ECommerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted strong first-quarter earnings, exceeding market expectations. The company’s quarterly net income came in at $3.34 billion, with earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, clocking in at $2.26 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of $2.20 per share.
Revenue for the three months was $33.47 billion, compared to an estimate of $34.95 billion surmised from three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Net income for the period was $1.36 per share.
Since the start of the year, Alibaba shares have risen by 2.5%, marking a subtle turnaround from the 15% lost over the past 12 months. “Our results this quarter demonstrated our strategy at work,” the company stated in a press release. “Our focus on enhancing user experience by offering quality products at attractive prices with great service led to stabilizing market share.” The company added that it made $5.8 billion in share repurchases while adding that Alibaba is continuing to provide value to shareholders.
Alibaba paid particular attention to its investment strategy in its Taobao and Tmall Group businesses. The company explained that customer service, loyalty programs, and technology use are all areas of improvement that were focused on during the quarter.