Alibaba Stock Soars as Cloud and AI Bet Intensifies

Alibaba ( (BABA) ) has been popular among investors this week. Here is a recap of the key news on this stock.

Alibaba has emerged as one of 2025’s standout China tech stories, with its U.S.-listed shares up more than 72% this year as investors bet on a shift from pure e-commerce to higher‑margin technology services. The company’s cloud division is now one of its fastest-growing businesses, posting about 34% year-on-year revenue growth in the latest quarter and reducing reliance on the core retail platforms that still face margin pressure. At the same time, Alibaba is doubling down on artificial intelligence: its open-source Qwen models have surpassed 600 million downloads, overtaking Meta Platforms’ Llama in global usage, especially for multilingual tasks. Management has committed over $50 billion to expand cloud and AI infrastructure over the coming years, a move that may weigh on near-term profitability but is seen as critical to securing long-term growth.

Alibaba’s traditional e-commerce engine remains steady, supported by its vast marketplace ecosystem, logistics network and consumer apps, but sluggish consumer demand and broader economic softness in China continue to cloud the outlook and keep some investors cautious. To retain talent and align employee incentives with shareholders, the group recently granted restricted share units over 2.28 million new shares under its 2024 Equity Incentive Plan, with vesting over up to four years and strong clawback provisions; more than 403 million shares remain available for future awards. On Wall Street, sentiment is broadly positive: Alibaba holds a Strong Buy consensus based on 16 Buy and one Hold rating over the past three months, with an average price target of about $205 implying roughly 40% upside from current levels, although one of the latest individual calls is a Hold with a $170 target. TipRanks’ AI analyst “Spark” rates the stock Neutral, citing strong revenue growth and profitability but flagging cash flow pressures and valuation concerns. With a market cap around $358.5 billion, a Buy technical signal, and rising cloud and AI momentum, Alibaba is increasingly viewed as a long-term tech infrastructure play rather than just a Chinese e-commerce giant.