THE IMPACT OF QUICK COMMERCE ON ALIBABA'S Q3 RESULTS

Alibaba just released its Q3 results, and the impact of the enormous investments in instant retail/quick commerce is clear.

Alibaba Group results:

▶️ Revenue +5% YoY

▶️ Net income -53% YoY

▶️ Adjusted EBITA -78% YoY

▶️ Net Cash Position - RMB 74 billion YoY

▶️ The group's sales & marketing expenses went from 13.5% of revenue in Q3 2024 to 26.6% in Q2 2025. The YoY difference was RMB 34 billion.

▶️ The domestic commerce division went from RMB 44.3 billion EBITA in Q3 2024 to RMB 10.5 billion in Q3 2025, a decrease of 76% YoY.

▶️ Quick commerce revenue increased from RMB 14.3 billion in Q3 2024 to RMB 22.9 billion in Q3 2025.

Alibaba claims that the positive effects of its quick commerce investments will eventually be seen across the ecosystem as new customers are won and retained. "The growing mindshare and increasing scale of our quick commerce business contributed to a rapid year-over-year increase in monthly active consumers on the Taobao app during the quarter, which generated incremental customer management revenue."

Time will tell if this was all worth it.

P.S. On a positive note, the international e-commerce division (AliExpress, Lazada, etc) showed a small RMB 162 million profit in Q3. Cloud business grew 34% YoY, but the 'others' segment (which includes Hema AMap, Cainiao and more) saw losses almost double by 84% YoY, despite the sale of loss-making Sun Art.

-Ed