the same quarter of 2022. Without the effect of share-based compensation expense, sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue would have increased from 12% in the quarter ended December 31, 2022 to 13% in the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

General and administrative expenses – General and administrative expenses in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 were RMB11,261 million (US$1,586 million), or 4% of revenue, compared to RMB10,327 million, or 4% of revenue, in the same quarter of 2022. Without the effect of share-based compensation expense, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue would have remained stable at 3% in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same quarter last year.

Share-based compensation expense – Total share-based compensation expense included in the cost and expense items above in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB6,222 million (US$876 million), compared to RMB8,773 million in the same quarter of 2022. Share-based compensation expense as a percentage of revenue decreased from 4% in the quarter ended December 31, 2022 to 2% in the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

The following table sets forth our analysis of share-based compensation expense for the quarters indicated by type of share-based awards:

Share-based compensation expense related to Alibaba Group share-based awards decreased in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same quarter of 2022. This decrease was primarily due to the general decrease in the average fair market value of the awards granted.

We expect that our share-based compensation expense will continue to be affected by changes in the fair value of the underlying awards and the quantity of awards we grant in the future.

Amortization and impairment of intangible assets – Amortization and impairment of intangible assets in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB14,601 million (US$2,056 million), an increase of 164% from RMB5,530 million in the same quarter of 2022. During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, an impairment of intangible assets of RMB12,084 million (US$1,702 million) was recorded relating to Sun Art within All others segment, which mainly include trade names, trademarks and domain names, considering lower than expected profitability as a result of uncertainties in the market environment. During the quarter ended December 31, 2022, impairment of intangible assets of RMB2,811 million was recorded mainly relating to one of our import e-commerce platforms in China.

Impairment of goodwill – Impairment of goodwill in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB8,490 million (US$1,196 million), an increase of 213%, from RMB2,714 million in the same quarter of 2022. Impairment recorded in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 represents the impairment of goodwill relating to Youku.

Income from operations and operating margin

Income from operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB22,511 million (US$3,171 million), or 9% of revenue, a decrease of 36% compared to RMB35,031 million, or 14% of revenue, in the same quarter of 2022, primarily attributable to impairment of intangible assets of Sun Art and impairment of goodwill of Youku.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITA

Adjusted EBITDA increased 1% year-over-year to RMB59,572 million (US$8,391 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to RMB59,162 million in the same quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITA increased 2% year-over-year to RMB52,843 million (US$7,443 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, compared to RMB52,048 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily contributed by revenue growth and improved operating efficiency that was partly offset by the increase in investments in certain businesses. A reconciliation of net income to adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITA is included at the end of this results announcement.

Adjusted EBITA by segment

Adjusted EBITA by segment as well as a reconciliation of income from operations to adjusted EBITA are set forth in the section entitled “December Quarter Segment Results” above.

Interest and investment income, net

Interest and investment income, net in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was a loss of RMB3,500 million (US$493 million), compared to a gain of RMB15,516 million in the same quarter of 2022, primarily due to mark-to-market changes from our equity investments.

The above-mentioned gains and losses were excluded from our non-GAAP net income.

Other income, net

Other income, net in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB439 million (US$62 million), compared to RMB1,462 million in the same quarter of 2022. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to a change in China VAT tax rule which reduced input VAT super-credit rate from 10% to 5%.

Income tax expenses

Income tax expenses in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 were RMB4,988 million (US$702 million), compared to RMB3,820 million in the same quarter of 2022.

Share of results of equity method investees

Share of results of equity method investees in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was a loss of RMB1,613 million (US$228 million), compared to a loss of RMB893 million in the same quarter of 2022. The following table sets forth a breakdown of share of results of equity method investees for the periods indicated:

We record our share of results of all equity method investees one quarter in arrears. The year-over-year decrease in share of profit of Ant Group was mainly due to the increase in Ant Group’s net investment loss, whilst its operating profit was largely flat.

Net income and Non-GAAP net income

Our net income in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB10,717 million (US$1,509 million), compared to RMB45,746 million in the same quarter of 2022, which was primarily attributable to mark-to-market changes from our equity investments and the decrease in income from operations due to impairment.

Excluding share-based compensation expense, revaluation and disposal gains/losses of investments, impairment of goodwill and investments, amortization and impairment of intangible assets and certain other items, non-GAAP net income in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB47,951 million (US$6,754 million), a decrease of 4% compared to RMB49,932 million in the same quarter of 2022. A reconciliation of net income to non-GAAP net income is included at the end of this results announcement.

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB14,433 million (US$2,033 million), compared to RMB46,815 million in the same quarter of 2022, which was primarily attributable to mark-to-market changes from our equity investments and the decrease in income from operations due to impairment, partly offset by an increase in impairment of intangible assets attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Diluted earnings per ADS/share and non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS/share

Diluted earnings per ADS in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB5.65 (US$0.80), compared to RMB17.91 in the same quarter in 2022. Excluding share-based compensation expense, revaluation and disposal gains/losses of investments, impairment of goodwill and investments, amortization and impairment of intangible assets and certain other items, non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB18.97 (US$2.67), a decrease of 2% compared to RMB19.26 in the same quarter of 2022.

Diluted earnings per share in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB0.71 (US$0.10 or HK$0.78), compared to RMB2.24 in the same quarter of 2022. Excluding share-based compensation expense, revaluation and disposal gains/losses of investments, impairment of goodwill and investments, amortization and impairment of intangible assets and certain other items, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the quarter ended December 31, 2023 was RMB2.37 (US$0.33 or HK$2.62), a decrease of 2% compared to RMB2.41 in the same quarter of 2022.

A reconciliation of diluted earnings per ADS/share to non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS/share is included at the end of this results announcement. Each ADS represents eight ordinary shares.

Cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and other treasury investments

As of December 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and other treasury investments included in equity securities and other investments on the consolidated balance sheets, were RMB652,962 million (US$91,968 million), compared to RMB560,314 million as of March 31, 2023. Other treasury investments mainly comprise of investments in fixed deposits and certificates of deposits with original maturities over one year for treasury purposes. The increase in cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and other treasury investments during the nine months ended December 31, 2023 was primarily due to free cash flow generated from operations of RMB140,849 million (US$19,838 million), effect of exchange gain of RMB8,949 million (US$1,260 million) mainly due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against Renminbi, and net cash provided by investment and acquisition activities of RMB3,289 million (US$463 million), partly offset by cash used in repurchase of ordinary shares of RMB54,731 million (US$7,709 million) and repayment of unsecured senior notes of US$700 million.

Net cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by operating activities was RMB64,716 million (US$9,115 million), a decrease of 26% compared to RMB87,370 million in the same quarter of 2022. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measurement of liquidity, was RMB56,540 million (US$7,963 million), a decrease of 31% compared to RMB81,514 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in free cash flow was attributed to increased capex and several one-time factors including timing of income tax payments and working capital changes related to several of our businesses. A reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow is included at the end of this results announcement.

Net cash used in investing activities

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in investing activities of RMB30,925 million (US$4,356 million) primarily reflected (i) an increase in other treasury investments by RMB14,559 million (US$2,051 million), (ii) capital expenditure of RMB8,857 million (US$1,247 million), (iii) an increase in short-term investments by RMB5,477 million (US$771 million), and (iv) cash outflow of RMB4,833 million (US$680 million) for investment and acquisition activities. These cash outflows were partially offset by cash inflow of RMB3,333 million (US$469 million) from disposal of investments.

Net cash used in financing activities

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in financing activities of RMB17,214 million (US$2,424 million) primarily reflected cash used in repurchase of ordinary shares of RMB20,706 million (US$2,916 million), partially offset by net proceeds from bank borrowings of RMB2,955 million (US$416 million).

Employees

As of December 31, 2023, we had a total of 219,260 employees, compared to 224,955 as of September 30, 2023.

WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Alibaba Group’s management will hold a conference call to discuss the financial results at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (8:30 p.m. Hong Kong Time) on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

All participants must pre-register to join this conference call using the Participant Registration link below:
English: https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10035621-gh7t8u.html
Chinese: https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10035625-fh86y7.html

Upon registration, each participant will receive details for the conference call, including dial-in numbers, conference call passcode and a unique access PIN. To join the conference, please dial the number provided, enter the passcode followed by your PIN, and you will join the conference.

A live webcast of the earnings conference call can be accessed at https://www.alibabagroup.com/en-US/ir-financial-reports-quarterly-results. An archived webcast will be available through the same link following the call. A replay of the conference call will be available for one week from the date of the conference (Dial-in number: +1 855 883 1031; English conference PIN 10035621; Chinese conference PIN 10035625).

Please visit Alibaba Group’s Investor Relations website at https://www.alibabagroup.com/en-US/investor-relations on February 7, 2024 to view the earnings release and accompanying slides prior to the conference call.

ABOUT ALIBABA GROUP

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years.

EXCHANGE RATE INFORMATION

This results announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi (“RMB”) amounts into U.S. dollars (“US$”) and Hong Kong dollars (“HK$”) for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations of RMB into US$ were made at RMB7.0999 to US$1.00, the exchange rate on December 29, 2023 as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board, and all translations of RMB into HK$ were made at RMB0.90622 to HK$1.00, the middle rate on December 29, 2023 as published by the People’s Bank of China. The percentages stated in this announcement are calculated based on the RMB amounts and there may be minor differences due to rounding.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “future,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “seek,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “target,” “guidance,” “is/are likely to” and similar statements. In addition, statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Alibaba Group’s new organizational and governance structure, Alibaba’s strategies and business plans, Alibaba’s beliefs, expectations and guidance regarding the growth of its business, revenue and return on investments, share repurchases, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Alibaba’s strategic and operational plans, are or contain forward-looking statements. Alibaba may also make forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in announcements made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange”), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. These factors include but are not limited to the following: Alibaba’s corporate structure, including the VIE structure it uses to operate certain businesses in the PRC; the implementation of Alibaba Group’s new organizational and governance structure and the execution of spin-off or capital raising plans of its subsidiaries; Alibaba’s ability to maintain the trusted status of its ecosystem; Alibaba’s ability to compete, innovate and maintain or grow its revenue or business, including expanding its international and cross-border businesses and operations and managing a large and complex organization; risks associated with sustained investments in Alibaba’s businesses; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China and globally; uncertainties arising from competition among countries and geopolitical tensions, including protectionist or national security policies and export control, economic or trade sanctions; risks associated with Alibaba’s acquisitions, investments and alliances; uncertainties and risks associated with a broad range of complex laws and regulations (including in the areas of data security and privacy protection, anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition, content regulation, consumer protection and regulation of Internet platforms) in the PRC and globally; cybersecurity risks; impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Alibaba’s filings with the SEC and announcements on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this results announcement is as of the date of this results announcement and are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date, and Alibaba does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: for our consolidated results, adjusted EBITDA (including adjusted EBITDA margin), adjusted EBITA (including adjusted EBITA margin), non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share/ADS and free cash flow. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the table captioned “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Nearest Comparable U.S. GAAP Measures” in this results announcement.

We believe that adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share/ADS help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain income or expenses that we include in income from operations, net income and diluted earnings per share/ADS. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information about our core operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making. We present three different income measures, namely adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITA and non-GAAP net income in order to provide more information and greater transparency to investors about our operating results.

We consider free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by our business that can be used for strategic corporate transactions, including investing in our new business initiatives, making strategic investments and acquisitions and strengthening our balance sheet.

Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITA, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share/ADS and free cash flow should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to income from operations, net income, diluted earnings per share/ADS, cash flows or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of our operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures presented here do not have standardized meanings prescribed by U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures to our data.

Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest and investment income, net, interest expense, other income, net, income tax expenses and share of results of equity method investees, share-based compensation expense, amortization and impairment of intangible assets, depreciation and impairment of property and equipment, and operating lease cost relating to land use rights, impairment of goodwill, and others (including provision in relation to matters outside the ordinary course of business, as well as equity-settled donation expense), which we do not believe are reflective of our core operating performance during the periods presented.

Adjusted EBITA represents net income before interest and investment income, net, interest expense, other income, net, income tax expenses and share of results of equity method investees, share-based compensation expense, amortization and impairment of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, and others (including provision in relation to matters outside the ordinary course of business, as well as equity-settled donation expense), which we do not believe are reflective of our core operating performance during the periods presented.

Non-GAAP net income represents net income before share-based compensation expense, amortization and impairment of intangible assets, gain or loss on deemed disposals/disposals/revaluation of investments, impairment of goodwill and investments, and others (including provision in relation to matters outside the ordinary course of business, as well as equity-settled donation expense), and adjustments for the tax effects.

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share represents non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of outstanding ordinary shares for computing non-GAAP diluted earnings per share on a diluted basis. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS represents non-GAAP diluted earnings per share after adjusting for the ordinary share-to-ADS ratio.

Free cash flow represents net cash provided by operating activities as presented in our consolidated cash flow statement less purchases of property and equipment (excluding acquisition of land use rights and construction in progress relating to office campuses) and intangible assets (excluding those acquired through acquisitions), as well as adjustments to exclude from net cash provided by operating activities the buyer protection fund deposits from merchants on our marketplaces. We deduct certain items of cash flows from investing activities in order to provide greater transparency into cash flow from our revenue-generating business operations. We exclude “acquisition of land use rights and construction in progress relating to office campuses” because the office campuses are used by us for corporate and administrative purposes and are not directly related to our revenue-generating business operations. We also exclude buyer protection fund deposits from merchants on our marketplaces because these deposits are restricted for the purpose of compensating buyers for claims against merchants.

The table captioned “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Nearest Comparable U.S. GAAP Measures” in this results announcement has more details on the non-GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures.

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