Chinese tech titan Alibaba reported an astounding 239% year-over-year increase in net profit for the final quarter of 2024. CEO Eddie Wu credited this significant growth to the expansion of the company's cloud business and its triple-digit growth in artificial intelligence over the past six quarters. Additionally, rising retail sales contributed to these impressive figures.
Much like Alibaba, Amazon operates both as a retailer and a cloud provider. Although its retail unit remains the largest revenue generator, its cloud computing services also play a crucial role. In late 2024, Amazon's quarterly revenue surpassed Walmart's for the first time, indicating the tech conglomerate's expanding influence across various economic sectors. However, Walmart is expected to retain its position as the world's largest annual revenue generator — for now.
On Thursday, U.S. markets saw a decline. The S&P 500 dropped by 0.43%, moving away from recent highs and positioning it in the red for the week so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.01%, and the Nasdaq Composite decreased by 0.47%. In contrast, Asia-Pacific stocks rose on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged over 3.4% to its highest point since February 2022, driven by the rise in Alibaba shares. Japan's Nikkei 225 registered a 0.2% increase amid ongoing consumer price growth.
Japan's inflation rate reached 4% in January, marking its highest level since January 2023. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food prices, rose to 3.2%, surpassing economists' predictions of 3.1%, according to a Reuters poll. This figure is the highest recorded since June 2023. The headline inflation rate has consistently remained above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for 34 consecutive months.
Alibaba shares increased by 8.1% in the U.S. on Thursday and jumped as much as 12% in Hong Kong on Friday. The Chinese tech giant announced a net income of 48.945 billion yuan ($6.72 billion) for the December quarter, representing a 239% increase from the previous year. Alibaba's revenue exceeded expectations, bolstered by a 13% year-on-year sales growth in its Cloud Intelligence Group during the quarter. Separately, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen increased his personal stake in Alibaba to around $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
For the first time, Amazon has overtaken Walmart in quarterly revenue. Amazon announced earlier this month that it earned $187.8 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, surpassing the $180.5 billion reported by Walmart on Thursday. Since 2012, Walmart has consistently been the top revenue generator each quarter, a title it claimed after surpassing oil giant Exxon Mobil.
Private equity investor KKR is proposing a £4 billion ($5 billion) acquisition of the U.K.'s struggling Thames Water utility, according to a source familiar with the matter. The water utility firm is burdened with escalating debt and has cautioned that it may run out of cash by March 24. KKR's offer entails a £4 billion management-buyout proposal that would not result in the sale of assets or dismantling of the utility, the source indicated.
As the largest retailer and revenue generator in the U.S., Walmart serves as a key indicator of consumer health. When the company announced an anticipated slowdown in profit growth for the fiscal year, investors reacted by selling off shares. Analysts have provided insights into the market downturn observed on Thursday.
