Alibaba Investor Day: What Analysts Expect

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Chinese online retail giant Alibaba will hold its first investor day on Tuesday since its IPO in 2014. The event is set to begin at 8:45 a.m. China Time on June 14 (8:45 p.m. ET on June 13) at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou. The list of speakers includes Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, Chief Executive Daniel Zhang, CFO Maggi Wu, and other senior executives. However, the e-commerce company hasn’t said whether Jack Ma will speak at the event.

Alibaba to reassure investors on its core business

Alibaba is expected to provide annual revenue guidance, an update on its Cainiao logistics network and Ant Financial, and other segments. The US Securities and Exchange Commission last month opened a probe into Cainiao. The company is also expected to discuss its media strategy following the acquisitions of Youku Tudou and the South China Morning Post.

CLSA analyst Elinor Leung said the Chinese firm will try to reassure investors that its core e-commerce business is improving despite a cooling Chinese economy. Alibaba is expected to guide FY2017 revenue of 142-147 billion yuan, representing a 40% to 45% YoY growth. Its average revenue per user still lags behind that of its US peers. CLSA expects the company’s ARPU to rise 12% in FY2017.

Lazada acquisition to boost revenue

The acquisition of Lazada and Youku Tudou could also boost its revenues by up to 10%. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said in a research note that Alibaba will continue to grow and expand its business in several verticals in the world’s largest Internet market. Baird has an Outperform rating on the stock with $94 price objective.

Stifel analysts expect the Jack Ma-led company to highlight potential growth opportunities, driven by growing middle-class and mobile penetration. JPMorgan, which has an Overweight rating on the stock, will be looking for more details on Tmall and Taobao. The research firm expects Alibaba to provide more details on Cainiao, which is being investigated by the SEC.

 

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