Alibaba and Wal-Mart released their latest earnings reports before opening bell this morning. Alibaba posted adjusted earnings of 63 cents per share on $5.61 billion in revenue (RMB38.579 billion), compared to the consensus estimates of 65 cents per share and $5.24 billion.
Wal-Mart reported earnings of $1 per share on $117.5 billion, while analysts had been looking for 96 cents per share and $117.8 billion.
Alibaba posts growth across segments
Alibaba’s net earnings rose 95% year over year to 60 cents per share. Core commerce revenue rose 47% to $4.6 billion (RMB31.57 billion). Cloud computing revenue surged 103% to $314 million (RMB2.16 billion), while digital media and entertainment revenue grew 234% to $571 million (RMB3.9 billion). Innovation initiatives and other revenue rose 88% to $133 million (RMB919 million).
Alibaba had 454 million annual active buyers on its China retail marketplaces, an 11% increase from December 2016. Mobile monthly active users grew 14% from December to March to reach 507 million. The number of paying cloud customers increased from 765,000 in the previous quarter to 874,000 in the March quarter. Gross merchandise volume on Alibaba’s China retail marketplaces reached $547 billion (RMB3.8 trillion).
Shares of Alibaba fell by as much as 2.12% to $118.16 in premarket trades this morning.
Wal-Mart continues e-commerce growth
For the second quarter, the big box retailer expects earnings of $1 to $1.08 per share, including a net benefit of 5 cents per share from the sale of its Suburbia apparel format in Mexico. The company expects U.S. comparable store sales for Wal-Mart to be up by 1.5% to 2% for the 13 weeks ending July 28. For Sam’s Club, the retailer expects comparable sales to be up by 1% to 1.5% for the same period.
Shares of Wal-Mart jumped by as much as 1.04% to $75.90 in premarket trades.
