$Alibaba(BABA)$’s June-quarter report captured the central problem facing AI investors: very rapid demand growth can coexist with deteriorating near-term economics. The company’s cloud business accelerated sharply, but capital expenditure and other investments reduced profit and turned free cash flow deeply negative. Alibaba reported on August 20 for the quarter ended June 30. Revenue increased approximately 9% to RMB268.95 billion, while net income fell about 75% to RMB10.4 billion. AI Cloud and Compute Services revenue rose 45% to RMB48.44 billion. Capital expenditure increased 75% to RMB67.68 billion—almost $10 billion—and free cash flow was negative RMB44.67 billion, compared with negative RMB18.82 billion one year earlier. Alibaba’s official
Alibaba Cloud External Revenue Hits 22-Quarter High, But GAAP Profit Drops ~75%?
Alibaba's FY27 Q1: revenue of 268.95bn yuan, +9% and a hair above the 268.52bn consensus. Profit needs two lenses — adjusted net profit −38% to 20.72bn, GAAP net profit −75%; quoting only the adjusted figure understates the erosion. Capex +75% to 67.68bn, nearly all AI infrastructure, and the return is visible: cloud external revenue +45%, a 22-quarter high, AI product revenue in triple digits for 12 straight quarters, AI cloud annualizing near 49.5bn. The U.S. listing rose 1.26% on the print. Re-rate on cloud, wait for capex to peak, or watch margins next quarter?
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