Gezixuan reported on November 15 that Alibaba Group today released its financial report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 (July ~ September 2024).

Revenue was RMB236.503 billion (US$33.701 billion), up 5% year-on-year.

Operating profit was RMB35,246 million (US$5,023 million), up 5% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in non-cash equity incentive expense, partially offset by a decrease in Adjusted EBITA. Non-cash equity incentive expense is not included in non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted EBITA, a non-GAAP financial measure, decreased 5% year-over-year to RMB40,561 million (US$5,780 million), primarily due to increased investment in e-commerce, partially offset by revenue growth and improved operational efficiency.

Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB43,874 million (US$6,252 million). Net profit was RMB43,547 million (US$6,205 million), up 63% year-on-year, mainly due to mark-to-market changes in equity investments, reduced impairment of investments and higher operating profit. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was RMB36,518 million (US$5,204 million), down 9% from RMB40,188 million for the same period in 2023.

Diluted earnings per ADS were RMB18.17 (US$2.59) and diluted earnings per share were RMB2.27 (US$0.32 or HK$2.52). Non-GAAP earnings per diluted ADS were RMB15.06 (US$2.15), down 4% year-on-year, and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were RMB1.88 (US$0.27 or HK$2.08), down 4% year-on-year.

Net cash flow from operating activities was RMB31,438 million (US$4,480 million), down 36% from RMB49,231 million for the same period in 2023. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial liquidity measure, was RMB13,735 million (US$1,957 million), down 70% from RMB45,220 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease in free cash flow was primarily attributable to investments in Alibaba Cloud infrastructure, refunds to Tmall merchants after the removal of annual service fees, and other working capital changes due to factors such as the downsizing of certain direct operations.

Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group, said, "During the quarter, Taotian continued to invest in user experience and enrich its product offerings to better serve consumers. We have established long-term partnerships with our technology peers to expand our payment and logistics services on Taobao and Tmall platforms, which is expected to have a significant incremental effect on the platform as a whole. The cloud business accelerated its growth from previous quarters, with double-digit growth in revenue from public cloud products and triple-digit growth in revenue from AI-related products. We are more confident than ever in the outlook for our core business and will continue to invest to support long-term growth." The operating efficiency of other businesses continued to improve, and most of the businesses continued to improve profitability or reduce losses. ”

Gezixuan learned from the financial report that the number of Taotian Group's 88VIPs continued to grow by double digits year-on-year in the quarter, reaching 46 million.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group revenue was RMB29.610 billion (US$4.219 billion), up 7% year-over-year.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Taobao and Tmall Group generated revenue of 98.994 billion yuan (about $14.107 billion), a year-on-year increase of 1%.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Cainiao's revenue increased 8% year-over-year to RMB24,647 million (US$3,512 million), mainly driven by revenue growth from cross-border logistics fulfillment solutions.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Local Living Group revenue increased 14% year-on-year to RMB17,725 million (US$2,526 million), driven by higher orders from AutoNavi and Ele.me, as well as higher revenue from marketing services.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Dawen Entertainment Group's revenue was RMB5.694 billion (US$811 million), down 1% year-over-year. The loss of Dawen Entertainment Group narrowed year-on-year, and thanks to the increase in advertising revenue and the improvement of content investment efficiency, Youku's operating loss gradually decreased in the quarter.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Alibaba repurchased a total of 414 million ordinary shares (equivalent to 52 million American Depositary Shares) for a total of US$4.1 billion (note from IT House: currently approximately RMB29.704 billion). As of September 30, 2024, Alibaba had 18,620 million ordinary shares outstanding (equivalent to 2,327 million American Depositary Shares), a decrease of 405 million ordinary shares, or a net decrease of 2.1%, from June 30, 2024 (after taking into account the shares issued under Alibaba's equity incentive plan). As of September 30, 2024, Alibaba has $22 billion remaining under its board-authorized share repurchase program, which is valid until March 2027.