Catenaa, Friday, August 29, 2025- Alibaba Group reported a triple-digit percentage gain in revenue from China’s AI boom, providing a breath in for investors nervous about the competition with JD and Meituan.
China’s e-commerce leader reported a triple-digit percentage gain in AI-related product revenue as well as a better-than-anticipated 26% jump in sales from the cloud division, the business most closely tied to the post-DeepSeek artificial intelligence boom.
Its shares gained more than 8% in US trading on Friday, after investors looked past a disappointing 2% rise in revenue and 3% decline in operating income to $4.9 billion.
Alibaba’s AI wing, considered among the frontrunners in Chinese artificial intelligence development, helped gloss over concerns about an intense price war with JD and Meituan in the giant food delivery sector.
That three-way battle has dealt more damage than anticipated to some of the country’s e-commerce leaders: JD’s profit halved in the quarter while Meituan warned of major losses, triggering a $27 billion selloff of the three companies’ shares this week.
The AI element helps explain why Alibaba’s stock has easily outpaced its more commerce-reliant rivals this year.
Alibaba has also leveraged the growth of an international arm that encompasses some of the world’s most-recognized online shopping platforms, from Lazada to AliExpress.
Meituan dominated the Chinese meal arena for years, relegating Alibaba’s Ele.me to a distant second place. That changed in 2025 when JD.com, pursuing growth during a consumption downturn, offered generous subsidies to cash-strapped diners, forcing Meituan and Alibaba to follow suit.
Following a warning from industry regulators in August, it joined its rivals in pledging to cease “disorderly competition.”
