Alibaba Group is a publicly listed e-commerce company, based in Hangzhou, China, traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol ‘BABA’.
China’s biggest e-commerce business Alibaba held its IPO in the NYSE on Friday. It was a huge success. Early in the day stocks changed hands at $92.70, much higher than the $68 some investors had paid.
The company provides online and mobile marketplaces in retail and wholesale trade, payment services, business-to-business online web portals, a search engine used for shopping, and cloud computing products.
It was founded in 1999, with the launch of the web site Alibaba.com, which was created by 18 people led by Jack Ma, a former English teacher from Hangzhou, China. The site is a business-to-business portal that connects Chinese manufacturers with buyers.
The founders had a belief that “the Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and technology to grow and compete more effectively in the domestic and global economies.”
Alibaba.com is now one of the world’s most visited websites and accounts for more than 60% of all parcels delivered in China.
Other major businesses and the businesses of its related companies and affiliates include:
Taoboa Marketplace (www.taobao.com) – China’s largest online shopping destination in terms of gross merchandise volume.
Alipay (www.alipay.com) – the largest third-party online payment service provider in China by total payment volume.
Tmall (www.tmall.com) – China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers.
Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com) – the most popular online group buying marketplace in China.
AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com) – a global retail marketplace targeted at consumers worldwide.
1688 (www.1688.com) – a Chinese online wholesale marketplace.
Alimama (www.alimama.com) – an online marketing technology platform.
Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com) – develops platforms for cloud computing and data management.
On June 27, 2014, Alibaba selected the New York Stock Exchange for its IPO. The company held its IPO on the NYSE on the 19th of September 2013. Its public debut was a huge success.
Overview
- CEO: Jonathan Lu
- Executive Chairman: Jack Ma
- Industry: E-commerce
- Revenue: $8.4 billion (2014)
- Net income: $3.764 billion (2014)
- Diluted earnings per share: $1.61 USD (2014)
- Founded: 1999
- Corporate headquarters: 26/F Tower One, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
- Employees: 22,072 (2014)
- Corporate contact number: 852-2215-5101
- Website: http://www.alibaba.com
- Subsidiaries: Alibaba Cloud Computing, Alibaba.com Ltd., Alisoft Holding Limited, AutoNavi Holdings Ltd, China Yahoo!, ChinaVision Media Group Limited, cnzz.com, Inc., eTao, Taobao.com, Tmall.com
Alibaba Group Financial Results, Years Ended December 31
| Operating data (in millions) | 2014 | 2013 |
| Revenue – China commerce | 45,132 RMB – $7,260 USD | 29,167 RMB – $4,692 USD |
| Revenue – International commerce | 4,851 RMB – $780 USD | 4,160 RMB – $669 USD |
| Revenue – Cloud computing and Internet infrastructure | 773 RMB – $124 USD | 650 RMB – $105 USD |
| Revenue – Others | 1,748 RMB – $282 USD | 540 RMB – $87 USD |
| Total Revenue | 52,504 RMB – $8,446 USD | 34,517 RMB – $5,553 USD |
| Cost of revenue | (13,369 RMB) – ($2,151 USD) | (9,719 RMB) – ($1,563 USD) |
| Product development expenses | (5,093 RMB) – ($819 USD) | (3,753 RMB) – ($604 USD) |
| Sales and marketing expenses | (4,545 RMB) – ($731 USD) | (3,613 RMB) – ($581 USD) |
| General and administrative expenses | (4,218 RMB) – ($678 USD) | (2,889 RMB) – ($465 USD) |
| Income (loss) from operations | 24,920 RMB – $4,009 USD | 10,751 RMB – $1,730 USD |
| Other income, net | 2,429 RMB – $390 USD | 894 RMB – $144 USD |
| Income tax expenses | (3,196 RMB) – ($514 USD) | (1,457 RMB) – ($234 USD) |
| Net income | 23,403 RMB – $3,764 USD | 8,649 RMB – $1,392 USD |
| Net income attributable to Alibaba Group Holding Limited | 23,315 RMB – $3,750 USD | 8,532 RMB – $1,373 USD |
| Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders | 23,076 RMB – $3,712 USD | 8,404 RMB – $1,352 USD |
| Balance sheet data (in millions) | ||
| Total assets | 111,549 RMB – $17,944 USD | 63,786 RMB – $10,261 USD |
| Total liabilities | 70,731 RMB – $11,378 USD | 52,740 RMB – $8,484 USD |
| Total equity | 30,417 RMB – $4,893 USD | 513 RMB – $83 USD |
| Cash flow data (in millions) | ||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 26,379 RMB – $4,242 USD | 14,476 RMB – $2,329 USD |
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (32,997 RMB) – ($5,307 USD) | 545 RMB – $88 USD |
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 9,364 RMB – $1,507 USD | (1,406 RMB) – ($226 USD) |
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | 33,045 RMB – $5,316 USD | 30,396 RMB – $4,890 USD |
| Common share data | ||
| Basic earnings (loss) per common share | 10.61 RMB – $1.71 USD | 3.66 RMB – $0.59 USD |
| Diluted earnings (loss) per common share | 10.00 RMB – $1.61 USD | 3.57 RMB – $0.57 USD |
Source: “Alibaba Group Holding Limited – Form F-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT 2014”
Video – E-Commerce
Alibaba is one of the world’s leading e-commerce companies.